Your thread stash: how to keep track of your threads and avoid buying twice
After a couple of finished pieces every stitcher has a stash: whole skeins, started ones, offcuts. That's when the familiar stories begin — you buy a second skein of a colour already at home, or miss that a thread won't last for the background. A little order in the stash saves both money and nerves.
Store by number
Every thread has a maker and a number, and that's what you look for, not the colour by eye. Handy ways to store it:
- Card or plastic bobbins with the number written on them, in an organiser box in number order.
- Zip bags on a ring — for the threads of one particular project.
- Skeins with their original band — if you don't wind them, keep the band on: it has the number.
Keep the stash dark and dry: threads fade in sunlight.
What to record
Three things are enough: the thread number, how much there is (full skein, started, nearly gone) and where it is if you have several boxes. You can keep the list in a notebook, a spreadsheet or an app; what matters is updating it when a skein runs out or a new one arrives.
Before a new project
- Write down every thread number from the chart key.
- Check them against your stash and mark the ones you don't have at all.
- See which colours the chart uses a lot: one skein may not be enough for a background or a large area even if you have it. The more stitches in a colour, the more carefully you check.
- Turn what's missing or short into a shopping list.
It's better to buy extra of a started skein in advance: threads of the same number from different dye lots sometimes differ slightly in shade, and on a large solid area that can show.
Substitutes
If you don't have a number, look for a substitute in conversion charts between makers. Matching by eye on a screen is unreliable: a screen and a real thread show colour differently. If in doubt, compare skeins in daylight.
Where the app fits
Crossette has a thread stash: you record your skeins there, and it makes a shopping list for a chart. The chart knows the thread numbers when it's opened from an OXS file with thread codes. For how much thread a piece needs, see "How to work out the size and the thread".
About the author
This article was written by the Crossette team. We're building Crossette, a cross stitch tracker for iPhone and iPad. It's in development; to join the beta, email [email protected].