Spit: the Magical Adhesive!

[lag28wa]

Haha. I was just sitting here winding plastic bobbins from some new and old threads I had, and some I got from my mom. The ones that I am winding directly from the skein are easy because they're still intact one length, well easy except for my obsessing over laying each wrap of thread directly next to the one before it. I'll go mad soon, don't worry.

But I digress, the threads I got from my mom are on badly worn and thoroughly loved cardboard bobbins that are kind of falling apart, so I was transferring at least the larger amounts of those colors on to my plastic ones. Well in a lot of cases, you can see she's already cut her thread into 8-9 inch lengths. So it can get a little tricky handling the end of one thread and trying to mesh in the beginning of another thread! Well for someone as anal as me at least. So what do I do? Wet the end of both down with spit to get them to stick for a bit while I wrap over my splice job!

It just occurred to me how odd this is as I was doing it. I sure am using a lot of spit.

So stitchers, what do you use your "Magical Adhesive" for? Or do you have a more, sanitary, conventional way of doing things,

[clockwork]

Well, I must advise against what you are doing. Spit is acidic and over time will degrade your floss.

[lag28wa]

And I worried about that too! I think I m gonna have to try to just hold the pieces together for a few seconds until I can wrap over the join!

[clockwork]

Definitely safer. You actually shouldn't use spit for ANYTHING in cross stitch, though I will admit to occasionally licking the end of a piece of floss to thread it through a needle easier.

[ali-cat]

With cut pieces of floss I wrap the majority around the bobbin and then wind one or two lengths, in a diagonal over them, to secure.

I also lick the ends of floss before threading but I must try to stop it – unfortunately it's part of my natural stitching regime now!!

[agi]

I lick the end of thread, too, but I try to leave that end as the part that I cut off when I finish the thread.

[Nachstenliebe]

Well it worked!
I'm curious.... I know that your spit naturally has acid in it to break stuff down and stuff... how long would it take for the spit to do any damage to thread?
Faith

[Capricious]

Erm, people, I'm a science student, so please take my word for it. Spit is alkaline or basic - like soap. Spit is NOT acidic. Also, the only thing the enzymes in spit can degrade is complex sugars into finer sugars, and nothing else. This is why anything you eat tastes sweeter the longer you chew it. The enzymes themselves degrade pretty quickly, so they are not effective that long anyways. So all in all, there is no danger to your needlework in using spit (unless you are using starch I guess, but even then the effects would be negligible).

[kazzi29]

thanks for that cap! i was starting to wonder coz i always 'lick' my thread to get it through the needle!

[ali-cat]

Brilliant!! I can start sucking my threads again!!

[Mabel Figworthy]

I'm about to start winding 84 Carrie's Creations threads, and they come in "handy" 1-yard lengths. I wish they wouldn't, but there you have it. So I lay the ends across my empty bobbin at right angles to the winding, then wind the threads one by one over those loose ends (bit difficult to explain, sorry) -- 'cause i can't fit eight threads in those little nicks at the top of the bobbin

[Rose]

I have been licking my stitching for years now and have never had anything fall apart because of it. I think it would take more then a couple of life times to have it make a problem but then I also wash my stitching so there you have it.

If a piece of floss is being very difficult (because of frogging ) I have been known to run the whole piece through my mouth and moist it up so that it stitches better.

[clockwork]

Erm, people, I'm a science student, so please take my word for it. Spit is alkaline or basic - like soap. Spit is NOT acidic.

*shakes fist at lying teachers who always told her spit was acidic*

[karen4bells]

I have been licking my stitching for years now and have never had anything fall apart because of it. I think it would take more then a couple of life times to have it make a problem but then I also wash my stitching so there you have it.

If a piece of floss is being very difficult (because of frogging ) I have been known to run the whole piece through my mouth and moist it up so that it stitches better.

Glad to know I am NOT the only one that does that!! I've yet to see any deterioration of any of my stitching either and some of them are over 17 yrs old

[Serinde]

Science! We loves it!

[Catwoman]

When I did patchwork I was told that if I pricked my finger with a needle and accidentally got blood on the fabric, then my own spit was the only thing that removed the blood completely.

[Capricious]

Glad to be of service!

[Raven]

If a piece of floss is being very difficult (because of frogging ) I have been known to run the whole piece through my mouth and moist it up so that it stitches better.

I do that too! Usually when I reuse a length of floss after frogging it from the fabric, provided the floss isn't frayed or anything.

HUGS
Raven

[stitchenaddict]

I always wet the end of my thread with my mouth before threading. My 3 y/o neice wanted to sew like me, so I bought her one of the kids cards with yarn and the plastic needle... The first thing she did was run the entire piece of yarn through her mouth... when she was done, she had to spit out pieces of the yarn. The look on her face was priceless. I could see the thought running across her mind... "she actually does this" Hilarious!

[Mabel Figworthy]

I do wet the ends but have found that trying to do that with Caron Impressions (silk/wool) just gives you "fluff mouth" and doesn't do anything to make it easier to thread the needle! So in that case, and with crewel wool, I fold over the end of the thread round the needle's eye and then thread it through.