Don't you just hate it when you are working on a kit and you run out of floss? Or you are working on a project you kitted up yourself - and you run out of floss. Of course, it's just as bad when you are gathering up the supplies for a new project and you are missing a floss color.
For the kit, a post to the company usually works in getting more floss. For some of you, a trip to your local LNS makes quick work of replenishing missing floss. For me, it often means ordering floss and waiting impatiently for it to arrive in the post. Of course, sometimes I just substitute a similar color of floss for the missing color.
A floss color card comes in handy for this task. If the flosses are grouped by color families, this allows you to easily select a color that is close to the one you are missing.
What do you do? Vote in the poll and let us know. If you plan to select other as a choice, explain it in the comments section below before you vote.
You can also give feedback about this topic in the Cross Stitch Forum.
More on Cross Stitch Floss:
A floss color card comes in handy for this task. If the flosses are grouped by color families, this allows you to easily select a color that is close to the one you are missing.
What do you do? Vote in the poll and let us know. If you plan to select other as a choice, explain it in the comments section below before you vote.
You can also give feedback about this topic in the Cross Stitch Forum.
More on Cross Stitch Floss:
Comments
Before I start a new project, I gather together all the things I will need: fabric, scissors, pattern, and floss. I go through my stash of floss (which is organized by DMC number) and take the floss listed with the pattern and put it with the other supplies. If I don’t have a color I need, I sometimes substitute another similar color. Or sometimes I’ll make a quick trip to my local Michael’s craft store (a 20 minute drive from home, and I don’t have any other needlwork shop nearby). If I have started a project using DMC floss and I run out of a color, I will drive to the store to buy the same color to finish the project. If I am stitching a kit, I try to substitute a similar color from either my stash or I’ll take what I have stitched to the Michael’s store’s display of DMC floss and try to find a match (I’ve only had to do this once so far).
Lately, even if its a kit that comes with its own floss – I still tap into my DMC stash (I have a lot) and if I don’t have the color I replace it with something similar I have…in some cases I change out the color entirely. Currently working on a project for my mother -which shows a lovely grandmother with white hair…my mother’s hair is still brown (a few gray but hardly white)…so even though the kit came with the floss I am pulling out Dark Brown from my stash.
The floss from the kits I don’t end up using I give to the community center – the kids use it to make friendship bracelets as well as we have tons of old cross stitch booklets with small items that they can use to get started on their lifetime journey of stitching~!
I substitute DMC for the floss that comes in a kit. That way I don’t have to worry about matching if I run short. If I do run out I’m lucky to live in an area that has a JoAnns, Michaels, and an AC Moore within 2 miles of my house.
I do it all. Sometimes I wait for the company to send it. Other times, if it’s DMC I go to my local place, either Michaels or Joanns. BooHoo, I’m not lucky enough to have an LNS.
On occasion I substitute a DMC color that’s close.
If I can wait, I find that whoever made the kit is generally nice enough to replace missing floss pretty quickly.
Then there’s the problem with a Dimensions Kit I recently bought. It clearly states that they special dye their floss and it isn’t replaceable with DMC. I wonder if that’s really true?
I collect the strings from bird seed bags and etc. I have a lot of acrylic paints and I will pick one that suits me, mix the acrylic with fabric medium, put the string through the puddle, dry, hand wash, rinse in vinegar water, dry and then use. I pick whatever size string I want to use. If it is a tree, I use the thicker string and etc. I have used separated yarns, threads, left over yarns from needlepoint and sometimes a color close to the color needed. The texture becomes interesting and one of a kind. The different kinds of floss these days can lead you anywhere.
Lately, when starting a new project I do my own colors. Picking the colors involves something like a floss toss. I’ll choose the ground fabric & the main color/s & work from there. I love working with specialty threads & especially with silk. This allows me some more creativity.
I have a system in which I have put every floss that I have on my computer. When I have used a floss up I mark it off. This way when I go to the store to get more floss I know exactly which flosses to get to renew my stash and I don’t have to go in the middle of a project. All of the pages of floss that way can be printed out an I can take them with me to the store. Of course I usually go to the stores where I can get the most flosses for the least amount of money, it helps in this age of the high cost of gas.