Monday 16 June 2014

Threadkeepers

A while ago my friend Rose at handstitchery.blogspot drew my attention to something called a 'threadkeeper'.  She has been stitching a long time and had only just become aware of them, and needless to say, I had never heard of them before!

If you google images for 'threadkeepers' you will see hundreds of examples.  

Spaghetti junction - this is how I 'keep' my threads!
And if your threads look more like a plate of spaghetti, it may be that a threadkeeper could be the answer!

Ceramic Threadkeepers

So, I had a go at making some.  Basically they can be anything, so long as there are holes to keep your threads tidy.  I decided on little birds, but hearts might be good too.

Baby Bird Ceramic Threadkeeper
You'll have to tell me if I've done this correctly, because I have no way of knowing, but I am assuming it's meant to go something like this above??

Is this an American thing?  Have you heard of them? Do you use one?  Would you use one? If  not, how do you 'keep' your threads?  I personally think I am too lazy to actually bother threading them through one of these, but maybe that's just me!!

At any rate, I am sending one of mine to Rose for suggesting them as something that might fit with my 'brand' quite well.  Thank you Rose!

xCathy




18 comments:

  1. To use them properly you loop your thread in half, pass the loop through the hole in the keeper, and then pass the lose ends of the thread through the loop, pulling it tight. It then prevents your threads from slipping out. These are beautiful, how much are you thinking of charging for them? As I would be interested in at least three.

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    1. Thanks for the explanation, Claire. I have learnt something new! X

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  2. These turned out perfectly! Welll done, they look fabulous.

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  3. I don't use them (prefer the spaghetti style) but my cross stitching friend does. She makes them herself, from the cardbord and keeps notes of the color numbers. Yours are pretty as a decorative gadget too :)

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  4. I have two plastic boxes with about 30 compartments in each of them, they are purpose built to hold cardboard bobbins on which you wind the coloured threads. To be honest, I probably wouldn't use those keepers even though they are really gorgeous. Three reasons - they are ceramic & therefore breakable; there are not enough holes in them to store floss, particularly when you have as many as I do; you still need to store the keepers somehow and thethese are bulky, and if you are carrying your embroidery around with you, they would be quite heavy. I'll send you a photo of my storage system if you would like me to. Sorry :-(

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  5. I used them before for keeping the threads of a current project and yours are lovely! Beautiful job!

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  6. I also use them for current projects rather than storage, but at the moment only have card ones so I would use these

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  7. I am a spaghetti shoebox embroiderer...though I try very hard to keep everything on spools/in hanks. Those are delightful.

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  8. Yes, you've got the right idea. I don't use them - mostly, I keep my threads in a skein and only have the threads for a particular project out at once - but I have in the past, and they do work quite well.

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  9. they are fabulous! Nope, not an American thing. I have used them - though not fancy ones, just pieces of card with holes punched through! I'd loop the thread in half, feed it through then pull the tail through the loop to keep it safe. If you're planning on making some to sell, you might need some with more holes...

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  10. I think that these are beautiful and I would love to buy one to add to my collection of embroidery tools and ephemera. But I would not use one - the comment above about them being bulky is true also I have so many threads on the go when I am working a project I would need a van to take them around! I am just in the process of reorganising my threads as I have decided that spaghetti junction is not on. So am downsizing from large plastic sweetie jars to flat plastic storage boxes. Hopefully it will work. xx

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  11. They are really cute Cathy! It's a lovely idea but not for the serious sewer, but might be useful for the occasional embroiderer.
    I have a three tiered wire basket stuffed full of skeins a la spaghetti, but if I'm working on a particular project I would either use a large piece of card with holes in it with the appropriate colours knotted through the holes, or for a smaller project would heap the required colours into a small basket along with embroidery scissors and small pin cushion.
    They are so darned sweet though!
    Gill xx

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  12. I think that your threadkeepers are very pretty indeed!! They will be a very practical and pretty present for anyone who does embroidery! xx

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  13. I love these - although I'd need a whole flock to cope with all my threads !

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  14. Great idea, love that pastel green colour!

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  15. Cathy these are so lovely - I would need many! I think that for a small project they would be great - not quite so practical for a sampler with lots and lots of different thread shades. But they are so cute and I would DEFINITELY have a small brood of your birds flying around my sewing basket! xxx

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  16. Lovely little birdies. Not heard of thread keepers. I use cardboard bobbins to wind my sewing thread on and pop them into a plastic box, job done!

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