Storing floss
Any ideas for storing extra floss from finished projects??
Posted by: Grannythegreat on 02/24/18
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Cute project. Any floss I have had left from any kit I have done and actually used the floss included I throw away. I buy very few kits, but when I do I convert the floss if it isn't DMC to my own DMC floss. I never use Dimensions kit floss because it is their own and the quality is not very good on the few I have done. I don't buy kits anymore unless I am so in love with the pattern that I have to have it. That is when I get out my cyberstitchers.com charts and convert the kit floss to my own DMC and toss their floss.
by: syagel on 02/24/18
I am what they call a bobbinator. I do save my floss, if it is full strands, and this has come in handy a few times. I have run out of floss from a few kits and was able to use what I have saved. I bobbinate the extras and save in plastic cases that are labeled the kit brand like Dimensions, Mill Hill etc. I also label my bobbins with the color and number. Yes, some kits use DMC floss but I find that the kits sometimes call the floss a different color then the what DMC calls the color.

I may be a bit over organized. LOL
by: tspitz on 02/24/18
I keep my bits of floss from finished projects on those square cardboard/plastic bobbins in a compartmentalized box organized by color and labeled by maker and color number. The unused skeins I keep on a metal ring in a plastic bag (ring doesn't fit in bobbin box). As I empty each bobbin, I take a duplicate skein from the ring and wind it on the bobbin ( have a winder). I would love to design my own bobbin box! I have often wondered if keeping the floss on a square bobbin gives it a crease - whereas a round bobbin might avoid a crease and thus allow the floss to lie in a smoother, satiny way. This might not be a concern for cross stitch - but it is for embroidery. Maybe sometime I'll look for empty round bobbins - but then I may not to able to find a box to hold them!
by: Sheila7 on 02/25/18
I keep partial skeins wound on bobbins in plastic boxes in numerical order. The whole skeins are kept in quart baggies, also in numerical order, but necessarily one color per bag. I NEVER bobbinate in advance. I also keep a simple EXCEL worksheet with one column for whole skeins and one for partial skeins.

Presently, I have 1006 full skeins and 1316 partial skeins wound on bobbins. I don't have every color. I have many duplicates. This huge amount is due to thrift store purchases, garage sales and people who know I stitch and giving me their unwanted stuff. I mainly stitch small stuff and substitute colors if I don't have the "suggested" floss. Still had to go to the Michaels and buy one skein of DMC #533 a couple weeks ago. Used my coupon and paid 24 cents.



by: NANCYE G on 02/25/18
You guys make me hang my head in shame.You are so ORGANIZED! You all have given some ideas I never thought of.
by: pamelastine11 on 02/25/18
I put my floss in "Floss Away" plastic bags, label the number with a marker, and keep them in narrow box in numerical order. I don't unwind them when a stitch, just take out lengths from the skeins. I think you could also use little snack plastic bags which would cost less!
by: bclark9216 on 02/26/18
I have all mine wound on cardboard bobbins numbered. I did have them in flat storage cases, but I got a new plastic drawer unit for Christmas I am trying out. Unfortunately the cardboard bobbins are slightly bigger than the plastic ones... and they are slightly too big for the drawers. I may end up back in the flat boxes for regular floss and use the drawer unit for other supplies... not sure yet. :)
by: Sarandipity on 02/26/18
If I have stitched from a kit, I don't tend to keep the leftovers. I do keep the pattern though in case I wish to stitch it again. Then, I either convert to DMC floss or just pick colours from my stash that work. While I stitch the kit, I place the floss in individual snack size baggies (from the Dollar Store) with the colour number as per the kit marked on the baggie, on a piece of painter's tape (so I can get it off easier and reuse the baggie). Getting more frugal as I contemplate retirement!
If I have stitched from a pattern, all floss is wound onto bobbins (yes I'm a bobbinator!) before I begin, then once done, the bobbins go into plastic storage boxes in numerical order. When I begin a new pattern, I look over the pattern to see usage of the various colours, then pull from the boxes if not a lot of it is needed. Large amounts of one colour are purchased at the time to keep the dye lots the same.
by: marym on 02/26/18
I leave it in the kits. Some kits I keep, others I give to my local charity shop. Even if there isn’t enough floss for the kit, the new owner can see the exact colours and compare them to what they have in their stash.
by: MaryJoDenmark on 02/26/18
I keep my DMC threads in plastic boxes, bobbinated and in numerical order. For years, I saved excess thread from kits in a separate plastic box, also bobbinated, and organized by color. Thought I would never use those threads, until one day, I was asked to teach an after-school class at the local alternative high school. I bought aida-cloth book marks and book mark patterns, then matched my excess threads to various pattern colors so that each student received a book mark, a pattern, and threads to match the colors needed for the pattern. Some of the kids loved learning how to cross stitch - even some of the young men in the class. Great fun. Now I save all those extra threads for that rainy day - it actually happened! :)
by: lmurdoch on 02/26/18