The pattern on the front cover of Embroidered Bags and Purses by the wonderful Country Bumpkin people includes petals composed of needlewoven picots. One part of the design calls for using 2 strands of thread and and laying 5 foundation threads. I had a very hard time distinguishing one set of threads from another as there's not much room from one side of the petal to the other. I tried separating the pairs with thin pins laid horizontally near the base of the petal. That didn't always help and was a major pain in my nether region. I finally ripped out what I had done and used 4 strands and 3 foundation layers to make the flowers a bit different than the other ones in the pattern.
Is there a way to keep the threads apart????