Hello Pam... I have always cut my floss to equal my arm length. No reason why, just seemed natural to me.

I was taught (and have read in some places) that you should not use a thread longer than 18 " - 20." If you are using the loop method, start with a thread twice that long so it is 18" - 20" when you are working with it. I usually start with a thread approximately 36" long, assuming there are plenty of stitches in the area I am stitching. If you start to see unusual wear on your thread before you reach the end of the thread, then I would shorten it for the next thread. I have had some fabric that is stiffer and "scratchier" than other for which I have had to use shorter lengths but in general the 36" has worked well for me.

I use a roughly 36 inch length (I don't actually measure it, however) with the loop method, too, Pam. I have never had a problem with my threads wearing thin, though. If I use a thread any longer, I tend to have a lot of tangling and knots forming. So, I pretty much try to stick to 36 inches and drop my needle a lot to prevent knotting.

I've never measured the length (I just pull off several skein lengths) but it's probably about 36" -- I use the loop method, so it's about 18" when doubled over to begin the first stitches. In many years of stitching I've only had the floss fray or break on a couple of occasions, so I believe it was due to a flaw in the floss.

I agree with the comment that the stiffness or softness of the fabric can cause floss to fray or break. I usually stitch on Lugana or Jobelan, but if I were to stitch on a stiffer or more heavily starched fabric such as some Aidas, I'd probably consider shortening the length of my floss.

I'm not one to save many pieces of cut floss; if I'm done with a color and have a length of floss left in the needle, it's got to be 12 to 15 inches long for me to consider keeping it for later use (doesn't matter if it's likely to be used in the same project, or just saved for another possible future project). Even though I can keep the 'leftovers' tidy in the Floss-A-Way bags that I use, odd random lengths of 'used' floss just annoy me : )

I kind of do what hayjax does, but I pull the whole skein and then wrap the thread from fingers to upper arm (think wrapping extension cord) and then I cut loop where held at fingers and again loop from where it was wrapped around arm. It's between 17 - 18". I have fat arms! Liz

I’m a rebel, I just cut willy nilly....longer if I’m doing large areas of one color,

I "railroad"...started when I began using dyed fabrics. Using the loop method, if I cut longer than 26"-28" , my floss begins thinning, so I try to keep my lengths under 30" . Don't you think that brand of floss, type of fabric, needle size, and method of stitch all has an influence on the length you cut the floss? 😊

Yes, CESS, I agree. I just recently started using Bohin needles because of information on this site. I am amazed the difference it has made. The eye seems larger and the needle goes through much smoother which has to help the floss thickness. Right now I am using the 36 inch length to stitch because at 24 inches on this large project I am spending more time stopping and starting. However, on the project with all the confetti, I will cut my thread a lot shorter than 36 inches or even 24 inches. I just want to make sure that the coverage is pretty much the same from the beginning to the end. Pam

My scientist dad got tired of us hounding each other for a ruler or yardstick. Thank God, he used to say that there were just two kids. My mom wanted ten children because her dad was the third born in a string of ten...all boys.
A few years ago, I figured out the measure of different areas on my body and never were they anywhere that might embarass me (or my dad) if done in public. I know that an inch is the distance between two joints on a finger (you measure all these on yourself, for your own parts). The stretched open fingers hand is exactly 7 inches. Grandma and Nana taught me that one can check sock size by wrapping the foot area on the sock, heel to toe and if it meets, it will be the right size. Does not meet? Too small and very small if you wash your Sox. Overlaps? Too b9g and might slide down at the heel. Makes your heel sore from rubbing against your shoe. I memorized hat size, know my glove size (learned this because Stanford was the only place that stocked size 5 surgical gloves. They said that the Inc!UX of Asian physicians studying there convinced them to carry them! Anyhow, have fun with it! I love getting DH's attention when he ponders the size of something he thinks he wants to buy. No lessons will be taught regarding private parts!