Breaking News: Discontinued Kreinik Color

Kreinik has just announced that they are not going to be able to produce their holographic "Berry Red" 031L any longer.  The article lists substitutes, although none will come close to the shine of the holographic red.
http://kreinikthread.blogspot.com/2018/10/farewell-to-this-kreinik-color.html

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
© Copyright October 2, 2018 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

More Kreinik Videos from TNNA

Kreinik made quite a few short videos at the Baltimore TNNA show.  This one shows off the key fob kits from Voila.
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10150218307283316&set=vb.104419880939&type=2&theater

This is the Voila website.  Mute your sound if you are at work before you click on the link.
http://voilaneedlepoint.com

Whimsey and Grace shows off their sleep mask canvases and the matching bookmarks as well as their Halloween masks.
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10150215053293316&set=vb.104419880939&type=2&theater

There are more lovely Christmas Reflections designs from Whimsey and Grace here.
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10150213993853316&set=vb.104419880939&type=2&theater

You can get a better look at many of the finished masks here.
http://www.whimsyandgrace.com/new-items/

One of the Christmas Reflections ornaments you just saw used Kreinik's new holographic threads.  Here you see a very short video of an Elizabeth Turner design being stitched by M's Canvashouse using the same holographic threads.
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=401215683315&set=vb.104419880939&type=2&theater

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

Kreink Threads for 2011

Goodies Courtesy of Kreinik

Out of the kindness of their thread-manufacturing hearts, Kreinik has sent me a sample of all their new threads for the spring for review.  In the photo above (top row down, from left to right) you see:

Top Row
The new Easter Grass, a clear 1/8" ribbon thread that does look like that artificial grass you find in Easter baskets, which I've heard stitches up into great window glass;

Two new colors in the holographic thread line--042L Solar Flare which is a very pretty red, blue and gold mix that would make great highlights in a geometric design that was mostly red and blue and;

028L Optic Opal which is a very yellow gold that seems to have green highlights.  If you need Screaming Yellow for the gold coins at the end of the rainbow, this is the thread for you!  By the way, both spools are the #8 fine braid size.

Second Row
This row is the new 4200 line called New Naturals which replace the 4000 series of colors which were discontinued because the Kreinik Company couldn't get the base materials any more.  All of these spools are the #8 fine braid size.

From left to right, the colors are--4006 Rosehip (a very pretty medium pastel pink), 4205 Ironwood (a muted tarnished silver), 4204 Storm Cloud (tarnished dark silver that would shade very well with 4205), 4203 Cattail (an olive-brown-gold mix which would work as darkly tarnished treasure or would make a beautiful accent color), 4202 Dusky Meadow (a medium chocolate brown, which is hard to find in a metallic thread), and 4201 Sugar Cane (a pretty grayish-green).  I think I have most of the original 4000 series which this replaces, so I will compare the two versions later and let you know if they are good matches.

Third Row
These are the new Candy colors from Kreinik. Once again, all these spools are the #8 fine braid size.  The colors are, from left to right:
5700 Cotton Candy (the sort of pink your hard shell phone cover is made from), 5705 Rock Candy Red (a frosty red that does look like sugared candy), 5720 Gum Drop Gold (a gorgeous Harvest Gold-with-a-touch-of-Apricot color), 5725 Lollipop Lemon (bright and pure yellow, perfect for the sun in a children's drawing), 5735 Key Lime Pie (slightly frosted light olive green, perfect for a fancy elf outfit), 5740 Sugar Plum (beautiful bluish-violet with green highlights), 5750 Coffee Toffee (it does look like light brown toffee), 5760 Marshmallow (a pure white with tiny green highlights), and 5765 Orange Sherbet (hot orange--if such a thing is possible--that also looks like the hard candy case for a cell phone).

