I decided to sign up for the Aurifil Thread Labs, a program they are running to the celebrate their 40th anniversary and to give sewists a chance to try their threads. I have used Aurifil thread for many years, usually 50 weight, so this seemed like a fun way to find out what threads to use, and when.
For July, we received an exemplar box of their different weights of thread, all in a natural colour.
There was a project that was "suggested" to try all the threads. It was a pin cushion and didn't really appeal to me. I store my pins in an Altoids tin. I mostly use clips, not pins. So I did my own thing, using the guidance provided in the project. The main purpose of this post is to remind me of which thread is which.
This is one side of the dumpling pouch I made.
The green strip across the bottom is sewn with 12 weight cotton, by machine. The blossom and stem are hand sewn with 12 weight cotton. The bird is appliqued by hand with 12 weight wool thread. It is really nice to embroider with.
The other side:
The bottom edge of the pink band is top stitched and machine embroidered with 40 weight cotton. The top edge is machine embroidered and pin stitched with 80 weight cotton. The orange circle is embroidered with 4 strands of Aurifloss. The tulip is whip stitched and quilted by hand with 28 weight cotton thread. The zipper is top stitched with 28 weight cotton thread.
The pouch was sewn with 50 weight cotton and the bobbin was 50 weight cotton throughout.
The pouch pattern is from Michelle Patterns.
The next thread labs box has arrived.
Now those are my kind of colours. I have an idea of how I will play with them. Again, I'll be doing my own thing while experimenting with the thread.
I bought my thread from Sew Karenly Created.
Loved reading this Kate and seeing your thread trials. Wondering if you had a favourite from all the ones you tried?! :)
ReplyDeleteIt's always good to "do your own thing". Looks like a great way to test drive new threads. I like the wool embroidery floss too.
ReplyDeleteSounds interesting, this thread program. But you have to pay for it? What are the benefits? I use Aurifil too, mostly 50wt. I tried using 28wt but it gets shredded easily. I've been very conservative with the colour choice, mostly grey or black. The Neon colours are calling out to me tho'. Might have to order me some. There's only one shop in Singapore that sells Aurifil, so frustrating.
ReplyDeleteSounds like you're having great fun with these! I confess that the 'put up' (the type of spool) used by both Aurifil and Wonderfil is not to my taste. That said, I recently bought a box of the former from Kate at The Last Homely House -- a series of colours chosen in a collaboration between her and Aurifil. All but one spool was 12-weight, and this is the weight many cross-stitchers (like me) enjoy for stitching -- one thread over 2. It's also nice for hand-quilting. I kept the single sewing machine weight (50-wt) in a pale grey, and am giving the others away to stitching friends (some recently as a hostess gift when I visited, and others for Xmas this year). Great thread -- and the put-up for these spools is one I favour more than their former put-up. I look forward to how you like your program as it goes on!
ReplyDeleteYou are stretching your creative bungee and growing with all the new threads entering your sewing room and changing your future projects in amazing details and embellishments. Looking forward to seeing everything you make.
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