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Mary Corbet

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I learned to embroider when I was a kid, when everyone was really into cross stitch (remember the '80s?). Eventually, I migrated to surface embroidery, teaching myself with whatever I could get my hands on...read more

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Cotton Floss in Color Palettes – New from Sublime Stitching!

 

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This week – today, in fact – Jenny Hart of Sublime Stitching is announcing her new cotton embroidery floss, available in color palettes!

Sublime Stitch Color Palettes Embroidery Floss

This week, I got to play with the new floss from Sublime Stitching and to chuckle a bit over the fun color palettes.

They are a lot of fun!

Sublime Stitch Color Palettes Embroidery Floss

Jenny is releasing seven color palettes and two “specialty” thread collections. Each collection of floss features seven pull skeins that are similar to DMC and other stranded cotton floss.

Sublime Stitch Color Palettes Embroidery Floss

The collections are individually named to reflect the colors in the palette. The one above, for example, is called “Parlour,” its dark burgundy and deep red and gold evoking a Victorian-like parlor.

Sublime Stitch Color Palettes Embroidery Floss

Unlike most stranded cotton floss, these skeins each have a name evocative of the color and the palette to which it belongs. For example, the gold above is called “bell pull.”

Sublime Stitch Color Palettes Embroidery Floss

On each skein, one of the tags has a little one-liner on it, connected to the color name. On “bell pull,” the one liner is “Jeeves to the drawing room.”

Now, I’ve always thought it would be Great Fun to name embroidery floss colors! But I imagine that, once you get a bit saturated (no pun intended!), it becomes more and more challenging to come up with names that evoke the colors. The whole idea of colors, names, emotions, places, feelings they evoke – I find it fascinating. But I don’t know if I could actually do it! To throw in a snippet of text that relates to the name and the color in a witty way – it’s fun and clever! Needless to say, once I noticed the snippets, I went through and read every little label!

Sublime Stitch Color Palettes Embroidery Floss

Here’s another example from the Parlour palette: Fainting Couch. It’s a deep purplish burgundy, very velvety and rich.

Sublime Stitch Color Palettes Embroidery Floss

The quip? Bring the smelling salts!

Not only do you get fun colors grouped together, but you get a touch of wit with each! How many thread manufacturers do that, eh?!

Sublime Stitch Color Palettes Embroidery Floss

This palette is “Portrait” – the colors evoke an old-fashioned portrait.

Sublime Stitch Color Palettes Embroidery Floss

This is “Flowerbox” – it’s my favorite of all the palettes. I played with this palette, just to work with the floss a little bit.

Sublime Stitch Color Palettes Embroidery Floss

I didn’t really plan anything here – it’s random doodling with needle and thread, with the whole six strands in the needle, using chain stitch, daisy stitch (detached chain), straight stitches, and French knots.

The thread works up just like DMC. It is sturdy, I had no strange difficulties with it. It felt like mercerized, stranded cotton floss, which is exactly what it is!

The threads were tested for colorfastness (i.e. they were tested against the color running when wet), and Jenny said they all passed, including the darker, rich colors.

From my own point of views, I’d offer this advice, though, when working with cotton floss that you plan to wash: If you’re stitching something you will launder – like a flour sack towel, clothing, and the like – you should always launder with cool water. You can often get away with warm… but why test fate? Cool water is a much safer bet against the dye running, and the threads won’t fade as fast if you launder them in cooler water and avoid hot settings on the dryer and dying in direct sunlight. After regular laundering, the colors will fade a little bit (I haven’t met a cotton floss that doesn’t fade when repeatedly laundered, unless great care is taken, the items are hand washed, and so forth). Light will also affect embroidery floss. Don’t confuse “colorfastness” with fade-resistance or lightfastness.

Sublime Stitch Color Palettes Embroidery Floss

This garishly bright, electric palette is called… “Breakdance.” (What else?) I would comment about my memories of my ’80’s youth… but I think I’ll skip it!

Sublime Stitch Color Palettes Embroidery Floss

Fruit Salad, anyone? A very tropical grouping!

Sublime Stitch Color Palettes Embroidery Floss

Here we have Frosting – a collection of paler, softer colors. I’ll take buttercream, please… oh, yum.

Sublime Stitch Color Palettes Embroidery Floss

This deep, rich collection is called Prism. Very jewel-toney.

