There are two ends to every skein of embroidery thread. In my experience they both take some searching out. The obvious end, near the outside of the skein, is actually the wrong end and you get an almighty tangle if you pull it.
Like this.
The right end is buried further into the depths of threads, and everything works smoothly when you pull that one. Now I know, and so do you.
I expect there's a metaphor for life in there somewhere.
I learned only recently that DMC threads always start at the end with the long sleeve ( the one that has the colour number on it ). Sometimes you have to be careful to separate it from the loops correctly but I have had no tangles since I learned this - just pull gently and down comes the thread.
ReplyDeleteThanks for this, Linda. All those years of hunting for the right end of the thread....
DeleteThank you Lynda - why isn't this fact better known...?
DeleteYes indeed!
DeleteI read it in a reply to a similar query in a cross stitch magazine. It should be in huge letters on the homepage for DMC! Before I read that I always had to take both bands off, carefully unwind what I wanted, and then put the bands back on.
DeleteI always wind the skeins onto a cardboard thread holder. Takes a few minutes but makes life easier!
ReplyDeleteI do this if a skein is too thin to stay in its paper sleeves, or when I have turned one into a tangle like the one above.
ReplyDeleteSarah Homfray explains how to find the free end in one of her YouTube tutorials. She showed how it is the end nearer the middle of all the threads that can be pulled to let the thread come freely.
ReplyDelete