Emroidered Quilts
 

I have fallen in love with machine embroidery on quilts, shirts, everything! This adds such a personal touch to everything you make. I have been working on a Victorian Tea Cup quilt that will include Tea Pots. The choices are endless, hence my quilt may end up as big as a tent!
Many designs from well known companies, some from the internet, and yes, okay, ebay.
Now, here is my only problem: Colors! My collection of embroidery thread is growing rapidly, but I must admit I am substituting some colors for a close look-a-like. Example: Billowing Sail, Ruby Glint, Really?
Many shades from many embroidery thread companies are in my collection, but if I collect all stated colors, I will have to rent a house for storage of embrodery thread and fabric stash!
So, I make sure all the thread is rayon, polyester, etc. before I mix and match the fiber content. I have started to print the manufacturers thread color list and compare shades.
Okay, just last night I went into desperation mode and used a verigated polyester not meant for embroidery, but it was one flower, and it worked fine. Is there such a thing as Embroidery Thread Police too?
Would love to know how others deal with color names?
Barbara


Love to know how others deal with this problem.

Good thing I don't machine embroider. It's bad enough to have the Quilt Police, without Embroidery Thread Police too. Sounds like you are having a lot of fun with your machine.

I have become addicted to embroidery on quilts and can relate to the thread color issue. All of my thread is Madeira Polyneon. I use the Madeira thread conversion chart - http://threadchart.info/threadchart.php?f=MADPOLY7. Most of my designs are from emblibrary.com - I can get the Madeira Rayon thread colors from that site, and use the conversion chart to determine which polyneon thread to use. It often takes longer to figure out the "right" thread than it does to do the design!

I can emphatically tell you that there are no Embroidery Thread Police--if there were, I would be in chains.

I use any 40wt thread. I don't use rayon on things that are for babies or will need to be bleached, aside from that I will mix and match depending on what color I need. I don't expect any of my creations will be hanging in the Smithsonian in 100 years so why stress over what thread I embroider with.

I use whatever colour strikes my fancy ... red roses could be pink or yellow or even purple ...

I use whatever I want AND I mix thread types. Sometimes I want part of the design to have more sheen than the other or a part to fade to the background. Sometimes it is just what I have on hand!

Enjoy.

I'm with Liz92B!!! However, I do a practice stitch out to make sure it comes out all right. Sometimes you think a color is (for example) a mouth and it turns out to be a chin. The practice one will help you catch that. I'll put the practice ones in a sampler/scrap quilt some day!! Just have fun with it!!

use whatever you want. i have used some of the serger cones when i don't have what i want. it still looks good. and i rarely follow the colors listed. i just find something close. alot of times i've found mistakes in the color lists. i was doing some tinkerbells and the color list wound up giving her red hair and black eyes. if its something like a shirt that can't be changed, then i test stitch if it's a new pattern. can't go wrong that way.

Use what you like and works! Why complicate it .... or keep getting more "stuff" if you are happy... use it.

I use what ever thread and color that works for my project.

I just started embroidery this year. I bought a Brother PE 770 and they recommended Robison Anton thread. I was fortunate to come across a dealer who had bought out another dealer and was selling it for $1.00/ 1100 cone. I splurged and bought about 150 cones of the poly. My problem is that everything is in Madeira Rayon colors and most of them don't match up with Robison Anton. So I just eyeball the colors and pick what I think will look OK. This has worked so far.

I have only been embroidering since Sept. and every time I do I substitue colors/brands. I have one rule when I buy thread and this is after embroidering a few things and this seams to be the trend. Say if I buy a certain shade of blue, I buy another one that can be used to shade or highlight it. Most designs that I've used have needed two shades for the sky or two shades for the trees, etc. So I try to get at least one or two a shade or two different from the main one I'm buying. I use mostly rayon but have a few embroidery polyester and have substituted them in. And yes, just recently I had to use a regular polyester because none of the embroidery shades I had could substitute for what I needed and it was too late to run to the store. It was a small section and not too noiticable in the end anyways. I'm continuing to collect my threads. We have a LQS here that has had their RA on sale BOGO for over a month and every payday I go there (over 30) miles and pick up a bunch. Last time I got $90 worth of thread for 45 so that was worth the time and gas to go there. There are toooooo many different companies and shades to even try to get them all. When ever possible I use the thread conversion chart to show me the thread colors in the main brands that I buy and that helps me get a little closer to what I need.

