Cross-Stitching

I recently inherited a very large bag of thread from my grandmother. It was recently found by another family member who sent them to me. My grandmother passed away several years ago, and no one remembers when she bought the thread, only that she intended to cross stitch 4 blankets with it. It is possible that these are from the 40's. What I am struggling with is that it does seem that some of the DMC numbers have changed, or that the colors changed slightly with the same number. I've been trying to find the information, but its not that clear. I have downloaded several charts, but it is tough to tell. Does anyone know of a good resource on that? The second piece is that there is a mix of DMC and J&P Coats threads. It does appear that the J&P Coats threads have been renumbered substantially. I have a batch of threads labeled 55 and is a navy color, but everything i have seen doesn't have two digit numbers. I'd like to convert the threads so that I can use them and have my grandma's connection to today. Any ideas or resources would be appreciated!

• Reply from Deborah

  Monday, February 2, 2015 7:18 PM

  Hi Penelope. Several years ago an elderly client, whose sight was failing, gifted me with her thread collection. As you say, some of the color numbers on older skeins just don't match up with the shades found now. What I have done is used those threads for borders, lettering within designs, backstitching, and other places where the exact shade doesn't matter so much, as long as it's pleasing to your eye. You may find that the older threads may not be as colorfast as newer threads too, so I'd advise you to prewash the threads (or sample lengths of them, to test for dye bleeding, before using in your stitching. I hope this gives you some ideas for using those precious inherited threads. I hope that someday, when my Granddaughter inherits all of my "stitching stash" and tools, she will find joy in using them as I have. I'm sure that your Grandmother will be smiling in heaven knowing that you're enjoying this little gift she left for you! Happy Stitching!! Go to top
• Reply from Pam Fancil

  Sunday, February 15, 2015 2:33 PM

  I had the same situation with my own lot of threads. I found the best solution was to purchase a DMC Floss Color Card (mine was purchased from Joann.com). Since most charts list DMC colors, I decided to match my whole collection to DMC colors, where it was possible. The fact that the DMC chart offers the exact threads is the only conceivable way to obtain a match. I don't know whether actual thread charts for J&P Coats exist, and whether the things you wish to x-stitch will offer J&P as an option, I also purchased small zip-lock bags in which to put the floss, and large rings to hold same, once the DMC color numbers were added. The rings are great to both organize your collection by number, as well as to use when working on a project with a number of selected colors from your collection--I just remove the bags of colors I need and put them on a new ring until the project if completed. The rings keep everything neat and orderly, and allow me to put my entire collection into a large container (wicker suitcase) where no partitions are required..

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