Curing the Slump with Color Dreams Floche

I have a prescription for those after holiday blahs--a thread you haven't tried before!

https://bedeckedandbeadazzled.com/2025/11/meet-your-new-thread-crush/

There are currently 47 colors, which you can browse here.

https://bedeckedandbeadazzled.com/threads/color-dreams/floche-color-dreams/

If you haven't used floche before, think a smooth perle cotton that glides through your canvas.  As Ruth says, it is perfect for backgrounds and blackwork patterns but it also makes for a wonderful flower or animal, given the (usually) subtle color changes.

Then there are Ruth's "Wild" and her "Wacky."  Got any clowns or witches that need hair on your canvas?

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow

Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com

and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com

© Copyright November 4, 2025 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

Vibrant Beauty: Winter 2025 Mystery

Ruth Schmuff has announced the Winter 2025 mystery class--"Vibrant Beauty" from Romantzart.

https://bedeckedandbeadazzled.com/2024/12/vibrant-beauty/

The classes are set for January and February 2025.  Stay tuned. I'll update this article with Ruth's progress reports here as the class dates come and go.  By the way, Ruth had an idea about how to reduce shipping costs starting with this mystery.

https://bedeckedandbeadazzled.com/2024/12/i-had-an-idea/

Ruth started with an open background and a new Color Dreams thread on the vase.  (Color Dreams is a line of overdyed floche that Ruth has made for her shop.)

https://bedeckedandbeadazzled.com/2025/01/sparkly-2/

Then she moved to leaves and flowers with a Ruth twist.

https://bedeckedandbeadazzled.com/2025/02/leaves-and-fluffy-flowers/

Then Ruth tackled all those black outlines in a very clever way.  The flower center she's finished is amazing, by the way.

https://bedeckedandbeadazzled.com/2025/03/outlining-for-depth/

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow

Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com

and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com

© Copyright December 2, 2024 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

An Overview of Floche

Are you a fan of floche?  If you are, you already know the answers to Common Questions About Floche, but it's a lovely thread to use, especially for backgrounds.  It has a lot of shine to it.

https://www.needlenthread.com/2023/01/answering-common-questions-about-floche-other-threads.html

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow

Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com

and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com

© Copyright January 28, 2023 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

Mary Corbet's Garden Bright Color Collection of Floche UPDATED

Threadaholics rejoice!  Mary Corbet is now selling a collection of floche in bright summery colors.  Of course by the time I saw this, the thread packs were sold out but I'll leave this up because Mary will restock when she can.

https://shop.needlenthread.com/product/garden-bright-floche-thread-pack

UPDATE:  Mary's working to restock the floche collection. You can read about the process here.

https://www.needlenthread.com/2022/08/more-adventures-with-floche.html

If you aren't familiar with floche, you'll enjoy reading about it on Mary's website.  Just follow the links.

https://www.needlenthread.com/2022/07/a-great-way-to-try-floche-garden-bright-color-collection.html

If you don't want to wait for Mary's restocking of floche, you can also buy floche in small individual skeins in Ruth Schmuff's custom colors at the Bedecked and Beadazzled website.

https://bedeckedandbeadazzled.com/product-category/threads/dmc/floche/

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow

Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com

and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com

© Copyright July 13, 2022 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

Threadaholic Alert: Overdyed Floche

One side of Threedle's Christmas 2015 Ornament

I've been stitching with overdyed floche on my current project, one of Threedles' annual Christmas ornaments.  You can see it above.  The mirror image crescents flanking each point of the diamond-shaped center are Ravishing Raspberry #115 overdyed floche from Bedecked and Beadazzled.
https://bedeckedandbeadazzled.com/threads/color-dreams/

Regular floche comes from DMC.  One strand nearly the size of two plies of DMC cotton floss.  Mary Corbet has a lovely review of regular non-overdyed floche here.
https://www.dmc.com/us/p-free-patternsfloche.html

I'm eyeing the teal-purple mix that Colour Complements creates for the next side of my ornament.  I think it would look smashing on the aquamarine background.  But of course Lorraine at Colour Complements does lots of pretty colors.  The orange would also be amazing on my aquamarine canvas.
https://colourcomplements.com/product-category/hand-dyed-cotton-floche

Overdyed Floche and Cotton Floss from Colour Complements

UPDATE:  The teal and purple floche has arrived (there's a skein of Colour Complement's overdyed cotton floss in lime and turquoise in the above photo, too).  I forgot to tell you that the overdyed floss from Bedecked and Beadazzled and the overdyed floss from Colour Complements come in skeins of nearly the same size—28 yards for the Color Dreams' skeins from Ruth Schmuff and 3 meters (which is 27.8 yards more or less) for the Colour Complements' skeins.

