• Home
  • Shop
  • Stitch Showcase
  • Embroidery tips
  • Freebies
  • About
  • Contact
Menu

Embellished Elephant

  • Home
  • Shop
  • Stitch Showcase
  • Embroidery tips
  • Freebies
  • About
  • Contact
A picture of some white drawn thread embroidery. Overlaid is a blue square with white text saying - hand embroidery, what is perle (pearl) thread?, www.embellishedelephant.co.uk

What is perle (pearl) thread?

September 7, 2022

The most common embroidery thread that you can buy in shops is six stranded embroidery floss. But you may also come across a type of thread called pearl or perle.

Pearl (or perle) thread is not stranded thread which means that you can’t separate out the strands to stitch with. You need to use the thread as it comes. It is therefore a much thicker thread and whilst you can use it for embroidery there are few things to bear in mind.

  • You’ll need a needle with a larger eye

  • Fewer stitches are needed to fill an area

  • It has a different texture and sheen to stranded floss

  • It’s great to couch with as it has a thicker texture

  • You need to use it for some styles of embroidery such as Hardanger or drawn thread embroidery (pictured above)

Enjoyed this blog post? I share embroidery tips and a free embroidery pattern in my monthly newsletter. Sign up here to receive the newsletter on the 1st of each the month.

In tips 3 Tags Thread
← Three tips to care for your finished embroideryWhich brand of embroidery thread should I use? →

Tags

  • About me
  • Artists/Designers
  • Basics
  • Christmas
  • colour
  • Couching Stitch
  • Fabric
  • Filling Stitch
  • Finishing
  • Hoops
  • Isolated Stitch
  • Line Stitch
  • London
  • My Makes
  • Needles
  • Stitch Showcase
  • Texture Stitch
  • Thread
  • Transfer
  • Travel

Latest Posts

Featured
Jun 1, 2025
What is stranded embroidery thread?
Jun 1, 2025
Jun 1, 2025
May 1, 2025
How to manage your backlog of craft projects
May 1, 2025
May 1, 2025
Apr 1, 2025
What to do if you don't like what you've stitched
Apr 1, 2025
Apr 1, 2025
Feb 15, 2025
How to decide which embroidery stitch to use
Feb 15, 2025
Feb 15, 2025
Feb 1, 2025
Focus on stitches for flowers
Feb 1, 2025
Feb 1, 2025
Jan 1, 2025
Focus on stitches for leaves
Jan 1, 2025
Jan 1, 2025
Nov 1, 2024
Stitch Showcase: Six-pointed star stitch
Nov 1, 2024
Nov 1, 2024
Oct 1, 2024
Focus on transferring or tracing patterns
Oct 1, 2024
Oct 1, 2024
Sep 1, 2024
Focus on hoops
Sep 1, 2024
Sep 1, 2024
Aug 1, 2024
A focus on needles
Aug 1, 2024
Aug 1, 2024

Home — Shop — Stockists — Wholesale — Portfolio — Contact — Reviews — Policies — FAQs