I have seen some beautiful whole cloth embroidery and quilted by the embrodery machine.

I bought my first embroidery machine at least 20 years ago. It was a Bernina Deco but the patent was held by Brother. I will admit I spent almost as much for thread and extra hoops etc. for it as I paid for it and it was at least $1500. It uses the little computer cards. I even invested in a Magic Box so that I could use other sources for my embrodiery patterns. I probably have another $1500 tied up in additional embroidery designs above and beyond the ones that came with it. Last year I perchased a Brother embroidery machine because my Bernina doesn't accept USB sticks and my Magic Box will not work with my newer home computer. There are not enough ports to plub in the Magic Box. Over the years I have used my first embroidery machine at least weekly and in the beginning almost daily. Most of the linens in my home as well as curtains a lot of blouses and T shirts etc. and of course gifts for others. I even made myself a sampler quilt for my queen size bed where each block has a different embroidered design. I have a heavy busom and it tends to act as a catch all for anything I eat. If I can get the stains out I embroidery something over them. I have accumulated hundreds of spools of embroidery thread. I will admit lately that I use almost exclusively varigated thread. It saves me having to change the thread so often. I prefer the stand alone embroidery machine because it starts and stops at the touch of a button and I can have a design running while I am sewing or serging on my other machines at the same time.

With all the trouble people had with embroidery software from Vista up. I set up a used box running windows XP. It's offline, so no worry about malware, and it has enough ports. I did the same for Photoshop - now running 5 on XP.
EQ5 running just fine, along with a program that lets me do my own stuff on a Cricut. I don't buy carts.

The main machine is Ubuntu 11.04, and I put ESET av on Ubuntu, just to scan any files I might download. All machines are generic and more or less upgraded to my spec.

I made the mistake of buying that Madeira box. Most thread useless to me as they never had enough of the same value to shade anything. Sold it.
I've used RA and OESD Poly. Those will mix.

I use a lot of different thread when I embroider. I like Isacord but if I don't have the color I need I reach into my Coats and Clark, Guitermann, Superior, Jenny Haskins, or miscellaneous varigated and/or serger thread stash and use whatever I find and like, sheen or no sheen, and everything works fine.

Well its nice to hear all this information. I went and bought another $50.00 of emb. thread at Joannes yesterday. Sale has Guterman at 40% off. I am using a lot of muted shades in the Victorian designs, and it is nice to know regular sewing thread is acceptable, in a pinch. I was leary about that It really is so much fun putting that special little touch on things! Thanks for the input, and for those who have not tried machine embroidery, get busy, you will love it!

I think of my embroidery in the same way as painting. My thread is my paint. I use my colors, mix, match, use what I want to paint/stitch the picture the way I want it to be. I think of the original colors as suggestions not orders.

I just ordered an embroidery machine. Haven't gotten it delivered yet but it has this software included with it.
Floriani Thread Converter Pro III software.
Your thread choices will never be limited. In just a few clicks this color conversion software changes to and from 14 different thread manufacturers. You can use all of your thread inventory! It is simple to convert one or more colors within a single design.

I don't know if its available as an individual purchase but you could do a search for it.

Does anyone use Metro embroidery thread? I bought a couple of cones to try because they were so inexpensive, but I haven't tried it yet. I also thought it might work on my LA.

I haven't tried the Metro yet. I did get one spool of Floriani to try, I think it has the highest sheen currently available on the market. I don't use rayon thread, my Brother/Babylock embroidery machine doesn't like rayon for some reason, and I tried a King Tut metallic but the thread was too "loopy" and didn't work well. I think the spool was wound incorrectly, happens sometimes.