Threadaholic Alert: Starry and Soie Tissee Metal

Stitch-Stash shows off a new thread called Starry on their Instagram.

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

Patti says Starry is an overdyed wool with a touch of silver mixed in that is for 13 count needlepoint canvas.  The label says it is 75% super washed Merino wool, 20% nylon, and 5% silver.  There are 43 yards in a skein.  The thread is from Moondrake Company, which is a knitting fiber distributor.  You can see the available colors and a closeup of the thread on the Stitch-Stash website.

https://stitch-stash.com/collections/fibers

Emily's Stitchery shows off Silk Road Fiber's brand new Soie Tissee Metal.  It's so new, it isn't even on the Silk Road Fiber's website yet.  Apparently it is silk with a strand of gold, silver or white metallic woven in.

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

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow

Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com

and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com

© Copyright March 29, 2026 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved. 

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.

Which Side Are You On?

Melita's friend managed to snag a great deal on Rhapsody on eBay so she has plenty to work on her collection of Susan Portra "Chabochon Series" charts.

https://melitastitches4fun.com/2025/08/09/rhapsody-threads/

So which side are you on?  Do you love or hate overdyes?  

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow

Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com

and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com

© Copyright August 10, 2025 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

Melita Experiments with Skipping Stitches

Melita's been experimenting with skip tent and skip basketweave using overdyed thread, trying to see which stitch results in less streaky color.  It's quite interesting and now she has a drinks coaster to use to boot.

https://melitastitches4fun.com/2024/03/02/manipulating-overdyed-threads/

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow

Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com

and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com

© Copyright March 3, 2024 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

Getting to Know ThreadworX

Melissa of the Pointing It Out podcast interviews Tony Carter of ThreadworX.  It's interesting to hear how this business got started, the threads they offer and their plans.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T4Ytb2mXhOE

If you aren't a threadaholic you may not have heard of ThreadworX.  Browse all the goodies here.

https://www.threadworx.com/

Here are the colors in Bradley's Balloons.  This example happens to be perle cotton but it's available in floss, Vineyard Silk, Au Ver A Soie, Bella Lusso and Kreinik.

https://www.threadworx.com/productDetails.php?prd_id=326

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow

Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com

and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com

© Copyright December 26, 2023 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

Lori Tames Overdyed Threads: The Movie

Lori at Waste Knot talks overdyed threads and the various effects you can get from using them in this short but useful video.

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

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow

Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com

and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com

© Copyright September 23, 2023 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

Colour Complements Sale

Colour Complements is having a sale!  If you are a fan of overdyed cotton flosses and perles, time to stock up.  The sale is for individual skeins that Lorraine dyed too many of and for samples of coordinating colors that are odds and ends of inventory she wants to clear out.  It's a good time to experiment with color!

https://colourcomplements.com/product-category/sale

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow

Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com

and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com

© Copyright March 4, 2023 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

Cottage Garden Threads

Melita is having great fun at the ANG Seminar in Tucson.  She picked up some overdyed threads from an Australian company called Cottage Garden Threads.

https://melitastitches4fun.com/2022/08/02/cottage-garden-threads-at/

Here is the company's website.  Looks like they sell cotton floss plus size 8 and 12 perle cotton.

https://www.cottagegardenthreads.com.au/product-category/cgt-threads/

You can find single skeins on Etsy but be careful to buy enough of the same dyelot if you need to cover a large area.  This thread is often available in quilting shops apparently, so if there is a quilting emporium in your area, inquire if they carry Cottage Garden Threads.  

I also found a nice selection available through Terry Bay Needlework Designs.  I am not sure where the shop is located (the website doesn't say) but it's somewhere in the USA, I think.  

https://www.terribayneedleworkdesigns.com/store/c5/Cottage_Garden_Threads.html

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow

Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com

and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com

© Copyright August 3, 2022 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

Colour Complements' Eye for Colour Videos

Have trouble picking colors for a project?  Lorraine at Colour Complements is going to do a monthly posting on her blog called Eye for Colour to showcase colors that work well together.  She'll then post various thread brands that use these colors for you to use for inspiration.
https://colourcomplements.com/2020/03/eye-for-colour-colour-complements-embroidery-threads.html

The next palette is a lovely spring/Easter/early summer collection.
https://colourcomplements.com/2020/04/colour-50-eye-for-colour-series.html

Picking colors and stitches is hard for most of us so a tool that helps with colors is much appreciated!