Bottom Row
These are the new Hot Wire threads, all #16 medium braid Kreinik with a thin wire threaded through the middle.  There are more colors than I realized.  From left to right they are:
001W Silver, 002W Gold, 003W Red, 005W Black, 009W Emerald, 015W Chartreuse, 5700W Cotton Candy, 5725W Lollipop Lemon, and 052FW Grapefruit (this is the glow in the dark cream color).  In most cases, these seem to be identical to the regular Kreinik colors but with wire inside.  001 and 002 are the normal silver and golds, so look for the W at the end of the number to tell a spool of regular 002 gold from a spool of 002W gold with wire inside.  However, the wired version of 5700 Cotton Candy is slightly lighter in shade than the unwired version.  That may be partly because the spools of each (they are both pictured above) are different diameters.  My 5700 is #8 fine braid while my 5700W is #16 medium braid.  That does make a difference in the visual impact.  So if you are using wired and unwired versions of the same color on a piece, the colors may or may not be an exact match.  I think they will be close, but perhaps not identical.  Keep in mind that the surrounding colors will effect how the two types of Kreinik look, so even if the wired and unwired versions are an exact color match, they may not look the same because one is next to bright blue while the other is next to dark orange.

I'll report further on these threads as I have time to use them.  Many thanks to Dena at Kreinik who offered these to me and to the kind person who prompted Dena to ask if I'd like them.

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

Test Driving Threads (Part Two)

Once I got home with my new threads and actually started to stitch, I had to decide just where to use Trio and the holographic Kreinik.  I had two Trio skeins, a dark burgundy and a bright red.  I also had a ruby metallic, the holographic Kreinik.  The plaid itself just has two reds so one of the three threads was going to have to be discarded.  So I put the burgandy Trio aside and started some test stitches with the lighter red Trio and the metallic.  Since I had three sizes of the holograhic Kreinik, I had to test stitch with each. So there are actually four threads in the stitching above--one Trio and three Kreiniks.

If you look carefully at this close up, the #12 Kreinik holographic braid is the two fat lines just under the top paw.  Moving down directly under them, you see a line that has the right and left sides stitched but not the middle.  This row is in Trio.  The left side is one ply and the right side is two.  I was testing whether I could get away with one ply in these long slanting stitches.  I decided that for this stitch, I preferred two plies of the three that are in each strand of Trio.   Trio is easy to stitch with, by the way.  Each ply can be easily removed from a strand.  I used an 18 inch length of thread, which is normal for me, without any problems although the last three inches of the thread are worn by the needle and have to be cut off and discarded by the time I finish stitching.  I think the wool texture and the silk shine of Trio is going to look great on the plaid areas.

However, you should read the comments after yesterday's blog message.  Not everyone has an easy time with Trio.  The three plies can each be divided into two parts, giving you 6 plies altogether.  I would not do this myself as Trio is a delicate thread.  Separating it into six plies makes it very soft and delicate and the thread could separate as you stitch.  If you are having a great deal of trouble, try shorter lengths, a larger needle eye, and don't split it into more than 3 plies.

The row just under the Trio row is the #12 holographic braid again. At the bottom of the picture you see a strand of that thread in #8 braid.  Note how the cut end frays.  You will need to be careful on the back side that none of these loose ends wiggle out and show on the front.  This row also shows that occasionally some of the shiny Mylar that gives holographic thread its shine will become exposed.  You'll get a silver "streak" there.  I will have to remove part of this stitch and cut out the streak and restitch but since this is test stitching, I left it.  I know most if not all of the stitches I've done will be pulled out since this is Just A Test.

Using the same close up photo again, look at the red block just above the lower paw.  This is done with the #8 holographic red Kreinik.  I also did a row of tent stitches to the right of this block between the white and yellow lines.  I decided I like the #8 braid better for tent stitches but the #12 braid better for the slanted rows.

At the very bottom of the ornament near the cut frayed thread is the 1/16 inch ribbon.  In this piece the holographic read is a little shinier using the holographic ribbon and the texture is flatter, especially next to any red plaid in the Trio.  I think I am going to use the #8 braid holographic Kreinik for the tent stitched single lines and the #12 braid holographic Kreinik for the longer slanted lines that fill a fatter row.

You have to remember that just because I choose to use the #8 and #12 braid for my piece that yours won't do better in the 1/16 inch ribbon.  It all depends on the stitch you are using, the threads stitched next door to this area, and the effect you want.