Sublime Stitch Color Palettes Embroidery Floss

And finally, the two special groups. This collection is called Taffy Pull – it’s a selection of variegated floss…

Sublime Stitch Color Palettes Embroidery Floss

… and this striped group is called “Mingles.” Each skein is made up of 3 strands of one color mingled with 3 strands of another. The thread on the far left (the black and white) is called “Dalmatian,” incidentally!

Sublime Stitch Color Palettes Embroidery Floss

With the Mingles group, the threads can be used all six strands at a time in the needle, apparently without “stripping” the floss (separating each strand and putting them back together, which gives a smoother result when stitching).

Sublime Stitch Color Palettes Embroidery Floss

I played with the brown Mingles a little bit – it would make good baskets with weaving or lattice stitches, bark on trees, animal coats and the like.

Personally, I don’t often embroider with all six strands in the needle, but it can be a fun way to make a bold statement with stitches, and it’s especially a good way to teach children and beginners who just want to do simple embroidery for fun!

I think Sublime Stitching’s color palettes are a good idea and a lot of fun! I’m not sure where they will be released or where you’ll be able to find them, but I’m pretty certain the news will be all over the Sublime Stitching blog today, so if you want to dabble with some fun color palettes of cotton floss, hop over there and take a look!

Later in the Morning Addition: Actually, you can find the new color palette floss collections right on the Sublime Stitching website.

This is a completely unaffiliated review! Jenny sent the threads out for testing, without any expectation of blog coverage. So, while I did receive a free package of threads, no one twisted my arm to write today’s article. I think the thread palettes are clever and fun! And anything that works to get youth, crafters, newbies, and anyone else into embroidery – hey, I’m all for it!

 
 

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(16) Comments

  1. I so love how you’ve lost no time in jumping in to work with some of that floss. I would too if I was in your place. My goodness, Mary, this would thrill me much much more than trying out a new outfit or makeup. (I might feel otherwise about diamond solitaire earrings, but i digress.)
    Have all the fun you can.
    Good job, Jenny. The quirky names adn one liners are superb.

    3
  2. I am so horrid at choosing colors that these sets are great for people like me. The mingles would come in handy too. I enjoy variegated but then it’s just patches of colors. I like the mixed strands that give a tweedy look. If it’s 3 plus 3, you could strip off one of each and still get the effect. I want to share this info with my stitchy friends if I may. We’re all a bit floss happy.

    5
  3. Lovely colors, and I really like the palette idea but seems a little pricey compared to getting individual DMC skeins at the local craft store. As with everything Jenny does though, I’m sure they are top quality! I love her towels and totes – again, pricey, but wonderful to stitch on!

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  4. Mary, it has been a long time since I’ve been able to have time to comment — but I thank you for all the posts! These threads have given me an idea for my next t-shirt embroidery project. Even more ambitious than the current one I have. Thanks for your blog — it is a blessing!

    7
  5. Oh, what a candied eye feast you created with this blog entry! I am nearly salivating over the colors and your experimental stitches! Oh, MY!

    But, alas, I must finish other projects first. That’s the rule around here. UFOs are piling up!

    Lynn

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  6. These are beautiful threads. I did buy the Victorian since I crazy quilt. They will work very nicely with a Victorian piece I’m working on. Love your doodle.

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  7. I was so excited to see that you reviewed Jenny’s new threads! I can’t wait to try them! Thank you for the review!

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  8. G’day Mary,
    Well, how fascinating, and another site for my ‘Shops & Blogs’ folder. I really need ‘Shops’ and ‘Blogs’ folders now.
    It’s a fun site too. I had a chuckle over the stitcher at the top of the ‘How-to’ page.
    Your post today reminded me of years ago when a paint company run a competition for names of colours. I had fun with that.
    Love the old gold ‘Bell Pull’ colour and the way you’ve used the colours for the daisies in your doodle is beautiful.
    Good oh Mary, thanks for this.
    Cheers, Kath.

    11
  9. Dear Mary

    Thanks for the article the colours of these threads are lovely especially the variegated floss and I like the individual thread names. I had a look at the website and the prices are very reasonable so I will have to invest and try them soon. I love the doodle stitching, beautiful.

    Regards Anita Simmance

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  10. Mary: Your “random doodling with needle and thread” just amazes me – the designs, proportions, relationship of one elemant to others, color selections, etc. – just amazing! Janet.

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  11. Oh, those are beautiful. The Jewel colours especially – and the mingles looks very interesting too!

    Thank you for the review, I now have a new bookmark (again!) in my browser 🙂

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