Beeswax or Thread Heaven?

[Capricious]

Hi everyone!

I have noticed that my floss is quite worn by the time I am putting in the last couple of stitches. Solutions to this issue that I have come across online is that:

a) use shorter strands of floss
b) use Thread heaven or Beeswax

I don't want to use shorter strands of floss, so option B it is for me. My question is this: which should I purchase? Thread heaven or Beeswax? I can purchase both readily enough, but want to know the pros and cons of each product. Which do you use, and why?

[Rose]

I usually only use Thread Heaven for metallic threads, my other floss I don't have a problem with.

I like the thread heaven just because it was made specifically for stitching.

[SusanF]

I use Thread Heaven too, but again like Rose usually only for metallics. It's well worth having in your stash, so why not give it a try anyway - it might well suit you for other floss too.

[helbel]

I use Thread Heaven, and sometimes not just on metallics, it does make ordinary floss glide much better, I really notice a difference when using it.

[Stitch]

I use Thread Heaven for all of my thread. I have also tried beeswax, but I hated it. It felt very crumbly on the thread and actually seemed to make fraying worse. I don't know if I just had a low quality beeswax, but I'm going to stick with the Thread Heaven. It really does help.

[Capricious]

I see. In that case, does thread heaven come out when you wash your piece? Does the product alter the appearance of the floss? If I don't wash it off, will there be bleaching effects on my floss in the future?

[Rose]

Since I wash ALL of my projects I can't say if it would be a problen if you do not wash it. I can't believe it would though. Google Thread Heaven, they have a web site and should be able to answer that questions you have about the product....

[Capricious]

I did some extensive searching online and got mixed answers. I was hoping that I might be swayed one way or another on this forum. I will give beeswax a go first. The method has been in use for centuries. Beeswax is supposedly not acid-free. This made me wonder if it damaged the floss in the long run. But I couldn't find a single mention of damage caused by beeswax to historic tapestries and such, and the makers back then most certainly used beeswax. If it doesn't work out for me, I'll try thread heaven.

[cinder]

I can say I tried beeswax before when I was doing regular embroidery and it never seemed to help my thread. Can't say that it made it worse, it just didn't help.

As a newbie to cross-stitch (newbie meaning I started teaching myself about 3 weeks ago), I went ahead and bought some Thread Heaven. It's *wonderful*. It really is. I promise. You should try it.

[Capricious]

Everyone, thank you so much for your input. I did actually give beeswax a try since I started this thread, and I have to say I liked how much more manageable my floss was. The threads were laying a lot better and tangling a lot less! The end result was neater cross-stitching. One day in the future I might pick up a box of thread heaven just to test run it, but I have to say beeswax gave me very pleasing results.