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How-To: Embroidery Floss Stripping & Conditioning

by Jenny Hart

EDIT: Since this article was written, Thread Heaven (after 20 years in business) ceased manufacture of their thread conditioner due to patent expiry. There is no existing product on the market that matches its quality and you can still find boxes of Thread Heaven on ebay. It's worth the price to have the real thing!

"Loving the Thread" is a lovely ritual. My friend Cathy first told me about the sewer's tradition of saying something sweet or making a wish for how beautifully your thread will be put to use as you prepare and condition it. But what does "preparing and conditioning" mean? Is it something you have to do? Well, you should love your stitching, but whether or not you want to strip and condition your floss first is up to you.


The purpose of stripping your floss is to even out your strands. Some embroiderers find that it works more smoothly, separates more easily, and prevents snagging and knots. Me? I confess, I almost never strip or condition my floss first. But, that's not necessarily a good thing (I just like to get stitching right away). But you should try it and see if stripping and conditioning is for you!

Let's start with conditioning.



Conditioning does two things: it provides a protective coating to your thread, and makes it smoother to work with. It reduces what's called "thread drag". It used to be that bee's wax was used as a conditioner, but this is no longer recommended. Why? It can turn opaque (cloudy) over time, and because it's organic, it's not chemically stable (it decays). Guess what? That can make your threads decay along with it.
Thread Heaven is considered the archival standard thread conditioner. (Here's a link to their website if you want to know everything about Thread Heaven and how it works.) 

This is how you use it...


 

That's it. Your floss is now conditioned. What about stripping?

 

When you pull your length of floss across the rough side of Velcro, it combs your floss, and separates the strands. See the difference in the photo? The strand on the left has been stripped, and the strand on the right is untouched. Stripping helps if you want to pull away strands to work with say, only three or four, for finer detail. They will pull out nicely instead of tangling. Stripping might also make your stitches work more evenly and consistently. But again: this is all a matter of personal preference. You may prefer to preserve the original twist of the floss.

None of this is anything that you must do. But I encourage you to try it so you understand the results and can decide which you prefer! 

Supplies shown:

Sublime Floss 

Thread Heaven

 

More How To's:

How To Video: Floss Blending

Text, photos, diagrams and instructions by Jenny Hart ♥ © 2002 - 2019 Sublime Stitching ®.  
No part of this tutorial may be reproduced in whole or in part without written permission from its author. 
Man, I hate having to say that.

 

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from 376 reviews
PORTRAIT - Sublime Embroidery Floss Palette
Gasp!

You won't find these colors anywhere else. They are captivating! You can only appreciate "Eyeliner" when you have it in your hand. Send PORTRAIT to anyone who loves embroidery floss and they will be floating for days. Is this the 8th review I've written? Lol.

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09/23/2023
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I had been eyeing this tool case for a while and finally ordered it. I love the cat and the case and all the goodies that came inside. Thank yoU!

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This product makes hand embroidery on knit fabric so much easier! I’m still getting the hang of the tear away once I’m finished, so I’m taking away one star. Otherwise, great!

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Adorable!

I brought these adorable little scissors as a hostess gift for a stitching friend. The size is so handy and they work well. Could they be any cuter?! She loved them.

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The saying has really resonated with me at this stage in life. I don’t know where to go from here, but wherever I go, I will be OK. Thanks Jenny, it’s perfect.

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LOOOOOOOOVE!

as all products i purchase from here--this product is great.

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Transfer Pens

I couldn't live without these pens! No blotches or smearing, and nice thin lines. Easily covered with stitching. So much faster. I can make a lot of copies before I run out of ink. Love them!

CHERYL ROMAKER
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Such cute patterns!

I love all of the cute dogs and cats in this one… Can’t wait to start!

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CORALINE Handkerchiefs Embroidery Kit
This is my favorite website!

Sublime Stitching is exactly as advertised - Sublime! The site has a happy atmosphere combined with an intuitive ordering platform. Easy peasy to get exactly what you want. And fast. When you want to embroider something, you don’t want to wait around for ages for the transfers to arrive. So, I love the instant PDFs that are emailed to me. But when I want an actual transfer, it arrives quickly in the mail. No compromises here. Can’t go wrong with Sublime Stitching!

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Coraline embroidery kit

Absolutely adorable! So happy to stitch this. My daughter loves coraline and had been looking for patterns to stitch for her. This gives so many good patterns from the movie. 💕💕

Rose Hunter
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