The Beginning and the End

Like death and taxes…At some point you are going to run out of thread and you will need to add new thread is as invisibly as possible

Alarms should start going off when you have about 6” of thread left. There are a couple ways of adding new thread. Which one you use is governed by your circumstances at the moment.

Method #1: You are coming up on an entity where you are going to have to lay down threads

This is the easiest one! Lay down half of the threads needed with your old

thread and half with your new thread. Once you have covered it (with your

new thread,) all is secure and you can cut your ends off close to your work.

Method #2: You’re in the middle of your work with no entity to lay threads down for coming up

I call this one the leapfrog method. 6” from the end of your thread cut

yourself a new thread and lay it with the foundation threads you are

currently working over. Work over it also for at least ¼”. Switch threads.

Lay the tail of your old thread down instead and work over it with your new

thread for at least ¼”. Carefully cut both tails back close to your work.

This increases your foundation threads by one for a short distance but it

isn’t really noticeable.

Method #3: you’ve worked yourself into a corner by mistake

Dagnabbit! Only thing you can do now is try to carefully feed it through the

stitches you’ve already made with your needle a couple stitches at a time.

Possible with figure-8 and buttonhole. I wouldn’t try this with a wrap

stitch (too tight.) This method is a PITA and obviously reserved for last

resort or the very last thread where you are done and have nothing else in

that area to work.

Method #4: Cutwork…and you are near an edge

If you can work your way to an edge, it’s relatively easy and invisible to

feed your thread through 4-sided stitch on the back of your work.