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
© Copyright March 20, 2020 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.

A Review of Chameleon Silk

Mary Corbet has another fabulous review on her website, this time of Chameleon Threads, a South African brand of subtly overdyed silk flosses which use Au Ver A Soie's Soie d'Alger and Soie d'Paris as their base thread.
https://www.needlenthread.com/2020/02/thread-talk-chameleon-threads.html

Follow Mary's links to look at the Chameleon Threads website or to buy from various vendors.

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
© Copyright February 14, 2020 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

Threadaholic Alert: Pashmina from Gloriana

Gloriana's new Pashmina thread is becoming more widely available so I thought I'd post some photos.   This is a four-stranded blend of silk and cashmere as you can see in this closeup photograph. I understand with care you can split each of the four plies in half to have eight plies, but I don't know how many plies will work on 18 count.  I would start with two and see how it works up as a lot will depend on the stitch used and your personal stitch tension.
https://www.traditionalstitches.com/p_glorpashmina.html

Needle in a Haystack has photos of most of the colors (Pashmina isn't on the Gloriana website yet).  Note that these are overdyes, so there will be some color variation in the skein.
http://www.needlestack.com/WebStore/Thread/Gloriana_Pashmina.html

Rittenhouse appears to have photos of all the colors up on their website.  You have to choose a color and click to see a better photo.
https://rittenhouseneedlepoint.com/fiber/pashmina.html

The prices vary greatly among all three sites but not all the skeins being sold are the same size and Traditional Stitches is a Canadian shop.  I am looking forward to my favorite shop getting some of this in stock so I can try it.  I love Gloriana's colors.

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
© Copyright December 7, 2017 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

Ariadne's New Colors

Lorraine, the owner of Colour Complements, has used her hand dyed threads to stitch an original version of StitchPlay's "Ariadne." AND if you happen to have the chart, you can order the thread kit from Lorraine.
http://colourcomplements.com/2017/06/ariadne.html

"Ariadne" isn't listed on the StitchPlay website right now, but Michael says he and Carole have copies to sell.  Just email carole@stitchplay.com and ask. There are plenty of other fun things to stitch available to see on the website in case you want to browse.
http://www.stitchplay.com

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
© Copyright June 23, 2017 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.

Cosmo UPDATED

No, we aren't talking that PBS science program that Carl Sagan so memorably narrated in the 1980s.
youtube cosmos carl sagan

I'm talking about Cosmo embroidery floss, an Egyptian cotton floss dyed in Japan. Cosmo is available as a six ply silky cotton, as a variated cotton floss and as a metallic floss.    It is widely available in the USA in quilting shops.
http://www.thimblecreek.com/cosmo.php

There are over 400 colors available in the embroidery floss line.  If you need a lot of shades of one color, Cosmo appears to have 6-7 shades quite often.  Folks who plan to stitch Patricia Spencer's Twister, take note!
http://www.thimblecreek.com/images/COSMO%20colorchart.pdf

Seasons is what the variegated line is called.  There appear to be 73 color combos.
http://www.thimblecreek.com/images/Seasons-color-chart.pdf

Sparkles is the line of metallic floss.  There are 7 colors here.
http://thimblecreek.com/product.php?product=88

For more information here is the company's website.
http://www.lecien.co.jp/en/embroidery/index.html

I've also found a DMC-Cosmo conversion chart so you can substitute colors easier.
http://www.thimblecreek.com/images/DMC%20to%20COSMO%20Conversion%20Chart.pdf

UPDATE: Here is Mary Corbet's review of their variegated cotton floss.
https://www.needlenthread.com/2020/05/cosmo-seasons-variegated-embroidery-thread.html

UPDATE #2:  Rittenhouse has a little video on this wonderful cotton floss.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LlAHzSX9rqQ

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
© Copyright September 15, 2016 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

