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rcperryls wrote:I use the plastic bobbins also and then use the plastic labels that DMC puts out to stick on the bobbins so that the number is pretty clear. I am sure there are other ways to label the bobbin, but that works for me and I dont think it is that expensive. I am sure masking tape or something like that would work as well.

Carole

I've gotten addicted to the DMC plastic bobbins too!



Knowns, on the left. Stuff I was too stupid to label some 6+ years ago, on the right.

Someday, I'll figure out which is which. XD

Edit: I'm about 90% certain that one of the oranges in the 'unknown' pile is a match for an orange I just bought today =o

This is a great thread full of so many ideas! I used to keep my floss in the plastic separated boxes with the cardboard bobbins. I think I had maybe 5 full ones when I sold everything. Just ordered a new box and the plastic bobbins to start rebuilding. I'm using my label maker to make numbered labels. I used to write the numbers on them but love the look of the labels.

One trick I used to do was to use wooden laundry clips to hold pieces of floss. I had a stand-up metal stand to hold my pattern in place (used a magnet). When I would cut off pieces that were still usable, I would clip them to the stand with the wood clips and wrote the color number on the clip. Occasionally the project had a lot of colors I'd have a lot of clips running around the stand but it definitely kept me organized.

I used the advice on this topic to organize my floss last week.

I went with the floss-a-way bags and photo organizers for storage.

I use the LoRan project cards for each project, then I'll store the leftover floss back in the floss-a-way bag.

It's wonderful to be able to quickly see if I have a certain color of floss. Thanks for all of the suggestions!

Well, I just ordered bobbins for the little floss I do have and baseball trading card sleeves (to put the bobbins in) to go in a binder. I'm not sure what I'll do yet for WIPs. I do kind of wish I could find ziploc like sleeves because I would love to seal the thread in to prevent it from getting "icky", but we'll see how this works for now.

I do agree with the person who said she only cuts off the amount of floss she is going to use right at that time, though and rewraps the rest, so that it never comes loose. I am doing that now with with my Reindeer kit. The other reason I like the binder idea is that I also organize the patterns I have in binders, too. All those "someday" patterns. LOL.

Thanks for everyone's input! The pictures were AWESOME!!

Melissa

I'm really surprised at how few people seem to use Stitch Bows. I love them. There's no winding or unwinding (except to take a length of thread to sew with or if you're dealing with an unusual specialty thread). There's no rewriting the thread details. The thread is fully protected and can be stored lying or standing in any binder. It's easy to see how much and what you have.

I also love that I can take the colours out for my project and slip them into a
'project' sleeve that takes up little more room than the pattern unlike bobbin boxes which are bulky.

I know!!! I couldn't live without stitchbows at this point... Everything is so organized and moving between work and home is so easy..
Faith

I use ziplock bags and craft rings, one ring for each main color. I am now thinking of converting to plastic floss bobbins and sort them by number in a bobbin box. Two things keep me from doing it:

a) I probably have as many unstarted (extra) skeins as I have colors on average. What should I do with those? I don't want to be digging around in those to find a certain color, if I keep them seperately and unorganized.

b) Winding. How long will it take to wind my almost full set of DMC?

It seems that paper bobbins would break more easily than plastic ones. Are paper bobbins better than plastic ones in some other respect?

I like the plastic bobbins better. I bobbinate as needed now, but that is also how I started. I don't mind stopping stitching to do that when I have used up one skein and need to go to the next, or when I started, bobbinating as I went. I also have lots of extras. I keep those in floss bags on rings and that's where I go when a bobbin runs out and I need a new skein. I hope this makes sense.

Carole

Mystonique wrote:I'm really surprised at how few people seem to use Stitch Bows. I love them. There's no winding or unwinding (except to take a length of thread to sew with or if you're dealing with an unusual specialty thread). There's no rewriting the thread details. The thread is fully protected and can be stored lying or standing in any binder. It's easy to see how much and what you have.

I also love that I can take the colours out for my project and slip them into a
'project' sleeve that takes up little more room than the pattern unlike bobbin boxes which are bulky.

I totally agree. I love the Stitch Bows. Yes, they can be expensive, but I'm collecting them slowly and, at the moment, I'm only using them for active projects. The bulk of my threads are in their original skeins, organized by their number groups and stored in boxes with moveable dividers.

My mom used to use the paper/cardboard bobbins but I didn't like the winding and creases in the floss. So when I started doing my own projects I converted to the little baggies which I love for kits with pre-cut floss, but I need a better sorting method, I currently have baggies of floss all over the house. lol My next project is a 'Just Pattern' so I will be buying full skeins of floss and am thinking about the Stitchbows, but I am unsure yet. I am heading to the craft stores today so I can see what else is around.