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
Archived Yahoo 360 postings at http://profiles.yahoo.com/chillyhollow

Test Driving Threads (Part One)

When I made the long drive to the Woodlawn Plantation exhibit, I took along a list of DMC colors to use to pull the threads I didn't have in my stash already for the Stuart Plaid Lion ornament.  I was particularly looking for threads that matched the dark and bright reds in the plaid area of the ornament.  I searched In Stitches, Needlewoman East, and Waste Knot the same way-- I pulled out my list of DMC colors, then found the two skeins of DMC cotton floss in each shop that were on my list.  Then I could carry the DMC around each shop, matching shades of red in order to pick something I thought would work with the threads I already have for this project.  Once I had found (or not found) something, I could return the DMC floss to its home on the shop shelves.

I ended up with three red threads for the plaid--two red Trios and a red Kreinik #12 metallic.  Trio is a silk and wool blend that can be stranded like Paternayan into three plies.  It is made by Brown Paper Packages, the company that sells Silk & Ivory.  Silk & Ivory is a silk/marino wool tapestry thread that is not dividable.   It is a little too fat for 18 count canvas, so Brown Paper Packages came out with Trio which can be used on 13 count (all three strands) or on 18 count (one or two strands).  Except for the thread being dividable or not, Silk & Ivory and Trio are identical.
http://www.brownpaperpackages.com/

I choose two shades of red in Trio--Really Red #T312 and Burgundy T324.  You can see them both in the Wine Red section of the Brown Paper Packages website.  The color numbers differ online because the threads pictured are the tapestry wool Silk & Ivory line, not the Trio.  I haven't stitched with Trio before so I am eager to try this thread.
http://www.brownpaperpackages.com/colors_Reds.htm

I also bought a spool of the new Kreinik holographic thread in size #12, color 003L which is a ruby red (it's called Robot Red).  Here is information about the threads and small squares of the color on the Kreinik website.  If you can enlarge the page, do so to see the colors better.
http://www.kreinik.com/feature.htm

A few days after my trip, I got an email out of the blue from Dena Lenham of Kreinik asking me if I would like a little of the new holographic thread to play with.  I asked for a second spool of my holographic ruby thread in #8 braid.  I was a bit afraid that #12 was going to be too fat as it really was intended for 13 count canvases.  The Stuart Plaid Lion is on 18 count.  My envelope from Dena arrived last week and I was amazed to find the entire line of #8 braid and also the entire set of 1/16 inch holographic ribbon inside!  Thank you, Dena!  Blog's readers are very grateful that you sent all this for review purposes.

In the photo above, the #8 braid set is on top and the 1/16" ribbon on the bottom.  My #12 spool is in the middle.  The colors are a bit brighter in the holographic ribbon as it is shinier than the braids, whether they are #8 or #12 braid.  But the reds are identical across all three sizes otherwise and the other colors seem to be the same in #8 and 1/16 inch ribbon.  It is just that the ribbon thread shows the holographic Mylar better so it has more reflective ability.

In both photos you can see the frayed cut end of my #12 braid spool, and how curly the thread is when it first comes off the spool.  The curl stays in the thread longer than a perm stays in my hair!  I suggest you cut a twelve inch length, then grasp each end and pull hard.  That will straighten it some. If you use too long a length, the curl will start to kink and knot somewhere in the middle.  Even pulled and stretched, the curl remains and might cause problems in a longer strand.  The curl isn't as prominent in the 1/16 inch ribbon but a short length is still a good idea.  The ribbon will twist and has to be laid to make sure it is flat so that the light will bounce off it well and shine.  I find it easier to lay a thread that isn't too long a length since I only have two hands, one for the threaded needle and one for the laying tool.

I've also decided that once you cut a length and tie a knot, you should trim the raw end past the knot as close to the knot as you can.  The end will splay out into the elements that make up the thread and those loose ends can be pulled into the front as you stitch.

This message is getting a bit long so tomorrow I'll post about actually using these two new threads as I began stitching the plaid area.

Janet Perry has written a review of these new holographic threads.  Here's the link so you can read what she says about them.
http://www.coolcraftsites.com/2010/nuts-about-needlepoint/kreinik’s-holographic-threads-–-product-review/

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
Archived Yahoo 360 postings at http://profiles.yahoo.com/chillyhollow