The Devil's Thread

When I first started embroidering, I made stuff for people all the time. I loved the idea of making cute kitchen towels and place mats and pillow cases for people. I'm sure my friends and relatives appreciated my efforts, but the whole handmade/Etsy world we live in today was not really a thing yet, so they may have also been indulging me a bit. It's during this phase of my embroidery journey that I first encountered metallic embroidery thread. 

Metallic thread! That sounds amazing. It's shiny and festive and probably adds a certain something to a piece. In theory, all of those things are correct, but it's also the devil's thread. It's hard to thread through a needle. It doesn't like to cooperate if you separate it or even if you keep it together. Occasionally, one strand likes to make itself a separate entity, even though it was correctly threaded and then you have to take out stitches and start again. It's way more stressful than it needs to be...or I make it more stressful than it needs to be. I make some Christmas items for someone in that early embroidering period, when I was naive and careful in my thread choices. I promptly regretted those choices, finished the stuff, and threw away what was left of the metallic threads. 

(Sidebar: the Christmas themed items were adorable. I have no photos, but the metallic threads really did make them pop.)

I've avoided metallic threads ever since. Every now and then I think I'll revisit it, but then I think better of that choice and move on. The existence of Etoile thread makes it a little easier to ignore metallic thread. Etoile is shiny, but less fussy (only slightly less fussy). Keep in mind that these threads are made out of polyester, not actual metal. There are types of threads contain real metal, usually small amounts of gold, silver, or copper. I've never used them, but there's an entire world of goldwork embroidery out there if you're into that sort of thing. 

Since I'm challenging myself to use new/unusual/different materials this month, I decided to revisit metallic thread. I thought I'd ease myself back into using it with a more abstract design that didn't require as much time as something more detailed. I could always switch to Etoile if it got too annoying. I used both DMC and Sublime Stitching metallics to see if there's a difference. The DMC version is easier to thread, but only by a little bit. They were about the same when it came to laying flat and getting the occasional knot. I don't know that I'll use metallic threads any more than I did before, but I don't loathe them the way I used to. They are shiny, and it was fun to create this little piece.

Details:
Stitches: back stitch
Thread palette: DMC E718 (6 strands), SS 924 (6 strands), DMC 310 (3 strands)