I’m stitching the Effervescent Designs logo in Needle Necessities overdyed cotton “Arctic Nights” and Kreinik high-luster “sapphire,” one strand of each over one on 20-count silver metallic lugana.
I’ve read on the boards that a lot of people don’t care for Kreinik’s fibers , and some days I must agree, especially those high-luster fibers which are spun with the two black microfilaments.
The last time I worked with one of the high-luster threads, it was the late 80s, so I didn’t really remember what a pain in the ass those two black microfilaments are until I began stitching the logo. They kept breaking and bunching.
My solution? Strip them out. The flat fiber is much stronger without the microfilaments, surprisingly, and lies much better in the stitch. Now, it’s a little tricker to get it to stay in the needle, as any anchoring in the eye of the needle has a tendency to slide out anyway, but the tendency is lessened if the Kreinik and the base fiber (cotton, silk, linen, bamboo, whatever) are tied in the eye together.
In case you’re not quite sure what I mean by anchoring threads in the eye of the needle, I’ll try to explain.
- Fold the thread so it makes a loop (similar to the way you begin to tie your shoelaces).
- Put the loop through the eye so that both cut ends are on one side.
- Pull the loop through the eye until the loop is a tad longer than the needle itself.
- Put the tip of the needle through the loop, then tighten around the eye.
