Totally unrelated to this blog post but the my blog guru is going to work on the blog during the next few days. There are plug ins and themes that are no longer being used and need to be cleaned up; some of the colors don’t meet the “standards”. I don’t think there will be much visible difference as far as what we see but be aware that things may be wonky or the blog may not load quickly or completey . . depending on what she’s doing. It will all be back to normal and hopefully better soon.
OK . . the post . .
Everything changes. We know that’s true but we don’t notice it so much in the things we deal with every.
I thought I cross stitched mostly in the late 80’s but finding magazines from the early 90’s makes me believe I must have done at least some cross stitching through that time. Back then, I had access to cross stitch magazines but never dreamed that some day I could instantly download pdf files of charts. I only used aida, and there’s nothing wrong with that, but I had never heard of cross stitching on linen. It either wasn’t popular or the types of designs I stitched just weren’t shown on linen.
Floss is probably the biggest change for me. I never investigated but as far as I knew, DMC was the only floss available. I guess there may have been some places that carried Anchor . . I don’t remember. We had a TG&Y dime store and I think they carried DMC. Walmart probably had it but there wasn’t a WM on every corner back then. I can’t even remember where I bought my DMC floss. Once I started smocking, the shop that carried smocking supplies also carried DMC and I probably bought a lot of it there.
Nowadays, it depends on which designer’s chart I’m using as to which floss they prefer. Thankfully, most give a DMC conversion. Jean Farish seems to love Cosmo, which I have ordered to do a couple of her charts, but I’ve never actually used, nor have I even seen it yet. Many of the more popular designers seem to prefer the overdyes. Many of the reproduction samplers are done in silks, which I’ve also not used.
Since Hobby Lobby carries DMC, and since it’s the least expensive of the ones I would consider using, that’s what I use mostly. I have some overdyes and will use those on larger stitched areas where the tonals variation makes the design more interesting, but for the most part, it’s probably going to be DMC for me.
I love that we can choose what works for us and what fits our budget. I can’t imagine ever looking at a beautifully stitched cross stitch piece and turning up my nose because it was stitched with DMC instead of silk. Also, if because of the budget, I had a choice of stitching 1 piece per year and using silk thread or 10 pieces per year using DMC, it’s a no brainer – 10 pieces per year.
I will do a pros/cons of Cosmo, DMC, overdyes and silks once I’ve used them all. In the meantime, I’d love to hear your thoughts on the various types/brands of floss you’ve used.
Laura says
This might end up being pretty long, but here goes:
We had an excellent cross stitch shop where I live when we moved here in 1992. She carried DMC, of course, but I could get it cheaper at Michael’s, so that’s mostly what I did. She stocked Gentle Arts overdyed threads, which I loved, and lots of silks and other threads, too (even some silk ribbon). I don’t recall all of them, although I still have some stashed away.
Most of my projects were done in DMC, I still have a lot of them (mostly framed pieces), and they still look good. I think she carried Anchor floss, too, which I’ve used and it seems fine, but I mostly stuck to DMC so as not to confuse things!
Seems like Cosmo got popular 4-5 years ago (a local quilt shop carried it), but I don’t see an advantage to it over the DMC.
Specialty threads are fun and I have used a lot of them, but for most projects DMC works just fine for me. I still sew/quilt but I’ve started cross stitching again, too, and that may be partly your fault, Judy! 🙂
Judy Laquidara says
First, thank you for saying it’s only “partly” my fault! 🙂
So, you’re saying the shop carried overdyes and silk in 1992? I wondered when they became popular.
Laura says
It’s hard to recall exactly when the local shop started carrying the specialty threads, but I believe it was sometime in the early ’90s. The shop owner was well known in the industry and tended to carry the latest items in addition to the traditional stuff. I think that shop closed in 2003, and it had been around since sometime in the ’80s.
I can get myself into stitching / sewing / quilting trouble very easily and all by myself, so blaming you even a little bit is a stretch!
