Help! Thread Tangling

[LizaMaybean]

I am a beginner at hand embroidery. I have been having such a hard time with tangled thread. The tail and the working thread get tangled in ways I cannot make any sense of!! Some individual threads (one thread of the total three) seem to have been sewn through other individual threads... I don't understand it.
Can you help me determine if I'm doing something wrong and how to fix this problem.
Thank you!

[MaryCorbet]

Hi, Liza -

Your best bet is to drop your needle now and then so it hangs towards the floor and allows your thread to untwist itself. Most problems with tangling threads are due to the embroidery floss becoming too twisted as you work with it, so that it winds up as you pull your thread through, often resulting in a knot. If the knot forms on the back of the fabric, you don't always catch it until it's too late to take it out easily - you end up stitching through it and so forth, making it almost impossible to get it out. So I'd suggest dropping your needle and letting it hang towards the floor every now and then (say, every five stitches or so). An alternative to that would be to roll your needle between your finger and thumb every time you take a stitch. If you get in the habit of pulling your finger back on your thumb while holding the needle, this will keep the thread from twisting up on itself. And yet another alternative (but a lot harder to get used to) is keeping the needle in the same position as you pull through the fabric, making a conscientious effort not to turn your needle as you stitch. But this latter approach is rather difficult to master. The easiest approach would be dropping the needle now and then.

Ah - another thought, too... some threads are more prone to the twisting and tangling dilemma than others. If you're just using regular stranded embroidery floss, make sure you're using a good floss, rather than an off-brand "craft" floss. For example, DMC and Anchor are always good bets.

Hope that helps!

~MC

[AnneG]

One other thing. I've noticed that a lot of people use WAY too long thread for embroidery. You have to use long threads for some things, but the thread tends to untwist and loose shine. You are also really more likely to catch a thread on the back if it is really long. Yes, you have to start and stop, but don't use too long a thread.

[Doreen]

I run my finger across the back of my work with the completion of every stitch but before I snug it up. It's amazing how quickly you train yourself to "sense" a knot forming.