Hi 30 Days readers. It’s Allison , from little lovelies, here to share my favorite embroidery storage idea with you. You can see the other needlework posts that I have done for 30 days by clicking here.
For my post this month, I wanted to share the way that I organize my embroidery thread. I have quickly accumulated a collection of thread and I had to figure out a way to store it all in an organized, space efficient way.
At most craft stores, you can buy plastic organizer boxes and small cardboard or plastic cards to wrap your thread around, but winding all that thread by hand is quite a job. My solution? An electric drill. Confused? Read on…
I found this bobbin winder by DMC at Micheal’s (you can also find it on Amazon) with the intention of using this to wind all my thread. It clips to the side of the organizer box and you are meant to hand crank the thread onto the cards. After doing that a few times, I realized it was still going to take me too long to finish.
I had to think of something that would do the cranking for me. Enter the power drill.
I dismantled my bobbin winder and figured out that the card holder piece fit into the drill where a drill bit normally goes. Just tighten the plastic piece in there and you are almost ready to go.
Before you start winding your floss onto the card, you will want to write the color number onto the card and loosely unwind your thread. If you try to wind it without loosening it up, the drill pulls the thread so fast that you will end up with a big huge knot of floss. The kind of knot that ends up in the trash because it is just that bad. Trust me.
Insert your card and secure it with the peg, and wrap your thread a few times to get it started. Now you are ready to fire up the drill. As the thread winds, guide it with your free hand so that it doesn’t pool in one area. In about 10 seconds, your floss is wound and ready to be stored.
Winding and organizing all your floss can still be a big job, but the drill winding method has saved me so much time. I hope this helps you in your embroidery organizing endeavors!
you are awesome! i was looking for organizers today and ran across this flash of greatness. ran right out to the craft sto’, got me a cheesy bobbin winder and about a zillion little cards, ran home and started winding. i got all the way through the 700s today! this is the best idea ever! i have so much stinkin’ floss and usually just go out and buy more for my projects because looking through what i have has always been dead annoying. a million, squillion warm and cuddly thanks.
That’s a really nice idea with the drill, it will surely save a lot of time and frustation.
Great idea with the drill. Many years ago I did this same concept with my floss. TOOK ME FOREVER!!! This would have saved me!
That is brilliant!! I have wound mine up by hand over the years and it’s always one of the most dreaded little crafty jobs!! It will be much quicker next time!
Okay, this is genius, Allison! Very clever!! I never would have thought to do that. Thank you! :)
Oh Im so jealous! This is lovely.
This is absolutely genius! Thanks for sharing! I love your blog… Always so many good ideas.
oh very nice! One day… it’s on my ‘one day’ list :)