When I work up embroidery stitch videos for Needle ‘n Thread, I use DMC’s pearl cotton #5.
Why? Primarily because it’s more visible, but there are several secondary reasons. One is that it’s a non-divisible thread, so I don’t have to worry about keeping strands of thread straight in the needle will recording. And of course, there’s always the fact that DMC produces a high quality thread, so it performs well. Good threads always perform better than inferior alternatives!
I also use it because it comes in lots and lots of colors, and it’s nice to be able to choose from a range of colors – although some colors work better than others for the camera.
I get a lot of questions about the thread and fabric I use in the videos. The other day, I received a question about the pearl cotton: “I want to use the same thread in a project I’m doing, but it only comes in two colors of green. One is bright and the other is blue-green, they don’t work well together. Any suggestions?”
The question is timely. This particular stitcher is working up some St. Patrick’s Day embroidery, and it’s a good time of the year (at least here in the US) to consider green thread. In my mind, green equates with Spring!
It turns out she was shopping at a nearby chain craft store. At chain stores like Hobby Lobby, Michael’s, and JoAnn’s – all of which stock DMC embroidery threads – you rarely find a good selection of pearl cotton. Tops, you might find 12 or 15 colors, and I know exactly what two colors of green this stitcher was talking about. There’s a happy spring green, and then there’s a duller, light pine green available at the craft stores around here. Occasionally, around Christmas, there’s a bright Christmas green, and sometimes, you might also find a dark pine green.
So I went through my pearl cotton #5 drawers and pulled all the greens, and any colors that were green tinted, including blue-greens and khaki greens.
There were over fifty shades of green!
My favorites in the greeny lines are these – 699-704 and 904-907. The 700 greens have a slight tinge of blue to them, but they are bright and cheery.
And the 900 greens are a grassy, bright, lovely green. They are Spring, threadified.
If you have a locally owned needlepoint shop near you, you might have access to the whole line of pearl cotton #5. While I was in South Carolina a few years back, two of the shops that I visited stocked the full line of pearl cotton #5, so I’m sure there are other needlepoint shops that carry the full line, too.
Though it’s less likely that you’ll find the line available in cross stitch shops because it’s a bit heavy for cross stitch, it doesn’t hurt to check. So first, check local needlework shops and see if they carry it.
If you don’t have a local needlework shop, try online shops like Herrschners, Nordic Needle, 1-2-3 Stitch (which has the best prices right now, at $1.39 / skein), or your own favorite online source for DMC threads.
