DMC, Anchor... the other one that sounds like some sort of cake? Which one is the best to use?
Also, anyone know a good site where I can order them from? I live in Manchester city centre and its not cross stitch friendly (or friendly in general to be honest )and the closest hobby craft is about an hour away as I dont drive and is charging £1.30 for DMC, seems a bit steep to me. Maybe I'm just tight though xx
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Hi Yelena, welcome to the forum! Because of the scarcity of local needlework shops, not to mention prices, many people buy their threads online; several places sell "in bulk" so you pay about 35p a skein if yo buy 50 or 100 -- that's not the exact price, but just to give you an idea.
There's been a thread about the differences (or lack thereof) between DMC and Anchor, it must still be around somewhere; not sure people discussed Madeira threads there, personally I've only used their silk and some of their metallics so can't help with that. I think the general conclusion was that people stitch with a) what they are used to and b) what is readily available to them
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Theres a little market/hut thing a bit our of town but their stuff is so old its covered in dust and dirt. I've been a few times hoping maybe I caught them on a bad day but it was like that every time.
Buying online isnt a problem, its always nice to get something other than bills in the post
I've just noticed a review of sites so I'm going to take a peek at the top rating ones
Believe me, an eternity in the company of Beelzebub, and all his hellish instruments of death, will be a picnic compared to five minutes with me... and this pencil.
Mabel Figworthy wrote: not sure people discussed Madeira threads there, personally I've only used their silk and some of their metallics so can't help with that.
FWIW, I've used Madeira's six-strand cotton floss several times. It's a great product. It strands easily, has good coverage and very nice sheen. The packaging is a love/hate affair. I hate it.
I've picked up some good bargains for threads on ebay. I got a few boxes of them where people have stopped stitching and want to sell off their floss. You can't pick the colours of course, but you can get a good start on having your own collection this way.
I know a few have bought threads from Katz on ebay and I got a really good deal on some from Hong Kong which were the real thing and a great price. Haven't seen him doing them for awhile though.
I also had a 'floss fairy', one of our U.S members, who picked up a bundle of threads for some of us on the forum when they were on offer and that worked out alot cheaper for us all as well.
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I'd love to be able to do a couple of little patterns as cards etc but dont have any thread
Believe me, an eternity in the company of Beelzebub, and all his hellish instruments of death, will be a picnic compared to five minutes with me... and this pencil.
This is the link to the other discussion. It was on top of page 4 in the General section.
Up on the top of each page is a Search box. We tend to be a chatty group so if there is a question you have... what is frogging? what is HAED? who lives near me? you can use that search box to find posts on this site. Also, its either on the first page of the General or the Tips and Tricks section where Rose has a listing of commonly used terms, types of stitches, types of fabrics, how to post photos, etc.
I have used both DMC and Anchor and don't see a difference in them. I have yet to stitch with Madeira though I do have a couple packages.
I got a lot of floss off ebay which is how I finally got a full set of DMC and am three-quarters to having a full set of Anchor. You can get some real good deals on ebay, just be careful to ensure that it is real DMC or Anchor that you are getting.
I have a really good store in my town (although there too expensive), but the saleslady telled me that the difference between Anchor and DMC is the color intensity. And I thought I read it on the HAED site too. They have a few charts with Anchor threads now.
I've bought DMC threads at one of the needlecraft shows from Ash Tree Designs which they sell very cheaply.
I've never bought anything off them on line but here is their website in case you want to take a look. http://www.strandedcotton.co.uk/index.html" target="_blank" target="_blank
They have different price ranges depending how many you buy but the minimum you have to buy is 10 skeins.
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they are a fair bit cheaper than what I paid Cecilia, I'll book mark them for later. Though their postage is £2 flat out so I'll make sure to order a lot lol
I paid 64p each for my threads. I dont know what the correct term for them is. They are the ones that are looped together and held with little bits of paper- normal types as far as I know though there probably is a term
Believe me, an eternity in the company of Beelzebub, and all his hellish instruments of death, will be a picnic compared to five minutes with me... and this pencil.
I think the ones you've bought sound like DMC or Anchor. I think the correct term is skein but we know what you mean when you say 'threads' because most of us say threads or floss.
Completed 2017: Anniversary Sampler by The Sweetheart Tree
Love comforteth like sunshine after rain. Shakespeare
mig-3 wrote: FWIW, I've used Madeira's six-strand cotton floss several times. It's a great product. It strands easily, has good coverage and very nice sheen. The packaging is a love/hate affair. I hate it.
I concur wholeheartedly. Hate the packaging but the product is great. My preference generally is for DMC - easy to get, brighter, stronger colours than Anchor IMO.
I've ordered Anchor for this project. Dont believe I've ever used it before so I thought I'd give it a shot.
Believe me, an eternity in the company of Beelzebub, and all his hellish instruments of death, will be a picnic compared to five minutes with me... and this pencil.
Hi, Yelena. Madeira embroidery comes in a flat plastic pack like this:
The end of the thread is caught in the bottom edge of the package. You tear a notch at the thread and pull it out of the pack. If you look closely at the pic, you can see the nub of the thread peeking out.
Sorry for the poor photo quality. I only had time to grab one and snap a quick pic.
Believe me, an eternity in the company of Beelzebub, and all his hellish instruments of death, will be a picnic compared to five minutes with me... and this pencil.
)and the closest hobby craft is about an hour away as I dont drive and is charging £1.30 for DMC, seems a bit steep to me. Maybe I'm just tight though xx
There's nothing better than a good friend, except a good friend with CHOCOLATE! 
