How To Organize Embroidery Floss?
Keeping all of your embroidery floss neat and clean is actually harder than it sounds. These tiny threads are quite a hassle to keep organized. The threads come in different sizes, colors, thicknesses, and types.
However, it is difficult to have a smooth experience if you can’t find a specific colored thread that you might need in the middle of your craftwork. So, you have to be neatly organized to have easy access to the floss or thread whenever you need them.
An untidy workstation may lead to a terrible mess and may hamper your craftsmanship. So what’s the solution to this? How to organize embroidery floss?
Well, actually, there are multiple ways you can keep all the threads well-organized. Surprisingly, these methods are easier than you thought. You can use your everyday items to get things done. Let’s find out!
Why Do You Need To Organize Embroidery Floss?
Alright, this is tricky. Before you are trying to find out the ways to organize your floss, you need to know why you need to do so.
The very first reason is to not lose the threads. How often does this happen? Let us guess, quite a lot of time, right? It’s pretty normal if you don’t set up the threads in an organized manner after you are done with your project, this happens.
You will obviously waste a lot of time looking for a single thread you need for your project. Eventually, it will kill your time, and probably you will end up buying another one from the market.
That’s spending money on a product that you already have as well. These are enough reasons for you to organize the threads and floss.
- Make A Plan
Okay, hold your horses! Don’t just step out and rush to the store to get an organizer you just read a review of on the internet. You need to think through some of the factors related to your craftwork.
What type of crafter are you? Are you a home-based worker, or do you move around from place to place with your arsenal? If yes, you need something that is easy to carry and mobile.
Do you need a lot of space? How many bunches of thread do you have or plan to own? Space is a crucial factor to consider.
How are your threads organized? Is it skeins or balls? You should know that these two types should not be organized in the same way.
After you have sorted all these out, it’s time to go through some options you have!
- Organizing By Color
This is the classic way. You can sort the threads by color. Place all the threads that are of the same color. It will make it easy for you to get hold of the required thread when you are working on colorful projects.
It will make sense if you are doing regular embroidery works. But if you are planning for a Hardanger embroidery, then arranging by thickness is better.
- Organizing In Drawers
Many stores have this system of arranging the floss. This may be a bit harder to pull off at home, but with a few DIY skills, it’s not that hard to achieve.
For this, you will need to have transparent fronted drawers mounted on the walls. You can put the threads in the drawers to see which type of thread is in it. For the see-through drawers, you can find the exact thread within seconds.
- Using Bobbin Boxes
This is, by far, one of the easiest ways to organize threads. The bobbins usually come with the threads from the stores. But you can also get those separately if you need them. To keep your threads in bobbins, you need to have transparent boxes.
Tangle the thread around the bobbins and put them in the boxes to see the thread size and color. This will make it easier for you to recognize and identify.
Again, you can use a cardboard that is dedicated to the same purpose. The cardboard comes with an extra benefit, as well. You can write the thread name, number, or color on the cardboard-head.
This is again quite beneficial for you when you are in a hurry with your crafting project.
- Project Cards
This is one of our favorite methods of organizing flosses. It’s particularly helpful if you are preparing for a project.
To use this method, you need to get rectangular project cards and punch even-sized holes on each side of the cards. Now, you need to cut out the threads as per your necessity and attach the threads on the card.
To attach the strings, you need to pass the threads through the holes and form a loop. Now pass the end of the threads through the loop again and pull it towards you. It will be tightly placed in the card holes.
Now write down the thread type and color numbers on the side of the holes to easily identify the threads when you are in a hurry!
- Using Ziplock Bags
This is one of the simplest methods of keeping your threads in place. The method includes zipped plastic bags that can be zipped after placing the threads inside. You need to follow a color code for this method.
That means the zipped bags will have to have threads of the same color for each one. Short, long, leftover threads of the same color will be placed in a single bag. You can then place the bags in boxes or drawers if you want for safekeeping.
- Using Clothespins
This one is more of a DIY idea but actually pretty effective. For this, you need to have a board hanging from the wall. You can use a plastic board for this. Now, place some needles on the board to hang some clothespins.
However, before hanging the pins, you need to place the threads around the pins. The pins are actually alternatives to bobbins here. However, these pins are somewhat pretty helpful in doing this.
So when you are done tangling, just hang these pins from the board. It will look more like you are trying to display your thread collection, but who cares! You can organize in a smart way, that’s what matters the most, isn’t it?
- Try Corked Bottles
The transparent corked bottle is an excellent choice when it comes to organizing threads. If you have a number of glass-bottles with a cork top, you can keep the threads inside and keep them on a shelf or somewhere similar.
It will also be quite easy to identify and locate threads easily, as you will be sorting the threads by the colors.
- Use The Ice-cream Sticks
Should we call it a method or just a life-hack? Well, that’s up to you how you see it! You can use ice-cream sticks or even new ones that you get from the stores to use as bobbins.
You can tie the threads on the sticks both ends to form a perfect organizer for your cross stitch strings. Now, keep these sticks inside the drawer or the shelf, the way you want. It won’t have any change to get messy ever again.
Final Words
So, that was a number of smart and easy ways to get your threads arranged and kept in place. If you were wondering how to organize embroidery floss, we hope our methods have shown you enough ideas to do so. Follow any of the ways to see which one works for you!
Happy crafting!
