How to add the wow factor to a finished embroidery hoop

The most popular way of displaying a finished piece of embroidery is to leave it in the hoop it was stitched in. A standard bamboo hoop looks great without any added effort, but here are five simple ways to add a wow factor to your finished hoop.

Remove the outer hoop

This is my current favourite, it gives a great clean edge to the piece and I think it makes the embroidery look more like a work of art than an craft project.

All you need to do is make sure the fabric is secured as tight as possible at the back by gathering it. Once you are happy with the tension then just unscrew the outer hoop and remove it.

Wrapping the outer hoop

If you do any sewing projects such as dressmaking or patchwork you will probably have strips of fabric off cuts, these can be carefully wrapped around the outer hoop to change up the finished loop of the hoop.

Ribbon can also be used to wrap round the hoop as can yarn.

A glue gun can be used to secure the start and end of the material used, but when wrapping this hoop with yarn I used a needle to secure the ends and keep everything in place.

Painting/staining

Changing up the colour of the outer hoop can really alter how the finished piece looks.

Acrylic paint works well for this but you could use any paint you have around even some emulsion from that last decorating job!

Sewing on felt shapes

For this holly wreath, the felt leaves are stitched onto the outer hoop as a feature of the finished piece. You don’t have to cover the whole hoop. A few flowers on one part of the hoop with just some plain fabric would look fantastic.

Crocheting around the edge

Picking the right edging stitch can make a great frame and create a soft edge.

The crochet is around the outer edge of the hoop and different stitches will create different effects. A shell stitch is a great one to use if you want a scalloped effect.

Adding pompom trim (or other embellished edging)

I think this works especially well for colourful projects such as cross stitch. I’ve not tried this myself but this picture from The Make Arcade shows how fantastic it can look.

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The anatomy of an embroidery hoop

An embroidery hoop is the one piece of equipment you need to get started with embroidery. So understanding a bit about the hoop helps (but isn’t essential).

There are three main parts to an embroidery hoop that it is useful to recognise. The inner hoop, the outer hoop and the screw fitting. The materials the hoop is made from and the size are also important considerations

Inner & outer hoop

An embroidery hoop has two parts, an inner hoop and an outer hoop. The inner hoop fits snuggly inside the outer hoop (if it doesn’t then you will have problems when stitching). The inner hoop is fully circular, you shouldn’t be able to see any joins! The outer hoop has a screw fitting and isn’t fully circular.

I recommend that you embroider with the fabric laid over the inner hoop and the outer hoop pressed on top. This will mean that there will be a few millimetres right at the edge of the embroidery hoop where you can’t stitch but it is easy to embroider this way up than flipping the hoop over and having the inner hoop on top.

Screw fitting

The screw fitting is there to tighten the hoop to create tension in the fabric. You can fully unscrew the screw but normally this isn’t needed.

On some hoops if you look at the end of the screw you’ll see an indent that you can use a screwdriver with. Most of the time you can tighten the screw tight enough with your fingers but if you need that little extra grip then for this style of hoop you can use a screwdriver.

Materials

Embroidery hoops are most commonly made from wood, bamboo or plastic.

My preference is to use a wooden hoop as I find that these type of hoop grips the fabric really well creating great tension. I use wooden hoops in all of my kits for this reason.

Bamboo hoops are also great for the same reason but I’ve found that some of the bamboo hoops I’ve bought (especially from eBay) are mis-shapen. When a hoop isn’t perfectly round then it doesn’t hold the fabric tight and causes problems with stitching.

I’ve also found two different types of plastic hoops - those that have a screw (like the wooden/bamboo hoops) and those that have some flex. Personally I find that when I stitch in plastic hoops the fabric slips around too much. I am also trying to reduce the amount of plastic in my life so am not buying any more of this type of hoop. Any that I have left in my stash I'm using just for framing finished pieces.

Size

Embroidery hoops come in different sizes and will be measure by diameter so a 6 inch hoop will be that measurement across (not around). Some designs work best in certain sized hoops. In addition sometimes it can be better to stitch a design in a slightly larger hoop than you will display the finished work in (so you can stitch right to the edge of the available space.

