Beading.Beadwork.Beads

Thread Conditioners

Hey! I'm back!

It's been an interesting summer and fall. I closed the retail front of my bead shop, Bead Obsessions, and opened the online shop. I still have lots of work to do for the online shop, but it's coming along.

I thought I'd ease back into blogging by writing a bit about thread conditioners. I can't imagine stitching without them.

My favorite is Thread Heaven. It's great on nylon-based threads, such as SoNo and OneG (and 
 
essential on Nymo, if you're still using that!). It uses static electricity to deter tangling and knotting, and it protects your thread against UV damage and mold. It's also acid free, so it won't eat your threads. I've learned through my association with the Washington Ship Model Society that museums use it on threads used for rigging in model ships to help preserve said rigging.

The other conditioner I use, mostly on Fireline, is Microcrystalline. 

If the maker of this has a Web site for this product, I couldn't locate it immediately. It is synthetic beeswax and is white (beeswax is yellow). It will add stiffness/body to your work and also deters tangling and knotting.

Which you use is personal preference, unless you want your piece to be on the rigid side; then you should use Microcrystalline or beeswax.

To use either, hold your thread on top of/pressed into the product with a finger/thumb of one hand while drawing the thread with the other hand. Then run the thread through your fingers again; in the case of both products, this will remove clumps and excess product, and in the case of Thread Heaven, this last action is what actually statically charges the thread.

If the air is particularly dry or if I've been away from the project for a long time, I reapply the product before resuming stitching.

A Bit About Needles

Here's what I think is the best way to thread a beading needle.

Hold the very end of the thread in your nondominant hand between your thumb and index finger. Hold the needle in your dominant hand. Then put the eye of the needle over the end of the thread (see the photo below). If this technique isn't working for you after you've practiced it a few times, try holding the thread closer to the end, so less thread is exposed between your thumb and index finger.

 

Thank you to my hand model, Cindy Sayers (my hands are way too gross for this shot!).

Still having trouble? Try turning the needle over.

The eyes of needles have smooth and rough sides. Check out these photos:

Can you see that the inside of the eye in the top photo is smoother than the inside of the eye in the bottom photo (click here for zoom-able photos)? True, this is a huge tapestry needle, which I used to illustrate this point, but beading needles can have the same properties. Thread will most likely go through the needle from the side pictured in the top photo.