What to Do with Your Loose Threads

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Need to clean up your studio? Have threads thrums or blobs of thread to get rid of?

Then why not use your loose threads to create a work of art! Here you see three silk baskets I’ve made. They are stitched by hand and machine using even more stray threads that were hanging around the studio.

The baskets are holding a decade’s worth of thread blobs. These blobs or thread ravels were collected after washing fabric I’ve dyed over the years. The couched threads on the baskets are short clips of thread I kept for some reason. So you see it was time to clean up my studio!

Thread Dyeing Today

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I’ve put it off long enough. Time to start a marathon of thread dyeing. Although it is chilly in my basement studio, the dye stock is mixed and the the formulas ready for a new batch of size 8 or size 12 pearl cotton threads. Here you see the Green Grass colorway in process.

Given some warmth, a few days of ruminating on the wonders of the dye process, and the thread will soon be washed out by hand. Creating hand-dyed thread takes time.

Silk Stitching: Complete

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I’ll Fly Away #3 by Laura Wasilowski

One of the joys of hand embroidery is the meditative act of stitching. Sure it requires patience and time and perseverance. But the rewards in having a final product are worth it. I’m pleased with this piece stitched on silk and am looking forward to the next iteration of the “I’ll Fly Away” series. I expect more quiet joy in the making of it too.