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What you need to get started with embroidery

Embroidery is a great craft to try as you don’t need much equipment to get started. But if you want to start stitching what do you need?

1. An embroidery hoop

For pretty much every embroidery project you will stitch (especially as a beginner) you will need an embroidery hoop. The hoop keeps the fabric taut meaning when you take your finished piece out of the the hoop the stitches will lie flat and the fabric won’t pucker.

2. Fabric

You need something to stitch onto. Woven fabrics are best to use as a beginner (rather than stretchy knit fabrics). If you are buying fabric then look for types such as cotton, calico. I started my embroidery journey stitching onto some cut up old shirts. You don’t have to stitch to neutral colours - pick any colour that makes you want to stitch, you could even stitch onto patterned fabric.

My favourite fabric to stitch onto is lightweight calico as it has a bit of stability to it and the needle slips easily through.

3. A pattern

You don’t necessarily need a pattern to start embroidering, you could just create a stitch sampler to try out different embroidery stitches.

I recommend for beginners to start with a pattern that you love and just have a go. There are so many embroidery patterns out there both free and paid for. I started embroidery when I saw a pattern from Sarah K. Benning and loved it so much I just had to stitch it. I paid for that pattern and I encourage you to support embroidery artists by buying patterns from them if you can. The benefit of a paid pattern is that they tend to come with stitch guides and other support.

But there are plenty of free patterns available - take a look at my free patterns. Also DMC (makers of embroidery floss) have a huge archive of free patterns as well.

So pick some that you like and download them and see if they give you the support you need.

4. A pencil or air/heat/water erasable pen

To start stitching your chosen pattern you need to transfer your design onto your fabric. It isn’t as complicated as it seems and I have a couple of blog posts to help you transfer a digital pattern and to transfer a paper pattern. If this part fills you with fear then take a look at my floral and sunflower kits as the pattern is printed directly onto the fabric.

5. Floss

Most traditional embroidery is stitched with 6 stranded embroidery floss. The pattern that you pick will often tell you which brand of floss was used and the colour code.

You don’t actually need to use the exact colour or brand that is suggested in the pattern. My first embroidery I created using floss I’d bought from the £1 shop. Yes the floss quality can be variable and a bit fluffy rather than smooth and silky. But this is your first piece of embroidery - it isn’t going to be perfect.

If you want to stitch with the branded floss then go for it! Got some other types of thread such as sewing cotton or thin yarn, you could give them a try too. The key is just to start and see how it turns out.

6. Needle

Got one of those free sewing kits you picked up in a hotel back years ago? You can use the needle from that or any other needle you’ve got lying around as long as it’s got a pointy end (if you do cross stitch those needles have a rounded end and aren’t any good for embroidery).

Yes there are different types of needle for different types of sewing (I’ve got a blog post which talks you through five different needle types for hand embroidery) but as long as you can thread the needle with your chosen floss you are good to go.

7. Scissors

Scissors are useful for a number of reasons - to cut your fabric to the right size and to snip the ends of your thread. You can get specialist sharp embroidery scissors but in reality any scissors you have around the house that can snip fabric or thread will do.

That’s the seven items you need to get started with embroidery. If you buy one of my kits you’ll get items 1-6 included (I’m hoping to give you some add on scissor options in the future).

Want to know what to do with these items once you’ve gathered them - my 20-page free ebook Getting Started With Embroidery will guide you through the next steps.

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How to trace a paper embroidery pattern

When I first started embroidering I used patterns from books and designs I found for free or purchased which I downloaded and printed. However, in order to know what elements to stitch and where you need to transfer the pattern onto the fabric. This is one of the most challenging steps for a novice embroiderer so in this blog post I’ll walk you through how to go about transferring paper patterns onto fabric.

This method works best for thinner and lighter coloured fabrics, if the fabric is too dark or too thick then you’ll need to use another method of transfer such as carbon paper, tissue paper or water soluble paper (blog posts to come on these).

In order to transfer a paper pattern you need a source of light. There are two main options a light box (or light box app on a tablet device) and a window.

I’ll walk you through using a window, if you want more information on using a light box app on a tablet device head over to this blog post that takes you through this method (the only difference being you would just lay the paper pattern on top of a plain white screen in the app).

