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Pearl Cottons & Floss GuideLet's start with one of the basic components: cotton. "Cotton is a soft, staple fiber that grows around the seeds of the cotton plant (Gossypium sp.), a shrub native to tropical and subtropical regions around the world, including the Americas, India and Africa. The English name which began to be used circa 1400, derives from the Arabic (al) qutn Cotton fiber, once it has been processed to remove seeds (ginning) and other impurities, consists of nearly pure cellulose, a natural polymer. Cotton production is very efficient, in the sense that only ten percent or less of the weight is lost in subsequent processing to convert the raw cotton bolls (seed coat) into pure fiber. The cellulose is arranged in a way that gives cotton fibers a high degree of strength, durability, and absorbency. Each fiber is made up of twenty to thirty layers of cellulose coiled in a neat series of natural springs. When the cotton boll is opened, the fibers dry into flat, twisted, ribbon-like shapes and become kinked together and interlocked. " http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cotton There are several steps the fiber undergoes from the cleaning to the spinning. Threads either have a Z-twist or S-twist according to the direction of spinning (see diagram). Tightness of twist is measured in TPI (twists per inch or turns per inch) Two or more spun threads may be twisted together or plied to form a thicker thread. Generally, handspun single plies are spun with a Z-twist, and plying is done with an S-twist. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spinning_(textiles) The threads then undergo a series of processes depending on their future usage. Mercerization Dyeing Without the ability to dye the thread we would not have the beautiful range of colors we enjoy today. People throughout history also wanted something more than the natural color of the particular fiber. The earliest written record of the use of dyes dates clear back to 2600BC in China. Many things have been used to create dyes including plants, mollusks, kelp, minerals, lichens, and even inserts. In 1856 William Perkin discovered the first synthetic dye which he called "Mauve". He wasn't trying to create a dye, he was searching for a cure for malaria. However, the result started a new industry. The textile industry continues to evolve with the creation of synthetic fibers and dyes. There are several things that impact the dyeing process, one is mercerization which increased the water absorption of the fiber. Different types of fibers require different types of dye. The types of chemical dyes include Fiber Reactive, Direct, Disperse, and Acid just to name a few. There is way too much information on dyeing to put in this newsletter. Let me know if a newsletter on dyeing would be of interest. I'm just glad that we have so many wonderful companies today who keep us supplied with all those lovely threads! The two forms stitchers are most familiar with are Embroidery Floss and Pearl Cotton. Anchor and DMC are the industry leaders in production of the fibers. There are many companies that use these products for their hand-dyed and over-dyed thread lines. In today's issue, I will focus on floss and pearl cotton. Next Stash issue we will look at metallic, silks, wool blends, linen, and synthetic threads. Embroidery FlossEmbroidery floss, a thread composed of six loosely-twisted strands, has long been available in cotton, silk, linen, and rayon, the last of which has the most sheen. Embroidery floss is available in a wide range of solid colors, and some fibers are available in variegated colors as well. http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-embroidery-floss.htm Embroidery floss can be used for free-style and crewel embroidery, cross stitch and counted thread embroidery, needlepoint, huck embroidery, punchneedle, and canvaswork techniques. Some people do use embroidery floss in Hardanger embroidery when a particular color is not available in the size they are needing. Anchor thread is produced in Germany from 100% long-staple Egyptian Giza cotton. Their mercerized cotton floss is available in over 460 colors, including 444 solids and 16 variegated colors. It is sold in skeins which are 8.7 yards or 8 meters. Their thread is considered to be colorfast and not dye-lot sensitive.
DMC thread is produced in France from 100% long staple cotton. It goes through a double mercerization process making then washable and fade resistant. They have 454 solid colors and 18 variegated colors.
Weeks Dye Works started out in a bathtub. This hand over-dyed floss was their initial product line. She says the dyes are "space dyed" which means sections of the thread have been dyed a different color which repeats throughout the thread length. The color change is noticeable, but blends naturally. Miranda Weeks McGahey is the president of Weeks Dye Works reports " We have come a long way from our "bathtub" days in 1994. We now employ 10 full time people and 9 part time. The dyeing process has moved from plastic containers in an apartment bathtub to proprietary equipment in a 6,000 square foot facility. The baths which create the thread colors have grown from a few 50 yard baths a week to several 13,000 yard baths a day. With 587 color/fiber combinations, we have to use our "recipe" book to keep the colors consistent from one dye bath to the next. Of course there are no guarantees because everything from the temperature of the water to the humidity in the air plays a factor." They have 211 colors in their line as of February 2008, 11 solid colors, 154 variegated colors, and 26 special holiday color combinations. Comes in 5 yard skeins with a tag. Crescent Colours is an Arizona company offers hand-dyed 100% cotton floss in over 180 colors. They do not use a numbering system, but color names. When I fill an order of Crescent Colours, I usually get hungry because of such names as Blueberry Tart, Black Coffee, and Chocolate Cream Pie. They strive for dye lot consistency; however their hang tag warns they are not colorfast. The skeins are 5 yards. Simply Shaker, Sampler Threads from The Gentle Art According to their website, Dinky-Dyes is a play on the word Dinky-Die which means genuine or the real thing. You can tell from some of the color names (like Bushfire, Outback, and Sydney Harbour) that Dinky - Dyes was established in Perth, Western Australia. While they still have a presence in Australia they have re-located to Houston, Texas. Their floss collection uses a base of %100 cotton DMC floss and are sold in skeins approximately. 8.75 yards or 8 meters. Dinky-Dyes are hand-dyed and dye lots will vary. Most Dinky-Dye colors appear to be colorfast, however, the darker colors may bleed. Threadworx is an independent producer of hand over-dyed embroidery floss and pearl cottons. Their production and distribution center is in Orange County, California. Their threads can be substituted for Needle Necessities threads. They have over 180 colors available in their floss line. Each skein contains 20 yards. Pearl CottonPearl cotton is also known as perle cotton, cotton perle (German-Anchor) Coton A Broder (France-DMC). This is a mercerized, 100% cotton, S-twisted, 2-ply thread with high luster, sold in 4 weights 3, 5, 8, and 12). This is a non-divisible thread which creates a slight raised effect. Here are some suggested uses for each size:
Anchor
DMC
The CARON Collection has quite a thread range including hand-dyed variegated threads in cotton, silk and wool-silk. Click here and here to check out some of their free patterns!
Leah's Overdyed carries all four sizes of pearl cotton, size 3 (16 yards), 5 (27 yards), 8 (47 yards), 12 (69 yards) Dinky-Dyes carries sizes 5, 8, and 12 and there are approximately 15 meters (16.4 yards) per skein. Weeks Dye Works carries sizes 3, 5, and 8 with approximately 10 yards per skein. Crescent Colours carries size 5 and 8 with approximately 10 yards per skein. ThreadworX carries sizes 3 (10 yards) , 5 (20 yards) and 8 (20 yards). WHEW! I hope that helped a bit. WOW! There is so much to cover so stay tuned and we will pick back up on September 1st. We hope these "helpful hints" make your stitching easier and more enjoyable! For those interested in using this article or others published by Nordic Needle, Inc., please use this copy when referencing the information: |
, meaning cotton. 
