The two significant elements of sewing are a needle and a thread. Embroidery floss is the six strands of yarns that are loosely turned together and generally of cotton. Using and storing a floss is a work of mastering in due course of time.
Excellent quality of embroidery floss is outstanding while sewing and achieving an excellent work on the fabric. It is available in a whole lot of colors and shades. The primary issue lies in storing and organizing them. Tangling of threads is frequent when storage is not proper. Rearranging them is the most tedious job when you need them urgently. Unassembling takes time; it is wiser to organize them and store them in the correct order. It is readily available and more comfortable to choose the required shade of a particular color.
How To Store Embroidery Floss: Overview
Below are mentioned a few techniques and tips which will make storing your threads easier, so they are ready for you the next time you want to use your embroidery machine.
- Organizing box: Use a table that has smaller compartments in it. These compartments must be the size of your bobbins. Use different bobbins for each color and organize them according to their shades. Keep similar threads together. You may also write down the numbering of the shade color on the head of the bobbin. It will be more comfortable while choosing a shade.
- Sticks: Small sticks made of bamboo is an alternative of storing embroidery floss. These sticks may be the ones like that of ice cream sticks. They are re-usable and readily available. As made of bamboo, they are also eco-friendly. You may twist the thread of each color on each stick and together store in a jar. Prefer the pot to be transparent so that you can quickly know which color is in which particular jar, instead of searching on all containers. Store different sticks with similar shades in separate pots. It will save time while choosing the right tone for the sewing fabric. Thus, next time you have an ice-cream, save the sticks for your organizer.
- Cloth Clips: These are readily available in every household and are a standard method of storing embroidery floss. Wind up the floss in a cloth clip. Use a cardboard and pin-up few horizontal threads on it. You can now hang up the cloth clips on these threads, which will make it look like a painting when hanging on a wall. Putting it up against the wall will give it more clear visibility of each floss’s shades. Use a single clip of each shade instead of multiple shades on one. It will make the work easier while selecting a particular floss for the required sewing project.
- Organizing Bag: Different ready-made bags are available for storing floss. You may purchase them online or else directly from the sewing accessory store, although they can be costly but have different compartments for storage. Each compartment generally has a plastic layer but a transparent sheet, preventing tangles on the floss. Transparency also helps in natural selection. These are compact and have a zipper to close and easy storage. They are also easy and convenient to carry to a different location.
- Rings: Tie up each embroidery floss on each plastic rings and hang them up on board from where it can be easily detachable.
- Binders: If you have old notebooks with fasteners, detach them from it. Twist and tie up the floss on each of them and put it in a box or a drawer. Place each binder separately in the box, making it more accessible while searching for a specific shade. Store multiple wires in a single box.
- Bottles: Use small, transparent bottles with lids for the storage. These bottles will give an excellent display of the floss collection and make it convenient to choose. There will be a requirement of a vast number of containers for each shade; you have to purchase in bulk. In each, store multiple flosses of the same tone. It will make the work more comfortable, and you will also know when to purchase your next set of floss when it exhausts.
- Key-Rings: Open up the new embroidery floss as purchased, and wind them up in a cardboard bobbin. Each bobbin of each shade. Now make a small hole on each cardboard and insert in old rings of key chains. Hang them up. One circle can accommodate multiple bobbins. Whichever shade you need while stitching, pull it out from the ring.
- Mini cabinets: Use of small size of organizing committees are quite standard for the said purpose. These cabinets have drawers for separate storage. Place your floss of similar shades in each drawer. A transparent one is always advisable than an opaque colored organizer when the main objective is choosing of an own shade as per the fabric.
- Zip bags: Plastic zip bags have common uses for storing fruits and vegetables. The zip in them makes it airtight, and their transparency gives clear visibility. Use these bags for storing embroidery floss and zip it up. You can also use markers to write on top of the shade markings in each pack.
How To Store Embroidery Floss: Final Thoughts
Whenever you are ready to start your new project before that, remember to organize your embroidery floss storage. Save a lot of time while searching for that exact shade and save any unnecessary purchase of new ones. The clean and distinct room will encourage sewing and not end up wasting time in untangling one floss from another.
If each color’s shades are well-coordinated and numbered, it is easier to choose from a huge lot. One may either organize with the readily available items at home, do a DIY project, or purchase the customized storage bags and sheets available online. Both kinds of procedures on how to store embroidery floss are mentioned in the above points. Remember to keep the organizer handy and not out of reach and clean it up regularly. An organizer will store the embroidery floss collection in a well-maintained order.