Part of the thrill of cross stitching is collecting embroidery floss. However, it doesn’t take long to have so much floss it’s disorganized.
The Advantages of Organizing Floss
Organizing your floss can be a major job, almost as involved as a challenging stitching project. This is especially true if you have a large amount of embroidery stash. But the benefits are worth the time invested. Besides not finding a color quickly, you won’t be buying duplicates. More importantly, organizing your stash promotes more stitching.
Choosing a Storage Plan
Methods of floss storage vary, depending on how much floss you have and what works best for you. Do you mainly stitch with patterns that use symbols? Then you’ll need to have a system that stores floss according to numbers. If you stitch by colors, then organize according to colors.Next, choose how to store your floss.
Plastic Containers
The easiest method is to just dump your floss into plastic containers. Although simple, this method makes it hard to keep your floss organized and threads can become entangled.
Using Bobbins
Made of either paper or plastic, bobbins provide a practical way to store cotton floss. Just don’t store metallic and blending filaments because these flosses can be damaged and crinkled. To remove any crinkles from cotton floss, dampen or iron it. The downside is the time involved to wind each stein of floss around a bobbin. However, by using a floss winder you can speed up the process.
After winding each stein around a bobbin, record the number of the color, using either labels or a permanent marker. If using paper bobbins, be sure the ink is dry before storing. Once all your steins of floss are wound around bobbins,decide how to store them. Many stitchers use plastic floss storage boxes, made especially for bobbins. The only problem is that these boxes hold only a limited amount of bobbins, so you would need several if you have a large stash collection
Using Plastic Bags
A plastic bag storage system is favored by most stitchers for several reasons. As your stash collection grows, you can easily add more skeins in a bag. Also, labeling is easy. You can either label a bag using pen and masking tape or pre-numbered labels. Special bags are sold at many needlework stores or you can always use Ziploc bags and a hole puncher.
Using Dresser Drawers
Often stitchers gain a craft room, including dresser drawers, when grown children move out of the house.
Label each drawer according to number. Using masking tape and pen, label each drawer according to numbers. For example, the first drawer may include numbers up to 400. The next drawer holds the 500s and 600s. With a typical six-drawer dresser you can even have an extra drawer for cross-stitch tools.
Label according to colors. On the other hand, some stitchers prefer to organize their stash according to colors.
Using Hardware Sorters
Another method is storing floss in hardware sorters, sold in hardware stores or department stores. The only problem is that each space, designed for nuts and bolts, is tiny, not allowing for additional floss storage as your stash grows.
If your system isn’t working, don’t be afraid to start over and find a new one. Having your floss organized is so important it can mean the difference between giving up on stitching, settling for a jumbled mess taking up space in your closet or continuing to enjoy a favorite hobby.
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