The benefit of using a window is that you can trace much larger patterns than you can on a tablet.

I recommend using an air, water or heat soluble pen for tracing, for more information about the different pens you can use for transferring patterns take a look at this blog post.

• Start by making sure that you have the ‘right’ side of the fabric facing towards the inner hoop and stretching the fabric in the hoop as tight as possible

• Tape the paper pattern to the window

• Press the hoop up to the window and line it up with any guidelines on the pattern

• Start by tracing the main elements

• If you need to move the hoop to see whether you have missed anything use the main elements to help re-align the fabric on the pattern

• Trace any smaller elements or details

• Loosen the hoop and turn the fabric over so that the ‘right’ side is on the same side as the outer hoop

Need some patterns to practice you tracing? Take a look at my shop where I have some PDF patterns available.

How to trace a digital embroidery pattern on a tablet

When I’m stitching personal projects I prefer to trace the pattern I’m going to use from a digital image rather than a printer one (mainly because I have a very old printed that’s a bit of a faff to set up and never seems to have ink or paper!) This method does only work for projects that are no bigger than your tablet screen. For bigger projects then the paper based method is probably best.

First up take a screenshot of the pattern - how you do this will depend on your type and model of tablet. For iPads there are instructions on the Apple support site. Save this image to your photos.

I have an iPad and use an app called Lightbox Trace. There are other apps out there but I like the simplicity of this app.

When you open up the app you get this rather boring grey screen. Tap on the button in the bottom left of the screen and select the pattern image from your photo library.

Resize the image so that it is the right size for the hoop you are using.

Then click on the ‘padlock’ icon (second from the right on the tool bar.

This will lock the image and stop it moving around. You should also see your screen noticeably brighter.

Make sure that you’ve added your fabric to you hoop and it’s as tight as possible. Flip the hoop over so that you can see the inner ring and the fabric can lie flat on the screen.

Line the hoop up over the screen and press down so the hoop doesn’t move around. You should be able to see the pattern through the fabric. If the fabric is thick or dark then this method probably isn’t going to work.

Using a pencil or air/water/heat erasable pen make smooth rather than sketchy lines as you trace the pattern.

If you need to move the hoop to check that you have traced all parts of the pattern, carefully re-align the hoop before you continue tracing.

Got your own supplies and just need a pattern? I have PDF versions of a selection of my designs in the shop. I also share a free pattern in my newsletter each month - you can sign up here or find past patterns here.

Five pens for transferring embroidery patterns

There are more ways than ever for getting patterns transferred onto fabric to stitch on such as pre-printed fabric, carbon paper, water soluble paper. But if you are drawing your own pattern or just want a basic transfer methods then all you need is a pen. There are 5 main pens you can use for transferring embroidery patterns:

• pencil - whilst not strictly a pen this is a very good option if you are just starting out in embroidery, you just need to draw slow and steady as if you don’t draw accurately you could see the pencil marks show or you have to alter your stitching to cover them up

• biro - I’ve see some embroiderers use a biro but you have to be brave to go with this option! At least with pencil it can fade/wash out, biro is a commitment. The only time I use biro is when working with felt as it draws really well on this surface

• water erasable - this was the first type of specialist pen I tried, in general it works well, but you have to wet your embroidery all over to get rid of it, this can mean that there are wrinkles in the fabric when it all dries. I’ve also found that some pens require more than one wash to remove

• air erasable - the one I bought had a really fine tip which was great for drawing embroideries, however you have to work quickly! The one I had was meant to last 48 hours but the drawing started disappearing in minutes - not helpful

• heat erasable - I’d seen a few embroiderers on Instagram recommend this so I purchased some and I’m really impressed. I just run my hairdryer over the fabric once I’ve finished and the pen marks disappear. I did have once incident when I managed to erase a tracing by accident as it was stuck to another piece I was using the hairdryer on but that was user error rather than the pen!

Overall I’d recommend either a pencil or a heat erasable pen (Pilot frixon is the make I use ) for transferring embroideries.

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Six techniques for embellishing with sequins

Sequins are great for adding a bit of sparkle to a project but how is best to attach them?