Floche, whether overdyed or solid, is really lovely to stitch with in my opinion. If you like light coverage, it's very easy to use there.  If you prefer full coverage, you can get a nice smooth finish with 2-3 plies on 18 count.  It looks good next to a sparkle thread or beads, too, providing a good contrast that highlights any bling. This enables you to get away with using only a few beads if you need them but you don't like beading all that much.  I encourage you to try using this great thread the next time you need cotton on your project.

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
© Copyright March 10, 2020 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

Threadaholic Alert: Mary's Favorite Threads Video

If you love threads, you'll want to watch the latest video by FiberTalk.  Yes, I know FiberTalk normally does podcasts, but this week they interviewed Mary McGuire on camera to learn about her favorite threads.  You will see Mary's projects and hear her explain what thread was used where. Very interesting!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HUGuTvFVEuE&feature=youtu.be

By the way, I'm guessing that these are the Wubbers flat-nosed pliers Mary mentions at the end of the video.
http://www.wubbers.com/babyflat.php

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
© Copyright January 10, 2018 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

Threadaholic Alert: Overdyed Floche from Ruth Schmuff

Ruth Schmuff has expanded her offerings of overdyed floche and shows off the lovely eleven colors (and a complementary tin if you order an entire set) on her blog.  Of course you can order just one color if you prefer, but Ruth reminds you that you need to get enough of a dye lot for your project.
http://www.notyourgrandmothersneedlepoint.com/2016/10/whats-my-favorite-thread.html

The special tins are going to be available for a short time only so get your orders in now.

By the way, if you've never stitched with floche, here is what Mary Corbet says about it, with links to further information at the end of the article.
http://www.needlenthread.com/2010/01/cotton-floche-whats-not-to-love.html

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
© Copyright October 26, 2016 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

Plaited Wool UPDATED with Plaited Floche

One of the re-enactors at Historic Williamsburg (she is doing tambour embroidery) plaits her crewel wool to keep it tidy until she needs it. Then she just pulls a strand from the braid.  Use the side arrows to see more, including her tool box and needlepoint.
https://www.facebook.com/CWhistorictrades/photos/pcb.308665706155297/308663829488818/?type=3&theater


UPDATE: Mary Corbet does something similar with a skein of DMC floche.
http://www.needlenthread.com/2016/10/how-to-tame-a-big-hank-of-floche.html

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
© Copyright August 28, 2016 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

Floche Trunk Show

I don't usually point out trunk shows any more (I don't want to train Blog readers to just go for the cheapest price, not when there are so many great shops we need to support who can't afford big discount trunk shows) but I'm making an exception for The Needlepointer's trunk show of DMC's floche. There are a lot of fans of this thread but it can be hard to find, particularly all 196 colors.  The shop has ever color DMC has at a slight discount right now.
http://us1.campaign-archive2.com/?u=2b1a4dafdf1ba6e29e773aa79&id=0470254397&e=73961ee0ea

http://www.theneedlepointer.com/product/dmc-floche/

What is floche?  Mary Corbet is a BIG fan so she tells all in this article.  Don't miss the links at the bottom of the article to learn more or to see floche in action.
http://www.needlenthread.com/2010/01/cotton-floche-whats-not-to-love.html

 Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
© Copyright September 3, 2014 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

Threadaholic Alert: Various Weights of Floche

Floche has a lot of fans for its sheen and strength.   If you are one of them, you'll be thrilled to hear Mary Corbet has found an overseas source for various diameters of this thread. 
http://www.needlenthread.com/2014/06/very-fine-floche-for-whitework-embroidery.html

Marie Suarez's site is fun to explore.  Use Google Translate to read more.
http://www.mariesuarez.com

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
© Copyright June 24, 2014 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.