Things You'll Need:
- Embroidery floss
- Scissors
- Needle
- Fabric
- Pattern to follow
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Step 1
Decide what kind of embroidery floss to use. It comes in many different materials, including linen, wool, rayon or satin, but the most common is cotton. Your pattern should indicate what kind of floss to use.
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Step 2
Choose the appropriate colors for your pattern. Embroidery floss is coded with a number. Be sure you are looking at the correct brand when purchasing floss. Common brands include DMC and Anchor. Each has a unique numbering system.
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Step 3
Cut a length of embroidery floss no longer than your arm. Anything longer will be unwieldy to work with and will be more likely to knot or tangle.
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Step 4
Determine how many strands you will need to use by looking at your pattern. Embroidery floss comes in skeins made up of six strands. Most of the time you will need two strands, but sometimes you will need one, three or even four.
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Step 5
Pull the strands out one at a time, straight up from one end, no matter how many strands you need. Many people try to pull two threads at once, which can spin the skein around and cause it to tangle.
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Step 6
Thread your needle with the correct number of strands. You can use a needle threader, or wet the thread with the tip of your tongue to help it thread through the eye of the needle more easily.
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Step 7
Store any unused embroidery floss for another project. There are a variety of ways to organize your thread. It can be wound around H-shaped cards (in cardboard or plastic) or stored in the DMC Stitchbow organizing system. Tiny stickers with the thread numbers are available, but you can also write the number on the storage card.