1. Single stitch

A single through the centre to one edge is the easiest way to attach a sequin. It works well whether you are using invisible thread, matching thread or contrasting thread. It’s also a great technique to use if you are overlapping sequins. But it’s not the best technique to use if your piece will be rubbing against something else as the sequins can flip or bend.

2. Multiple stitches

These give a much more secure finish. Most commonly I’d just use two stitches at 180 degrees to give the look of a continual line but you could use three, four or more stitches in a more decorative fashion - the more stitches the more secure the sequin. I tend to use invisible beading thread for this technique as I want the focus to be on the sequin rather than the thread.

3. Sequin trims

Trims are great for adding a line of sequins quickly. Sequin trims come ready stitched onto thread so to attach these you just need to couch the thread or stitch through the sequins using small straight stitches. When working with sequin trim you need to plan how you secure the start and edge of the trim. You can slip a couple of sequins off the trim and then fold the thread under and couch this in place. Alternatively slip off a few more and then sew the end of the trim through to the wrong side and secure there.

4. Sequin patches

There are some amazing sequin patches available and these are the easiest way to add sequins to a large area or in a particular pattern with minimal effort. You just need to so some small straight stitches to secure the patch. The only thing to consider when using patches is that you get the right size as these can be difficult to trim to the right size without all the sequins falling off!

5. Beads

I love combining the sparkle of sequins with even more shininess by using a seed bead to secure sequins. Just bring the needle up through the centre hole, thread on a bead and then take the needle back down the centre hole. Because the bead is bigger than the hole it keeps the sequin nice and snug.

6. French knots

These can work in a similar way to beads to secure a sequin, rather than sewing on a bead, you just use one or more French knots to hold the sequin in place. The one thing you do need to make sure is that the finished knot or group of knots is much bigger than the hole, if they are just slightly bigger then the sequin could pop off the knot if rubbed the wrong way. It is best not to use this technique for sequins that will have regular rubbing/contact for this reason.

Want to try embellishing some sequins? I include sequins in my floral stitch sampler kit and my spring blossom kit.

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4 ways to finish the back of embroidery hoops

You’ve stitched your piece and you want to proudly hang it in a hoop on the wall. But for it to lie flat on the wall you need to finish off the back of the hoop.

There are several different ways to do this:

1. Glue

This is great if you know you don’t want to use the hoop for another purpose at a later date and perfect if you’ve not got enough fabric to gather. Just get your glue gun out and work round the hoop section by section

2. Gathering

The easiest non-permanent way to finish a hoop by stitching around the edge of the fabric at the back of the hoop and gently pulling the threads to tighten the edges. Just use a large running stitch round the edge of the fabric and gently pul until the fabric has gathered. You can get an even flatter finish if you criss-cross the threads at tension across the back of the hoop as well.

3. Cardboard

This is my current favourite as it is so simple, works best if you’ve already gathered the lose fabric although you can sometimes get away with not having done this. Just draw round the inner hoop on a bit of cardboard and cut it out inside the line, trimming by a small amount if the card board still doesn’t fit

4. Felt

This gives the most professional finish again you need to gather the fabric first before carefully stitching the felt on to the fabric. Draw round the inner hoop on the felt and then attach with either running stitch or blanket stitch

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Five needle types you need to know about for hand embroidery

My favourite pin cushion isn’t a pin cushion but a ‘needle’ cushion. I’ve accumulated many needles over the years and in this pin cushion I can sort them into their different types (I also love that they look like the spines on a cactus).

I find that most of the time it doesn’t matter what type of needle I use (as long as it has a decent point, a big enough eye and isn’t too thick) but it’s well worth being able to tell the different types of needles apart.

Here are the five different types of needles I use for hand embroidery (shown from left to right in the picture below):

• Sharps - are used for general hand sewing, they have a small eye as generally only one strand of sewing thread is used at a time

• Crewel - this is the needle to use for hand embroidery it has a slightly longer eye than a sharps needle to allow threading of multiple strands of thread

• Tapestry - has a large eye & blunt end to pass thick tapestry yarn through canvas without splitting it, thinner versions are also used for cross stitch

• Chenille - is a cross between a sharps needle and a tapestry needle in that there is a large eye and a sharp point, it’s great for stitching with yarn on fabric (rather than canvas)

• Beading - the thinnest needle so that it can fit through the smallest seed bead hole it is long and thin and can be very difficult to thread, it’s also really flexible.

