Current Mood : Wiped out !
Started today off well - found six new designs on a machine embroidery website I liked, and snagged ‘em for free. There was about 20 I liked, actually, so I bookmarked it for later. Man, they really know what they're doing when they offer freebies, don't they ?
No danger of me buying any, though - with all the vehicle shuffling and weather this month, we're pretty broke right now. S'Ok, there's food in the pantry and enough for Dearest Son's school lunch, so it's not bad at all. I get to return to my volunteer work this week, so I got plenty to do, and half a gas tank to do it with. Not sure if I'm reading or doing craft work with the kids Friday - but if it's crafts, I gotta squeeze a bit out of checking for those badge pieces. Luckily, there's a 40% off coupon to Hobby Lobby this week !
Last night, I went through my thread stocks. And I was utterly confused. Most sites say embroidery weight thread is best for Brody. Something even the manual dances around - it doesn't suggest a weight or type, other than ‘embroidery', and even then, it's merely suggested in the ‘learn to use your new machine' pages, and nowhere else, not even in the embroidery section. Well, I used it on Wall-e, and it didn't "fill" nearly as well as regular ole spool thread. Cheap thread may have lumps or burrs in it, but there is such a thing as good quality spool thread. Even I can tell a difference between the four-spool pack at Dollar Tree and the nicer $2. thread in something as small as doll clothes. Ease of use, shine, etc. Mostly judgment calls, really. So, wouldn't it be OK to use spool stuff if it's the right weight ?
Well, good luck finding that info out. Most of my wooden spools had the weight on ‘em, when there was a label still intact. And most of it is ‘50'. But modern polyester thread seems to have no weight designation at all. Even when ya go to their websites, it doesn't really say, unless a thread is cotton or specialty, what weight it is. Just says ‘all purpose', which really doesn't tell you much.
I gathered the ones I could tell would work on Brody, and boxed the ‘good' spool thread separately. Still not sure what the difference really is. It took me twenty minutes of hunting before I finally found a site that laid it out - smaller number weight = heavier thread. It's often suggested to use a lighter thread in the bobbin than on the top, to pull the stitches under a bit, so the bobbin thread won't show. So a bobbin often has 60wt (light) thread in it, and the top thread is 30 to 40 (heavier). And since most cotton threads are 50wt, they're probably too heavy for embroidery. Too bad even the Coats website won't tell me what size/weight/whatever their general-purpose Dual Duty threads are. I got a ton of that stuff !
So, with all that behind me, I think I'll try to use some Dual Duty on the next stitch-out, see if it creates any problems. If it works, I have a wealth of supplies already, and I can get more for about $2. for twice as much thread as what's on a $5. embroidery spool.
And here's a funny epilogue. Hancock Fabrics is having a 40% off sale on Coats & Clark thread this week. Entire stock. Excludes embroidery thread. LOL !