Threadaholic Alert: Coloris UPDATED

Thanks to Mary Corbet's review, I know to keep my eyes open the next time I visit the big box crafts stores that carry DMC cotton flosses. DMC has a new line of overdyed cotton flosses called Coloris. They are very different than their original line of overdyed threads (Color Variations) which were more tone variations of a shade.  Here's what Mary has to say about Coloris.
http://www.needlenthread.com/2016/06/thread-talk-coloris-by-dmc.html

Here is DMC's page on the old Color Variations colors.
http://www.dmc-usa.com/Products/Needlework-Threads/Embroidery-Threads/Color-Variations.aspx

UPDATE:  Mary talks about solid DMC cotton flosses that coordinate with the Coloris color range.
http://www.needlenthread.com/2016/06/dmc-coloris-corresponding-colors-in-solids.html

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
© Copyright June 8, 2016 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

Threadaholic Alert: Artfabrik Threads

Mary Corbet has done it again--she is tempting us with photos and links to a line of overdyed perle cotton threads from Artfabrik. These come in sizes 3, 5, 8 and 12, which means you can use this on any size needlepoint canvas or mix thread sizes for a special effect (light coverage in the background, normal coverage for a focal point, etc.).
http://www.needlenthread.com/2016/05/thread-talk-get-your-southwest-color-fix.html

Scroll down to see the colors.  No drooling on your keyboard!

Five enabling points to Mary....

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

Overdyed Kreinik Size 16 Braid Now Available

I have great news for fans of overdyed Kreinik!  Colour Complements is now dyeing size 16 braid in some of their fun color combinations.
http://colourcomplements.com/2016/05/kreinik-16-braid.html 

ThreadworX has been the supplier for sizes 4, 8 and 12 overdyed Kreinik here in the United States, but if you want size 16 braid, Lorraine of Colour Complements is the place.   Since this is brand new, Lorraine's Etsy shop only has a multicolor pack available, but I think if you ask her nicely and be a little patient, you can arrange to have the color you want made just for you.
https://www.etsy.com/listing/278107056/kreinik-16-braid-variety-pack?ref=shop_home_feat_1

Here is the ThreadworX website.
http://www.threadworx.com/catalog.php

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
© Copyright May 23, 2016 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

Baroque Silk in Overdyes

Pocket Full of Stitches shows off the lovely colors of the new overdyed Baroque Silk which came out at the Dallas show.
http://pocketfullofstitches.blogspot.com/2015/10/thread.html

If you aren't familiar with this lovely silk, it comes from Pure Palette at Dream House Ventures.  Its plyable for 18 count or you can use all three plies in one strand for 13-14 count canvases.  The colors are beautiful and I like the feel of this pretty silk.  If you ply it, sometimes you'll find color variation even in the solid colors but this can be used to great effect for a "marbled" look in a border or perhaps a stone floor or in hair for highlights.
http://www.needlepointsltd.com/baroquesilk.html

http://www.dreamhouseventures.com/shop/the-pure-palette/baroque-silk-.htm

Ridgewood shows off the regular colors as part of a trunk show of this thread.
http://ridgewoodneedlepoint.blogspot.com/2015/10/baroque-silk-thread-trunk-show-continues.html

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
© Copyright October 28, 2015 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

The Sheep Wore Overdyes

Lorraine of Colour Complements posted a photograph of some of her threads used in a Brenda Stofft design of a sheep.  Denise's stitching is wonderful and so is the original piece, so I knew you would want to see how she used some of the Colour Complements threads.
http://colourcomplements.com/2015/07/needlepoint-27.html

The full design can be seen on Brenda Stofft's website. It's "Sheep with Wreath,"  fourth row from the bottom.
http://www.brendastofftdesign.com/#!spring-and-easter/camp

If you are a threadaholic and must have some to play with, here is the Colour Complements website.  I have a few precious skeins in my stash waiting for a project I might get to next year. Lovely stuff!
http://colourcomplements.com/shop

Lorraine also has an Etsy store.  Please don't drool on your keyboard!
https://www.etsy.com/shop/colourcomplements?ref=em

Thanks for the share, Lorraine. I love Denise's sheep!

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
© Copyright July 20, 2015 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.