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Thread Thoughts |
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GOOD THREAD - We carry Marathon Rayon Thread Kits -
GOOD THREAD |
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Read
Please: These tips are original and exclusive to OPW Mall.
Feel free to use them for your personal embroidering and quilting
needs, however, it is strictly prohibited to publish them without
permission. |
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LINKS TO PDF
INSTRUCTIONS |
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- For a complete description of
embroidery thread types, sign in (HERE)
or sign up (HERE)
for the Members Only area and click "Thread Types" in the
FREE TUTORIALS section.
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Watch for new tips
as they are added to the top of this list. |
- When embroidering lace patterns it is
better to use the same type of embroidery thread in the bobbin.
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- When embroidering a colorful embroidery, line your threads up
in the order that you will need them. This saves time and
mistakes.
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- Keep a magnifying glass near your embroidery to see a close up
view of your thread when you are trimming. Keep a lint
cleaner on hand to quickly roll around your sewing area to pick up
loose threads. Just roll it around and voila - they are on
the roller and not the floor!
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- Most designs are created so that you can change the color
scheme. On a day when you have extra time, select some of
your favorite designs and play with color.
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- Keep your thread under wraps. Once you have opened the
original packaging, put them in Ziplocs when not using them.
Dry thread breaks! If you keep having thread breaks from
particular spools, give them the deep freeze... put the spools
into the freezer with the bag top open for a few hours... voila!
Your thread is refreshed.
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- Make your tone on tone designs pop on your fabric by
embroidering in a shade darker than the fabric. This subtle
change will give the embroidery design more dimension.
Remember you only want to go a shade darker to keep the tone on
tone appearance.
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- When you embroider items for outdoor use or heavy laundering,
it is a good idea to use polyester thread. This thread will
hold its color and not bleach out. Marathon Rayon Thread (HERE)
is also color fast in sunlight, hot water and bleach.
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Stitcher, know thy threads and their strengths! Polyester threads
are great for stitching on garments and other projects that you
expect to wash often. While you sacrifice some sheen, you gain
durability. Polyester thread is bleach-fast and great to use on
items you may need to bleach, like towels and t-shirts. On the
other hand, rayon threads offer a glorious satin finish, but might
not hold up as well to strenuous use.
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- When you purchase large spools of thread of some brands, you
find that it likes to fall off the spool and pool around
the bottom of your spool. A good way to stop this is to use
a netting over your thread. The thread will still pull up
from the spool, but the netting will keep the thread on the spool
where it belongs.
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- Do you find that you are buying multiple small spools of
thread of the same color? Why not buy an oversized spool and
a thread stand. This stand sits to the right of your machine
with the large spool of thread. Make sure that the thread
coming to the machine from the stand will not catch in the belt or
any spinning parts. Now all you will need to change on big
sewing projects is your bobbin. Make extras up ahead of time
and you are ready for your next thread intense project.
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Never underestimate the influence of your bobbin thread on your
finished embroidery project. Hold your bobbin thread up, as you
would to look at a single hair, and look for burrs or fuzzy
spots. These less than perfectly smooth threads have the
potential to interrupt the smooth stitching of your finer
threads. Buy the best thread that you can afford for the best
results.
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Don't forget to experiment! There are new products and threads
entering the market all the time. It's easy to get locked into
using traditional methods unless you really get out there and play
with what's new. Try a solar thread or start planning something
fun with glow-in-the-dark threads. If you haven't tried solar
threads yet, they start out white indoors and turn their
designated color when under direct sunlight. Think of a flower
blossom that changes colors depending on where you are. Have fun!
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Whether you're working with rayon, polyester or even metallic
threads, it's critical to remember that the quality of your bobbin
thread is almost as important as the right stabilizer. A
first-class bobbin thread should be as smooth as possible when
holding up a single strand. Fuzzies along the strand can lead to
irregular stitching with less than desired results. Bobbin thread
does come in many colors now, so you aren't just limited to white
or black.
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