Romonia Dinkla says
I started cross stitch in the 80’s and continued into the 90’s and then put it away. I guess I got really busy with kids and quilting. I have a very nice stash of DMC, I always purchased new colors at Christmas when my mother sent me cash as a gift. I have not used any overdyed floss. I do mix shades of DMC or change areas to be stripes in grassy areas or a design if I think a solid is going to be boring. I purchased the kit for the mystery sampler “Roxie” that calls for Cosmo. It is lovely floss but I won’t be going out and purchasing large amounts when I already have DMC. This project is my first using linen, it’s a learning experience so we will see. Most of my stitching has been on Aida, I’m fine with it for most things.
Judy Laquidara says
I agree. I ordered the Cosmo colors or Roxie after seeing Jean’s up close in the videos. I want to try it but there’s no way I’ll order a ton of it since DMC is about half the cost.
I can’t say that, even now that I know about linen, I ever look at someone’s pictures and think about whether it’s linen or aida. I mostly order linen for the colors but I’m finding more and more hand dyed aida.
Twyla says
Pinker n Punkin just showed how she dyes her aida. Seemed easy enough.
Judy Laquidara says
I used to dye fabric some but I really don’t have any interest in dying fabric. I’m happy to pay someone else to make that mess.
Christina Coats says
Hi
I am taking up cross stitching again inspired by you Judy. My linen order has arrived from Xuju designs and i am so excited. Now i have never stitched Linen, , always 18ct Aida in various colours. I have amassed a very large collection of DMC solid colours and many variegated . I had a few Anchor, but found them dull and coarse compared to DMC. I have never seen silks !!! I will have to investigate. Whenever I have seen cross stitch in linen it appeals as it goes with the vintage designs I love. So wish me luck in playing with my linen. Thank you all for the inspiration you all enthuse.
Judy Laquidara says
Good luck. I will warn you that the first time I stitched on linen (which was just a few months ago), used 28 count and thought those were the tiniest holes ever. Then I went to 35 and 36 count and swore that would be the smallest I’d try. Now I’m 40 count and I’ll admit that my eyes, even with a magnifying lamp, were screaming at me and I was thinking I had several pieces of 40 count linen that were going to be given away but after a few days, I’m loving it. So . . my advice is be patient and stick with it. You may end up loving it or maybe not but give it your best shot. I think the fact that you like the vintage look will help you to love it.
Tracy says
I started using Cosmo floss when I stitched Meg Hawkey’s Crabapple hill designs. I’ve done two that were made into quilts, and one that is waiting to become a wall hanging. I found that the Cosmo was superior to DMC in its quality. The threads don’t seem to shred as much at the eye of the needle and while stitching. It seems like the plies are more tightly twisted, and there is less lint. The colors are saturated, and I have not had any problems with it bleeding. I was sewing through cotton fabric, not linen or Aida, so maybe that’s the difference. I’m using Weeks for my current project, with a few DMC colors, but other than the difference in colors available, I really don’t see much difference in those two. I did buy some Gentle arts and Classic Colorworks for my next projects, but have not tried them yet. I would like to try Aurifil and silks too.
Judy Laquidara says
I would like to try Aurifil too. I heard someone say the same thing about Cosmo vs. DMC in a floss tube and I figure if Jean Farish prefers, it, then I owe it to myself to at least try it. Thanks for your thoughts.
Except for colors, I haven’t noticed any difference in Classic Colorworks, Gentle Arts or Weeks but I’m not the most observant when it comes to thinkgs like that.
TuNa Quilts says
For a couple of weeks I hadn’t been getting post emails from you up. A couple days ago I went to your site to check on you and discovered you had been writing and I had been missing out. So I signed up again and now they come all lumped into one post. I did like getting them through out the day as I enjoyed that pick me up. I read many of your posts to my husband. He especially liked the one about Jeremy’s English muffins. I am so relieved that you are ok and it’s just blogging issues.