Sharing threads of creativity 🧵 Written by Sara Barnes

I have a lot of embroidery thread and a small house, so storage is at a premium. But there’s a problem—I’m also extremely picky about the ways I organize my thread. I want it to look good! I want it to vibe with my decor! Sometimes, this is easier said than done. But after many years of stitching, I think I’ve found a solution that works for me.

I want to know how you store your thread—reply to this email and let me know.

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Ranking the ways I’ve stored thread, from least effective to most effective (for me)

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5. Wound back and forth in my fingers

Aesthetics: High. It's very dreamy. It looks like something out of a magazine.
​Effectiveness: Very, very low. I didn’t tag the thread, so I wasn’t completely sure which color was which. (Knowing the exact colors has become extremely important as I create DIY kits and patterns and work on custom pet portraits.)

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4. Wrapped around wooden clothespins

Aesthetics: Turns out it wasn’t exactly my style
​Effectiveness: Mid. Wooden clothes pins are inexpensive, and you can write the thread color number onto them with a permanent marker. But, they’re bulky—especially compared to plastic thread bobbins—and I just stored them in a basket. I’ve seen them more effective when hung on a pegboard, but I don’t have the space for that.

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3. On plastic bobbins, on a metal ring

Aesthetics: Pleasing when they’re first put on the ring. Not so much in practice
​Effectiveness: Middle of the road. The large metal ring does a good job of keeping the plastic bobbins together. This is great when traveling. But the longer I work on a project, the more unruly the ring looks. There are loose pieces of thread, and it tends to come unwound and a challenge to work with.

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2. On plastic bobbins, in storage boxes

Aesthetics: Not my favorite. I don’t like having a bunch of plastic everywhere.
​Effectiveness: Extremely effective. That’s why I’m ranking this so high on my list. Plastic bobbins in storage boxes are the most organized way I store my thread. I do it by color families, not numbers. I don’t love how the storage boxes look, but I’ve been able to make them a little more palatable by covering them in stickers.

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1. On plastic bobbins, in old candle containers and vintage vessels

Aesthetics: The best! They help set the overall vibe of my workspace. Effectiveness: Less effective than the storage boxes, but the vibes take them to the top of my list. I like Paddywax candles because they come in containers meant to be reused—that's how I got the idea to start using them for thread storage. From there, I've collected some vintage dishes that complement the candle containers.

I like to divvy up the containers in a couple of ways: one is by project and the other is by color. If I'm not using a thread color, I'll put it in a storage box until I need it again.

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👉 How do you like to store your thread?

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Did you know I sell embroidery kits through my shop, Bear&Bean? They have everything you need to stitch a wild animal patch! If you're in the Seattle area, I'll also have them (with much more!) at Urban Craft Uprising December 6 - 8.

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Talk to you next week,

Sara Barnes Embroidery illustrator and writer

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2206 17th Ave S, Seattle, WA 91844
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