When I've had my designs in magazines, I've always felt a little guilty when the editors put the cost of materials alongside the chart, as I design the chart with a full DMC thread card beside me so tend to forget about the cost of materials! Sorry! However, having read through these posts and realised that many of you have a large amount of threads stored already, I think maybe I don't need to feel quite so guilty in future?! It puts my little pile of tangled threads to shame.....I promise to tidy them and to sort them properly!!

I'm a bobbin girl storing them in a DMC storage box - I love sorting out threads - almost as relaxing as actually stitching and just makes me want more - or should I say 'need' more.
hugs
Eileen x

After 30 years of cross stitching, I have used dozens of methods for organizing my thread. I currently use a simple zip-loc snack size bag for each color. I then organized 20 of these bags into a gallon size zip loc bag. Each bag is labeled with labels I printed out using microsoft word. Additionally, to help rebuild my collection of thread after a devastating loss, I created an Excel spreadsheet that gives me the ability to print out floss that needs to be purchased every time I go to the store. My gallon bags are kept in a cardboard box and taken to and from work with me every day. I also have a "current project" tote that contains everything I need (including thread and charts) for my current project. It is a simple, inexpensive method, that allows me to quickly locate the thread I need and to put left over thread back in place without creating a problem.

I used the color descriptions off the DMC site and can filter the thread spread sheet to show me all the occurances of a particular color so I can simply look into my box to see if that is the color I wanted.

I'm using cardboard bobbins and plastic cases, though since I just started I don't have all that much yet. My HAEDs will fix that problem soon enough though! I'll have two and a half full once I get them both kitted and ready to go. Easy to transport though.

I plan to keep any skeins I don't immediately wind in the plastic bags, sorted by 100s numbers.

I find the winding and such relaxing and something I can do when my eyes aren't wanting to do much else.

I use a hybrid system- for floss I'm not using at the moment, I store each color in snack bags on metal binder rings, in numerical order. I keep the rings in plastic containers (also in numerical order).

For projects I'm working on, I use bead organizer trays. Each tray has 20 compartments and each compartment has a lid. I put the floss (or blended floss) into the compartment and put a piece of masking tape on the lid. I write the symbol and the floss number on the piece of tape so I know what's in the compartment. That's it

Amanda G wrote:When I've had my designs in magazines, I've always felt a little guilty when the editors put the cost of materials alongside the chart, as I design the chart with a full DMC thread card beside me so tend to forget about the cost of materials! Sorry! However, having read through these posts and realised that many of you have a large amount of threads stored already, I think maybe I don't need to feel quite so guilty in future?! It puts my little pile of tangled threads to shame.....I promise to tidy them and to sort them properly!!

I can get DMC floss for 34 cents/skein at my local Michaels, and I do have a lot of "leftover" floss from previous projects, which cuts down on the cost of starting a new project.

I guess the cost of starting a new project is also a matter of perspective. HAEDs tend to have 90 colors, and Chatelaines may use hand-dyed silk threads, so a project that uses say 10-20 DMC colors is "cheap" in comparison.

Anyone else have thoughts on this topic?

CayenneCat wrote:I guess the cost of starting a new project is also a matter of perspective. HAEDs tend to have 90 colors, and Chatelaines may use hand-dyed silk threads, so a project that uses say 10-20 DMC colors is "cheap" in comparison.
Anyone else have thoughts on this topic?

HAEDs with their 90 or so colours are definitely cheaper than stitching a Chatelaine with the full silk kit! A HAED BAP will also take a lot longer to stitch than a Chatelaine (depending on your "rotation" of course ) - so there is the time v £££ ratio, what is more value for money? I've just spent a happy evening looking at conversions for Chatelaine threads and have managed to cut the cost of two projects in half at least (with room for more tweaking and money saving depending on how strict I am!). I think it is important to remember that with any charts that involve threads other than DMC/Anchor, the colours are just a suggestion. There are so many brands of thread (be it silk or cotton) out there that you will find a less expensive version (with a bit of work) which will not compromise the quality of your piece in any way!

I have made my own safe style Pako for threaded needles as I have cats and I was always worried about them standing on the needles. Here's a picture of one of my project boxes.

I keep them in a box or on the organizer!
I like your‘s very much!:applesauce:
This is my corner, where I stitch almost every day!
I sew not only cross stitch, but also gobelin, as you see.

hosting images

I've been using bobbins for a long time. At first I cut out the color number from the skein paper and glued it to the bobbin. I switched to the preprinted dmc number stickers until they started popping off the plastic bobbins. Most of my threads are still on bobbins with written numbers, but now I've started using the plastic baggies for one wip because I was sick of their thread cards. Now I can't decide which I like best! lol The baggies sure take up a lot less space, but they're very slippery. Decisions, decisions....