I just saw a great tip for hand sewing on "Martha's Sewing Room" tv program. Run the thread thru beeswax and then iron the thread. The heat makes the beeswax penetrate into the thread and it's not wiped off on the fabric after a few stitches of the thread are pulled thru the fabric. She also says that silk thread won't knot or break or come unthreaded from the needle with this method. hmmmm.... that sounds almost too good to be true! ;-)
Leslie & The Furbabies in MO.
There's a similar technique I learned from Martha Pullen called 'stripping' or 'stranding'. ( I forget and we don't care.) You cut embroidery floss to practical lengths - about 15". Take them apart, place them on a towel and give them a whoosh of spray starch. When dry, the threads are much more agreeable to stitch with and look lots prettier. If you had a major production such as redwork quilt blocks, it would surely be worth the time. I will try the beeswax/ironing idea the next time I'm stitching goofy eyes on sheep or something. Thank you, Leslie. Polly
"Ruby" Ironing thread is way to advanced for me. LOL! But i imagine it works
My ironing board cover is well scorched and split right down the middle. Do you suppose it might be time to replace it? Polly
Oh yes. A new ironing board cover is a fun bright spot in the sewing room. I had some leftover fabric from the curtain and sewing machine covers so now they all coordinate. No scorch marks. Looks good. Cheap thrills. Taria
Preparing thread for hand-stitching or embroidery reminds me of the story about the guy chopping down a tree. He had been struggling, sweating, swearing and not making much in the way of progress. Somebody dared to ask, "Why don't you sharpen your axe?" "Don't have time," growled the guy. =) Polly
Yep, beeswax needs to be warmed into the fibers of the thread to work. In the old days of not as tightly wound spools of thread, the whole spool would be dropped into melted beeswax until soaked through. The basis of the "glazed" thread.
However, I prefer using Thread Heaven, which is made to work into the fibers with just finger heat. Lots faster and easier, especially when not near a heat source. Thread Heaven is a silicon based product that work well for me. I have even tamed rayon embroidery thread with it.
Have fun, Pati, in Phx
Hey, now. Really? I had no idea rayon embroidery thread had ever been tamed with anything. That stuff has a life of its own. Polly
"Pati, in Phx" < Yep, beeswax needs to be warmed into the fibers of the thread to work. In the old days of not as tightly wound spools of thread, the whole spool would be dropped into melted beeswax until soaked through. The basis of the "glazed" thread.
However, I prefer using Thread Heaven, which is made to work into the fibers with just finger heat. Lots faster and easier, especially when not near a heat source. Thread Heaven is a silicon based product that work well for me. I have even tamed rayon embroidery thread with it.
Have fun, Pati, in Phx
Polly Esther wrote:
The best thing to tame rayon floss or thread is good, old fashioned SPIT -- like from your tongue!!! When I do needlework with rayon, I cut my length of floss, run it through my mouth (AFTER I make sure I don't have anything but spit in there -- LOL) and then lay the piece of floss aside to dry -- only take a minute or so. Then I do as Pati in PHX does and run my length of floss through Thread Heaven. This keeps the ends of unraveling, etc. and the floss doesn't tangle much at all. FYI, when Thread Heaven first came on the market, the folks over at RCTNeedlework were up in arms arguing about the pros & cons. Those folks stitch with silk floss on silk fabric and expect their stuff to hang around for several generations. The thing most folks were upset about is that TH DOES NOT WASH OUT -- ever, under any circumstances -- and this bothered the stitchers. We even had one of the TH Customer Service people posting to the group answering questions!! IIRC we were told that TH was developed at the request of the textile restoration experts at the Smithsonian. They wanted something that would protect the textiles from sun, dirt, dust and other environmental nasties. At the same time, the substance had to be totally inert, colorless, odorless, acid free, chemically stable, etc. so that it didn't react with the textiles it was used on or yellow over time as beeswax does. It helps keep sewing thread & other fibers from tangling and helps the fiber glide through the ground fabric more easily. I use it on the silk, cotton, rayon, metallic & linen fibers that I stitch with. The only time I don't use it is when I stitch with one of the fibers that has any sort of fuzz or texture to it. Thread Heaven is great stuff and the little tiny bright blue box lasts a looooooong time. It is well worth the money, especially if you do a lot of hand stitching of any sort. CiaoMeow >^;;^<
PAX, Tia Mary >^;;^< (RCTQ Queen of Kitties) Angels can't show their wings on earth but nothing was ever said about their whiskers! Visit my Photo albums at
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