Brite Eyes (Margaret Bendig)

The Sun city Stitcher had lots of fun with this Halloween piece by Margaret Bendig.  I didn't know DMC had glow-in-the-dark floss!

https://www.suncitystitcher.com/2025/07/brite-eyes.html

https://www.suncitystitcher.com/2025/08/brite-eyes-update.html

Sadly, this is also a design only available through ANG.

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow

Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com

and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com

© Copyright July 17, 2025 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

Unique Self-Finishing for Halloween (Plus Glow-in-the-Dark Threads)

Lisa at Deux Bijoux Bijoux shows off a unique self-finishing frame for your Halloween stitching pleasure.

https://www.instagram.com/p/DAhEH9dPKC4/

The kit (canvas, threads and frame) is available from The Scissorists.

https://www.instagram.com/p/DAI3q0htEHl/

By the way, Kreinik has a new glow-in-the-dark section about these threads they sell on their website.  This gives tips on use, how others make them glow (or glow longer), and explains why these threads often have a green cast.

https://www.kreinik.com/store/shop-needlework/glow-in-the-dark-threads/how-to-use-glow-in-the-dark-threads

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow

Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com

and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com

© Copyright October 1, 2024 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

Sparkle Threads: The Movie

The Pointing It Out podcast talks about sparkly and metallic threads.  They talk about Kreinik, Silk Lame Braid, Glisten, Entice, Neon Rays Plus, Sparkle, Fyre Werks, Frosty Rays, Flair, Accentuate, Fuzzy Stuff, Arctic Rays, Micro Chenille, Stardust, Snow, Crystal Braid, ThreadworX's overdyed Kreinik, Painter's Shimmer, plus they give tips stitching with them.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X6zwqbLHZeA

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow

Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com

and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com

© Copyright August 27, 2022 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

Glow in the Dark Halloween Sky

Kreinik has a fun article (with video) talking about their glow in the dark threads used in a Halloween night sky.  Happy Halloween!
http://kreinikthread.blogspot.com/2018/08/how-to-stitch-night-sky.html

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
© Copyright August 29,2018 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

Comparing DMC and Kreinik's Glow in the Dark Threads

Freudian Stitch has written up a nice comparison of DMC's Light Effects and Kreinik's braids, looking at both companies' glow-in-the-dark threads and trying to decide which is best.
https://freudianstitch.com/blog/2017/5/16/test-post

Of course what you use is probably down to what is easily available to you, what sort of stitching you do (the comparison was done on a cross stitch project by a cross stitcher), and how much disposable income you have for threads.  You also might prefer the strandable DMC thread to the non-strandable Kreinik.  It all depends on what you are doing.

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
© Copyright June 16, 2017 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

Glow in the Dark Beads Available

If your Halloween or any other canvas isn't glitzy enough, you can now buy size 11/0 glow-in-the-dark beads. Deborah posted two photos on Facebook. One shows the bead tubes in regular light and the other shows the glow colors.  Use the right side arrow to see the second photo.
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1113391885441451&set=pcb.1180992715311218&type=3&theater

Deborah got hers from A Thread Garden in California.
http://athreadgarden.com/athreadgarden.com/Home.html

Ruth Schmuff says she will have these in size 11 shortly.
http://bedeckedandbeadazzled.com

The beads seem to be from Toho, which is a Japanese bead company.
http://baublesandbeads.com/store/category/1/72/11°-Rounds-Japanese/9%2529%2BGlow%2Bin%2Bthe%2BDark/

If you buy online or in a local big box crafts store, make sure you check the size.  The very big size 6 pony beads have been available in glow colors for a long time but they are pretty large for most uses on needlepoint canvas.

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
© Copyright October 31, 2016 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

Glowing: A Review

Ancora Crafts posted a comparison of DMC's and Kreinik's glow-in-the-dark threads on their blog last fall.  UPDATE:  The link is fixed!  Sorry!
http://ancoracrafts.com/glow-in-the-dark-thread-review/

I think the fraying issue she had with the Kreinik threads was due to using too small a needle, but as a cross stitcher, I am not sure she's experienced enough with a variety of threads to know this.  Cross stitch designs are usually designed to be done with cotton flosses, after all.  She also calls Kreinik metallics "plastic" which isn't true but I'm sure metallic threads are so different from cotton floss that she didn't know quite how to describe their feel.

For me, the value of this article is seeing how the various colors of Kreinik look in daylight and glowing in the dark.  Knowing the oranges look more yellow in the dark or seeing that the greens and blues and yellows are different greens in the dark is very helpful when trying to plan using a mix of these colors in a design.

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
© Copyright May 10, 2016 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

Friday Finishing: Lights and Tables

Trust me, you have never seen a glow-in-the-dark Halloween piece like this! 
http://www.notyourgrandmothersneedlepoint.com/2014/04/boo-its-halloween.html

This was the fall mystery from Bedecked and Beadazzled, using a canvas from Hal Mayforth.

