I wouldn't like that either and ofc she only sells her items as kits.

Cheap packaging, greater profit.

I think I would let her know how her beautiful kits are being packaged. I would be ticked off and no way would I use that floss if the "sticky" isn't going to come out. As stitchers we are always striving to produce a quality work. That means we are using the best material we can afford, the best floss (to me DMC although I have only used Coats and Anchor before), etc. How it is packaged would be a game changer. Pam

I would also be highly irritated and would complain to them. You might end up looseing several inches of floss from each strand, if the tape doesn't come off cleanly. Not good for the price of Thea kits 😠

Okay, so I have gone through a bunch of new kits today that I ordered recently from many different companies. Riolis (Very nice, except that I don't like that they park the needle in the middle of the fabric instead of at the edge because I have learned that time and humidity can cause the needle to rust in the fabric), Design Works, Dimensions (except for the Dimensions thread sorter with the threads stuck in it lol! but sorted just the same, so I will smile and let it be) are all packaged "with high standards, competently, and nicely" for us high-quality, demanding cross stitchers. But this high priced Thea kit with the adhesive strip wrap around the floss that has been folded in half, bottom and top inch plus of floss destroyed, be forewarned that we can all agree this is an unacceptable packaging style for a very pricey kit, and I am sure anyone ordering her kits will find the same. I thought I heard long ago that she does not respond to customer complaints but will see if there is a way to notify her of this complaint. I feel this is just a common sense no-no packaging move.
Yes, I agree Le-Anne if only she sold just her charts this could be avoided, but it's a "kits only" deal with her stuff. I'm highly disappointed and sorry I'm rambling all! Thanks for your support - this is what this chat board is all about!!! :-)

It's really sad that when I was prepping the TG kit I stitched for my daughter, I found the tape, and I griped for 20 min about that stupid tape...then COMPLETELY forgot about it! But she only paid $7 for a $70 kit...HL sale. Maybe the tape explains the deep discount. I heartily agree the tape issue should be addressed to whoever is responsible for her packaging, and ultimately, she's responsible.

I agree that to notify TG of the unacceptable kitting method of the floss in her kits to correct it related to the high cost of her kits is a good idea. But I have heard of this company not being very ‘consumer friendly’.

I read a complaint by a stitcher earlier this year, that spent over $100.00 for a kit by an overseas ‘kit only’ company. According to her, She came up short on a number of flosses in the kit and did not waste the floss as she was a very experienced stitcher. She contacted the company, explained the floss shortage and they told her that their kits all had plenty of floss to finish the pattern, but she could BUY more floss from them to complete the project. No offer to send extra floss for free..... that’s just another reason I personally don’t like ‘kits’; they’ve got you by your ———- and once they have your money, they could care less.
NOT ALL ‘KIT’ COMPANIES ARE LIKE THIS! But there are
Companies like this that take your money and short-change you on not enough floss, cheap undersized fabric,
don’t offer DMC floss equivalents, etc. Once a stitcher gets ‘burned’ by these type of companies, many of them will start ‘stashes’ so they aren’t under control of what the kit companies send them.

Although her designs are very good, the fact that her kits have usually packaged with major deficits aggravated me so much that I don't buy them at all! When I used to do both cross stitch and needlepoint, I would rather spend $100 on a hand painted needlepoint canvas, more on the wool and a frame.
I feel strongly that NOBODY should support such an elitist designer who has chosen, for as long as I can recall, to ignore her consumers. The fact that she is still alive, designing, and ignoring others is awful!

I agree with everyone that a kit at this higher price, which is also getting even higher priced because of the rise in import costs, should not be purchased again. This is probably the only way a message will be delivered to a company who is likely aware of the customer complaints but chooses not to respond to them. At some point, she will no longer be able to "give away" her kits for free because word always travels, especially on chat boards like this one. This already happened with another cross stitch company (Candamar Designs, who I think is now out of business). They were notorious for shorting the floss in their kits and maybe other supplies as well and they are no longer around likely because of this and other problems with their kits that were never resolved.
I am undecided what to do with the kit that started this chat thread and the other one I have in my stash from years back that was packaged the same way. I had planned to change the 18 count to 16 count fabric, but now I don't think I have a choice but to replace all the floss with DMC also because no matter what, I will come up short of floss or will be using damaged, frayed floss (from where the tape was removed) with a sticky residue. It seems like a total expensive waste, and I will not buy a Thea kit again.

Excuse me, but I will continue to buy Thea Gouverneur kits. I have done two of her kits as I have mentioned on this Chat board before, granted I haven't bought any recently, these were more than several years ago. I had no problems with either of them, none whatsoever. The floss was not wrapped with an adhesive, but paper banding. The threads were in no way damaged and I did not run out of any of the colors. My kits were linen fabric rather than the Aida, and the fabric is of good quality. In my opinion, you get what you pay for, and these kits are top of the line. So, until someone convinces me otherwise, I will continue to purchase Thea Gouverneur kits.