Searching for Clues in The Thread Box

February 4, 2015
Spools of thread

Cotton ThreadGood Morning, Sleuths, Seamstresses and Spies!

We have a few first class detectives on this case:     Janice and Judy were the first to comment that C-50 and P-50 stand for threads.

Way to go, ladies!

Cotton ThreadCOLLECTING THE EVIDENCE

Today, your mission (should you chose to accept it…):

COTTON THREAD

Pull out every cotton thread in your sewing box.

Search out every brand, weight, ply…just one sample-not every color.   If you have Aurifil thread in three different weights, pull all three.  If you have King Tut in 5 colors, just include one spool.

I found 13 different cotton thread types from six different manufacturers in my sewing box.

Thread.LKennedy005THE SECRET CODES

Your next assignment:  List every word and marking on all of the spools:  ELS, Mercerized, 50/2, MT 1000…

Do you know what they all mean? (we will soon….)  For now, just make a list.

Each thread brand seems to have it’s own language…We need a de-coder!  (Does anyone have their cereal box de-coder ring?  Can we use it?)

Thread.LKennedy007COMPARATIVE INVESTIGATION

Finally, separate the threads into groups by weight. 

I found five different weight categories:  60wt, 50wt, 40wt, 28wt, 12wt in my sewing box.

Thread.LKennedy008Spend a little time comparing the threads.

  • How do threads with the same weight, but different manufacturers compare?
  • Do all the cottons have the same amount of sheen?
  • Is there a difference between two ply and three-ply threads?
  • Do some threads seem smoother?
  • What other differences do you notice?

Thread.LKennedy009STITCH A SPOOL

Finally, if you have a cotton thread, 50 wt, use it to stitch The Spool onto your grid in the center box…(the square marked C-50).

SUMMARY OF MISSION (2-4-15)

  • Collect all cotton thread types in your sewing box.
  • List every “secret code” on the labels.
  • Group thread by weight and do some comparative investigating.
  • Stitch a Cotton 50 wt Spool (Tutorial HERE) into the center grid box.
  • Doodle...doodling helps improve creative thinking.  Doodle the spools on every scrap of paper, envelope and napkin that comes your way this week!

NOTE–If you have a small collection of threads, perhaps you could work on this with a quilting friend or run to your local quilt store and do a little investigating…(It’s okay to bring a few pretty ones home, too!)

OPEN LINE FRIDAY-

This week on Open Line Friday, we will make a Master List of Secret Thread Codes…then we will work on decoding!

TOMORROW

Tension Troubleshooting Checklist…You won’t want to miss this–unless of course, you NEVER have tension troubles!  (Which probably means you don’t sew…?)

Signed,

Dr. Watson

PS…All tutorials, images and information are the property of Lori Kennedy at The Inbox Jaunt and are intended for personal use only.  Feel free to re-blog, share or tweet with attribution to The Inbox Jaunt.  For all other purposes, please contact me at lckennedy@hotmail.com.  Thanks!

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