Embroidery 101: Threads

When I have embroidered in the past, I always bought stranded thread {also called floss}, but have never been perfectly satisfied with it.  I've always had troubles with singles strands breaking after they'd been stitched with for a while, but, I stuck with them because of their availability and color range.  {Note: this could be partially due to the brand of floss I was stitching with, but have not yet tried any others.}

However, while I was a the quilt shop a few days ago, I was looking for embroidery threads to match some Just Wing It, and found Perle Cotton size 8 in a variety of colors.  I was immediately hooked.  So, you may be asking, what's the difference?  We'll start with a few details about stranded thread:

Stranded thread is 100% cotton, just like the Perle Cotton.  But, it is dividable.  It is generally six strands, but most embroiderers/cross stitchers use only two or three of these threads at a time {sometimes even a single thread}.  It is readily available, comes in a wide variety of colors, and produces fine results.

Perle Cotton is made from the same long staple cotton that stranded thread is, however, it is then mercerised to give it a beautiful sheen, and also strength. It is generally two strands twisted together, but is not dividable. It is available in several sizes, with 3 being the largest {pictured above} and 16 being the smallest.

Size 8, pictured above, seems about comparable to two or three strands of stranded embroidery thread. It is used for more than just stitchery though, it is also used for quilting, crochet, knitting, and other thread arts.  Although not as readily available as other types of threads, it can be found at quilting shops, yarn shops, and online by various manufacturers {note: I am using the Finca Perle Cotton size 8 because it was the brand available at my local quilt shop, I do not have experience with any other so I cannot speak to the quality of different brands}.

While ordering online can be difficult, there are also wonderful things like color cards and conversion charts to make it easier.

Edited to Add: After working some time with the perle cotton, I am still very fond of it.  I've found that the end does fray a bit with lots of stitching, though I have less problems than I did with the floss.  Now that I no longer live near a shop that carries the perle cotton in size 8, I find I am using stranded thread more often {but I need to make an order of more perle cotton}.  I've also noticed that some stitches {particularly the split stitch} look better with floss.  Overall though, my preference is still the perle cotton size 8.


I am hoping to also do some stitching with a perle cotton in size 5, which is more readily available than 8.  I'll let you know how the progress goes!

So, I hope this has helped you understand thread a little more, any questions?

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