How do you organize your floss?

[kelleyjogirl]

I'm loving hearing about everyone different storage systems. There are some really cool things out there, but I'm not even tempted to abandon my bobbins. They just make sense to me, and they take up so little space. I guess I was meant to be a bobbin girl.

[Cora]

I'm loving hearing about everyone different storage systems. There are some really cool things out there, but I'm not even tempted to abandon my bobbins. They just make sense to me, and they take up so little space. I guess I was meant to be a bobbin girl.
~Kelley

Me too.

[mattcrossstitches]

Thus far I've only had occasion to use DMC floss. I keep them in numerical order on plastic bobbins in the DMC floss boxes... and even the DMC stickers. I'm a sucker, what can I say.

(Somewhat ridiculously, one of those floss boxes, complete with 50 plastic bobbins, sells at my local Michael's for $2.99... and a package of 28 plastic bobbins by themselves sells for $3.50. )

On a project, I keep the bobbins together in a Ziploc bag. I used to cut off single strands, but now I cut off a whole length at once and store the remaining strands by tying them onto the hole with a ring knot. As I generally like to finish entire colours at once if the project lends itself to that, I return used colours to the box as I go.

And I keep track of my floss using the Cross Stitch Guild's iPhone app

I haven't yet done one of the ginormous projects with zillions of colours; if I do it'll take some thinking to come up with a more efficient system for floss management during projects...

[curly sue]

Most of my floss bobbins are cardboard now. I started with plastic using the DMC stickers. The other day I found one that had dried up and fallen off (sticker)! I guess I'll switch over to all cardboard, as I would just as soon write on them.

[Strawberry Fields]

I use bobbins (plastic, but mostly cardboard) and label them using stickers. They're stored in two plastic containers. I like to keep track of what colors I have on an inventory sheet. Makes for easy checking and shopping when I start new projects!

[kinley626]

I've been keeping inventory of my threads with an app called Thread Tracker. Unfortunately it only allows for DMC tracking, so I use an excel spreadsheet for specailty threads, fabrics, charts, etc... I was very tempted by the Cross Stitch Guild app, but the price made me hesitate. Would love to hear what some of you who have it think about it.

[QueenOfHearts]

On bobbins in boxes (I only have 3 boxes so far) and the DMC box bobbins are colour numbered.

[richardandtracy]

I have two plastic bags and all my floss goes into them. I have one bag for 'Current project floss' and a second for 'Completed project leftovers'. That's the level of organisation I have.

Regards,

Richard.

[hms90]

I have a small box with cardboard bobbins.

Most of my thread is leftovers from previous projects as usually i run out of a colour so buy a whole skein of it, and only use a little. Then they are ordered numerically.

For current projects the floss is stored in the same box but in a different section. Then the cloth and anything else i need, plus the box are all in a canvas sort of bag that has cats on it

[smilelynzi]

I have mine in floss holders on plastic bobbins that i got all at the craft store. two cases of it so far, still lots to collect, buy a few colors here and there as i need them. I only use DMC thread and have to find a conversion chart online sometimes to do a project. it's all sorted by number.

[SerenityStitches]

For projects I am working on, I like to keep mine on bows (DMC) and then I store them in a DMC stitch roll case.
I love this because when I travel, they roll up all nice and neat.

[Brekkana]

Never did get into the wind a bobbin bit, my mom never did, and she usually used a shoebox for her current projects. Now, I have to be more organized than that, having kids and a cat, lol, and so I buy the bags from Hobby Lobby and use rings ... big rings to hold all the colors for one project, little rings for the given colors in the area I am working. I probably have 3-4 duplicates of the common colors, as I refuse to share colors between projects lol. In fact, I just finished organizing my newest project's colors last night ... just waiting for the fabric to be shipped to me ... but there were some very good ideas in here, I might borrow a couple to try out ... if I can find a binder in a box, that is ...

[Sojourner]

Plastic bobbins in divided box - one for each project, with spares in others. I stick to DMC, as my favourite charts are all in their colours, and have one of those little bobbin winders to get the skeins onto the plastic. Right now the current project has nearly 90 colours, so just about fills one of the divided boxes.
On a slightly different thread ( ), as the WIP has lots of confetti, I tend to use much shorter lengths than usual: say 9" rather than 18",enough for 1,2,or a few stitches. As my granny used to say, "A lazy cobbler uses a long thread"......

[jillyann]

Plastic snack bags on 2 rings. One on each side. Works much better than just one ring. Also i use mini chalkboard labels to write down the floss number and symbol. When i finish a project i just erase the symbol and write down the symbol for floss colour for new project.

[Brekkana]

Totally inspired by this post here, I went from baggy style like this:


top


bottom

(Of which I have two full rings like this, just for my two whips)

To a different way of organizing:



Of course, I just now finished setting up 108 colors, and am currently using a folder with brads, and will need to get a proper binder later. But this will make taking all my colors to work with me a snap! Only set up for my Colorful Kitten so far, will tackle Fantasy Fairy's colors tomorrow. I will say, drawing some of the symbols tested my stick figure artistry, and so I will still probably half to double check with chart haha, but I feel rather proud

[Mabel Figworthy]

Looks very attractive as well as organised!

[19Roland19]

My mom never wound her threads. (Her yarn for knitting sometimes, but never her threads.) She kept them in an old candy tin. I have no idea where she got it. I remember using threads from that tin in the early sixties. It was from China. My mom never went to China. My sister and I split up her crafting stuff between us and I got the tin. I use it for buttons.

I use bobbins for my DMC, and keep them in alphabetical order. I have extra plastic cases for holding the threads I'm currently using.

I also use an app to keep track of what colours I need. That way my list is always with me in case I end up at a craft store unexpectedly.

[lillybit]

I started stitching 70 years ago with my mother instruction and that included never winding threads onto anything in case they got stretched. I use Bank coin bags with my threads sorted into their 100's and then in a tin in number order so finding any thread is so easy. Setting up a new project I take the thread I need and place everything in an A4 zip lock bag and work from that until it is complete.

[Kathy_A]

I just got started on a really huge project with lots of different colors of floss and at least 90% of the stitches will be in blended colors (yes, it's a Scarlet Quince piece!). So, what I ended up doing was buy three new plastic floss bins for just this project, pulled out the flosses that I already have, bought three new packs of cardboard bobbins (the plastic ones never work for me since the number labels never stay on), bought all the new floss I didn't already have and wound everything on bobbins, and got started. As I need a new blended length of threads, I cut an 18-24 inch long piece of both, separate out one thread from each length, then wind the unused thread onto a new bobbin and stick the appropriate label onto it (I went back and bought the labels for my pattern after I realized it would just make things so much easier!). The blended bobbins go into one of the bins in no particular order as yet, although I think I'm going to put them in numerical order (as of the first number on the label) just to make things easier down the road.

[cairee]

Kathy A, thats exactly how I organised my threads for a SQ!