Each of these comes in different lengths or thicknesses and if you want to read more about different needle types, diameter, lengths and what those numbers mean in terms of sizes then John James have a great needle guide.

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How to gather the fabric at the back of an embroidery hoop

Once you’ve finished your embroidery and want to put it on display the easiest way to do this is to display it in the hoop you stitched it in. 

Many of the different techniques to finish off the back of an embroidery hoop for display require the fabric to be gathered first so that none of the excess fabric peaks out and so it also lies flat on the wall. 

• Before you start you may need to straighten up the embroidery in the hoop and make sure the screw fixture is at the top of the hoop as this is how you will hang it on the wall. Don’t forget once you have straightened it up to re-screw the fabric as tight as possible.

• Trim any excess fabric, but don’t trim too close to the hoop - you need some fabric to be able to overlap to the inner hoop for all methods about 1.5-2cm is perfect (it doesn’t need to be trimmed in a perfect circle but just make sure you get as close as you can). 

• Take a long length of normal sewing thread - long enough to go round the circumference of the hoop twice (to give some nice long ends to pull on to gather).  

• Tie a BIG knot in one end - it doesn’t have to be neat as it will get the chop later - but you do need to make sure that it won’t pop through the weave of the fabric as you sew

• Stitch around the fabric in a running stitch - each stitch should be reasonably long (around 1cm). Your stitches should be about 5mm from the edge of the fabric but don’t worry if it isn’t even from the edge all the way round.  

• Once you’ve stitched all the way round and get back to the starting point, gently pull on the knot end slightly whilst holding the other end so you have two tails.

• Then pull on one of the tails while holding the other to gather the fabric. Once it is gathered maintain the tension and tie the two tails together. It is tricky to maintain the tension so do a single knot first and then pull to tighten before doing the second (double) knot. Don’t pull too hard otherwise you risk breaking the thread.

• You can either leave it like this or pull the fabric at the back extra tight by stitching across the back from opposite side to opposite side.

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One rule for picking the right thread for your embroidery project

When you are first starting out learning embroidery the default recommendation is to use six-stranded embroidery floss. This thread is great for the traditional styles of hand embroidery but don’t assume that this is the only thread you can stitch with. If you want to start experimenting more with embroidery, changing up the thread you are using is a surefire way to get a different look.

But the one rule I wan to share if you are going to experiment in this way by using different threads is …

“The type of thread you use should match the project that you are making”

‘Of course’ you may be shouting at your screen right now but let me explain a bit more.

There are so many different types and styles of embroidery - gold work, Hardanger, canvaswork and not to mention modern embroidery artist such as Elizabeth Pawle artists who work with yarns rather than floss.

Some of the more traditional styles of embroidery use particular threads for very good reasons:

Gold work

This technique uses thicker threads so that you can see the beautiful gold detailing that this style is based on.

Hardanger

Size 5 & 8 perle cotton is used for this type of embroidery because you need this thickness of thread to hold the warp and weft threads when you cut out the holes.

canvas work

When working on canvas then using tapestry wool is best to make sure the larger holes in the canvas are covered up appropriately.

Modern embroidery

I like to use yarn (I have a big stash from knitting and crocheting projects). The main reason for this is that the yarn fills up the larger space much quicker than floss would. But it also creates a different look and feel to the piece.

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To knot or not to knot when hand embroidering

In the ‘old days’ the quality of the back of the embroidery was as important as the front as it showed a lady’s skill in embroidery.

I’m a real advocate of knotting the thread when starting or finishing my embroidery. Why? Because I’m a bit lazy and I don’t always pay attention when starting off a new thread and have ended up pulling the thread completely through after one or two stitches (and roll my eyes every time I do this).

But there are certain occasions where even I will not knot:

• when the back does need to look identical to the front such as in Hardanger

• when the embroidery needs to lie completely flat such as for pieces that are framed

• embroidering on clothes where a knot in the wrong place could be irritating

• where the fabric just won’t take a knot as the holes are too big

• when you are stitching on thin fabric and everything going on in the back of the work shows through

The photos below show the difference between a piece where knots were used and a piece where they weren’t used, but no-one is going to see these when these pieces are on display.