The second piece is also from Bedecked and Beadazzled.  This is a Lani collage stitched in a Meredith Willet class by the wildly talented Palma Seljan and made into a table.
http://www.notyourgrandmothersneedlepoint.com/2014/04/another-great-finish.html

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
© Copyright April 7, 2014 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

The Halloween Train

Needle Orts Rides the Halloween Train

Last week Needle Orts sent me photos of their version of Raymond Crawford's Halloween train. They are fabulous!  This is the same set that Linda of Stitching Sisters is working on.
http://nystitchingsisters.blogspot.com/2013/10/latest-finish_27.html

What Linda doesn't tell you is that the darning stitch pumpkin background of the train engine shown above is worked in glow in the dark thread (Petite Silk Lame Braid).  It is guaranteed to glow spookily--the staff all crowded into the bathroom at Needle Orts and turned off the lights to test how it looked.  Fabulous!

The Dearly Departed Peeks Out a Window

Debbie told me the hearse car has two beads for the dearly departed and they also added the Undertaker and Family Member to the windows above.

The Spooky Caboose and Its Passengers

However, my personal favorite is the caboose canvas, with its pumpkins, candelabra and black cat riding along to the funeral.  What fun!

You can see the original unstitched canvases at Raymond Crawford's website.  Look for Halloween Part Three.  Needle Orts' website is the second link in case you want to buy a ticket for the stitch guides ride.
http://www.raymondcrawford.com/designs/halloween/

http://www.needleorts.com

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
@ Copyright 2013 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

How to Use Glow in the Dark Threads

Kreinik has written a short essay on how to use their glow in the dark threads (with lots of tips) for the Mr. X Stitch site. It's a fun read and might inspire you to create something wonderfully glowing for next Halloween (or any holiday, really).
http://www.mrxstitch.com/using-threads-special-effects/

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
@ Copyright 2013 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

I'm Glowing UPDATED

Turn off the light!

Actually I'm not the one glowing--it is my threads. Rainbow Gallery has outdone itself with new colors of glow-in-the-dark threads.  There are all sorts of colors and Petite Treasure Braid and Silk Lame Braid also have white glowing threads.  Fun!

We really are lucky to be stitching right now.

UPDATE:  Kreinik has added a section about its glow-in-the-dark threads to their website in 2024.

https://www.kreinik.com/store/shop-needlework/glow-in-the-dark-threads/how-to-use-glow-in-the-dark-threads

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
@ Copyright 2013 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

Is My Butt Too Big?

dede Odgen's Reflections Bunny Ornament

I'm still really busy this morning with TNNA postings but I did want you to see this little dede Odgen ornament I worked on during Christmas when I had my Day of the Dead lady put safely away while we had houseguests.  The photo you see above shows the bunny's head stitched in brick stitches over two threads and the body stitched in brick stitches over four threads.  The contrast between the size of the stitches is too much.

What to do?  Rip out?  I could have ripped out the body and redone the brick stitches over three instead and that probably would have muted the effect.  However, I decided to pull out my bunka brush and fuzz the heck out of the body and head as a way to hiding the size difference.  Aren't familiar with bunka brushes?  Here's a picture.
http://www.nordicneedle.com/6749.html

It works quite well but not in tiny spaces like the bunny's head where I had to be careful not to snag the ears.  For that I used my Boo-Boo stick, which is normally used to get fuzz off a canvas after you rip out a section.  It did a good job on the head although that area isn't as fuzzy.  It's nylon bristles won't fuzz an area the way the metal bristles of the bunka brush will.
http://www.nordicneedle.com/6726.html

Bunny after Fuzzing

By the way, the body is done with two plies of DMC's glow in the dark white floss mixed with a strand of Wisper.  The rabbit does glow a bit except for his ears, which are all Wisper, but not as much as the skein itself glows.  Using only two plies muted the effect but I do like it.  I don't think Glow in the Dark is Halloween only.

I plan to add stem stitches with Wisper along the shoulder join between the head and body but you'll have to wait to see how it all turns out.  I am concentrating on Belleza right now.

The reflection ornament is from a series by dede Odgen.  They aren't on her website but you can see most of the series here by using the search button under the header and looking for "reflections."
http://www.stitchtherapyneedlepoint.com

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com

Rumor Mill

The rumor mill says there are new threads coming out at the January 2012 trade show. Rainbow Gallery will have four new glow in the dark colors in shades of lime, lavendar, orange and yellow. Hyla Hurley's High Cotton line is going to add twenty-one new colors, including six Christmas reds/magentas, two bright greens and --my favorite!-- four shades of old gold.

I've heard the new Gingher scissors limited edition for 2012 will be in my favorite shades of turquoise, blue, and green! I've never been on the bandwagon of picking up the limited edition Gingher colors, but next year I might have to make an exception....


Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com

The Devil Doesn't Glow in the Dark

With Halloween ornaments so popular these days, thread companies have created threads that glow in the dark.  Rainbow Gallery just came out with a Neon Rays Plus in a glow in the dark thread, in fact.  But how well do they work? What do they look like and where can you get glow in the dark threads?  Don't look at me.  Despite my huge stash of threads, I only have one that glows in the dark and I can't find it right now.  However, Robin King is ready and able to step up and share her experience with these threads.
http://needlepointstudyhall.blogspot.com/2011/06/glow-in-dark-threads.html

We can now glow with confidence!  Unless we are a devil ornament, of course.  LOL

Thanks, Robin.

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com