There are many types of embroidery floss and threads available on the market today. As the price of DMC floss climbs, people are looking for alternatives. The 3 major brands, Anchor, JPCoates and DMC are roughly the same price range-- between 60 and 70 cents a skein.
When you want a lot of colors, 70 cents adds up fast! Here's my own personal comparison.
Off Brands - Craft Brands
Lots of hobby and craft stores offer a bundles of their own off-brands of embroidery floss. Some of those flosses aren't horrible and the colors are good but it's a little furry. What I mean by furry is that once you've stitched with it, the stitches are surrounded in these tiny tiny fibers that make it look a little fuzzy. The stitching actually loses its definition and lacks a nice smooth sheen.These threads are good for friendship bracelets and the like, but not your best choice for fine embroidery work.
CXC-
There's also a Chinese brand of floss called CXC that's gaining popularity. They've copied the same colors and color numbers as DMC floss line and they have alllll the same colors but it's very inexpensive. There's a few places on Etsy and Ebay that sell it for 15-30 cents a skein. That's a big savings! I find that it tangles a LOT! First of all getting it off the skein, without tangling takes a neurosurgeons' dexterity. They say it pulls from the inside thread and not the loose outside one- yahhh no. It doesn't pull from any thread without tangling and . its . slippery. When you're winding it onto a card- it tangles. When you're splitting it to stitch- it tangles. When you're stitching it tangles. I've thrown literally dozens of skeins in the trash they got so tangled just getting them off the skein. It's also not colorfast.
I love Sullivan floss. They have all the DMC colors, it's high quality egyptian cotton, it doesn't tangle, it's got a nice sheen to it without being slippery. It's easy to split, it doesn't tangle while stitching - and it's colorfast. It's only 40 cents a skein and I would highly recommend it. The downside is that it's hard to find in the shops. However, you can buy it through their website and they ship quickly.
DMC
It's dependable. The colors are precise every time, it doesn't tangle, it's easy to split, it's smooth to stitch with...it's everything you want from embroidery floss...BUT...it's 60+ cents a skein.
Click here to see the full
|