Do you knot or not knot?

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5 tips to avoid thread tangles in your embroidery project

It seems so simple - you just want one or two threads from the six stranded floss … and 30 seconds later you have a big old tangle that you spend 5 minutes wrestling with before you win or give up.

Thread tangles are not unique to embroidery, every thread or yarn based craft I’ve ever tried I’ve had instances of that big tangled mess.

But since I’ve been embroidering there are a few things I’ve learned about working with embroidery floss that help to avoid the tangles. Here are my 5 top tips to avoid tangles:

1. pull the thread from the bottom of the skein (the long label end)

Most embroidery threads are manufactured and packaged in this way to prevent such tangles. It’s such a simple thing to remember to do to prevent tangles.

2. don’t cut the thread too long

It can be tempting to pull a really long length of thread so that you don’t run out of thread too quickly when you are in your stitching flow. I normally pull 2 full skein lengths or about the length of my fingers to my elbow.

3. pull your strands from the middle of your cut length

Most embroidery patterns require you to use one or two strands of floss for a section of stitching. Separating strands is normally where I end up in tangles. But ever since I was given the tip to separate the strands in the middle of your cut thread and use your fingers to run the strand to the end, I’ve all but eliminated the tangles.

4. pull each strand out separately

When threads are manufactured they are twisted to create each strand and each strand is twisted together to make the six stranded floss. So if you need two strands pull out two strands of one rather than two strands together, this just releases the twisting from the manufacturing process. Then just bring them back together and smooth them out.

5. keep an eye on twists

Each time you pull the thread through the fabric it twists slightly and twists twist upon themselves to create tangles. If you do find your thread twisting, periodically just let the needle and thread dangle and it will untwist itself.

And one final bonus tip (that I’ve not yet cracked!) periodically keep an eye on the back of your work to prevent knots and tangles while you are stitching. I’d love to hear from you if you have any other tips to help avoid the tangles just add a comment below.

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The basics of using an embroidery hoop

An embroidery hoop is vital to creating a great finished look for your embroidery project.

It’s important to stretch the fabric taut to keep the stitches you make even, if the fabric is too lose then you will often unwittingly pull the stitches marginally too tight meaning the fabric can’t lie flat due to the uneven tension when you remove it from the hoop.

There are a few different types of embroidery hoop, but the most common is the wooden hoop with a screw fixture.

Ideally the size of the hoop should be big enough to display the whole area you are going to stitch but this isn’t vital unless you are working with beads or other embellishments.

• To get started loosen the screw slightly (you don’t need to unscrew it all the way) until the inner hoop separates from the outer hoop.

• Lie the inner hoop down and place the ironed fabric over the inner hoop so that it is central.

• Place the outer hoop over the inner hoop and gently press down, you may need to unscrew the outer hoop a little further if you have any difficulty in pushing the outer hoop down.

• The tighten the screw as tight as you can so that the fabric is like the skin of a drum, you can pull each side of the fabric to make sure it is as taut as possible.

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Four things to know about working with metallic thread

​New Years Eve 2018 I was lucky enough to view the fireworks from the 10th floor balcony of a building that overlooks the Thames.  ​

When my parents moved house my Mum de-stashed (not by very much her home studio is still full!) I inherited some lovely metallic threads in a range of colours. ​ To play around with these threads I stitched this firework embroidery sampler. 

Some things I learned from stitching with metallic threads:​

• they tangle

• they split

• they wear at the point where they pass through the eye of the needle

• they are much rougher than normal embroidery floss

The top tip for working with metallic threads is to keep the lengths of threads you use much shorter than you would normally stitch with - this will help immensely with the tangling, splitting and wearing.

These threads are rougher than normal floss, normally as the metallic part is wrapped around a thinner inner thread. it can make some stitches such as French knots more challenging. It doesn’t mean you can’t stitch these, but I’d recommend so practice and patience! The rougher thread also means that trying to undo a tangle is particularly horrendous

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