As a cross stitcher, keeping your ever-growing embroidery floss collection neat and tidy can start feeling like a lost cause. After a few big projects, you likely have a giant mess of tangled skeins, new and part used, rolling around, hidden away in a bag, box, drawer or mixture of them all, and no clue what colours you actually own. Organising all that floss might seem like an expensive headache, but it doesn’t have to be!
With a bit of creativity, some smart thinking and some budget-friendly solutions, you can get your thread stash looking orderly and under control. In this post, I’ll share my best money-saving tips for organising floss efficiently as your collection expands. I’ve been stitching for over 20 years and I’ve been there, when you go to your stash and your enthusiasm for your project drops when you see the muddle before you, then you debate “do I sort this time or just buy what I need?” Hopefully, with these tips, you’ll be able to find exactly the shade you need for your latest cross stitch design in a flash and without breaking the bank.
Before running out to buy fancy storage items, look around your home for things you can repurpose. Sturdy cardboard boxes, plastic food containers and lidded jars all work great for holding bobbins or bundles of floss. Check your recycling for cereal boxes, empty tissue boxes and more before it goes out to the bin – with a coat of spray paint, some decorative paper, maybe get the children to help decote with colouring etc they can look neat and personalised.
If you have craft supplies on hand, that’s a great place to start organising your floss without additional purchases. For winding bobbins, reuse empty thread spools, popsicle/icecream sticks or shortened dowels. Sort your bobbins or skeins into old bead boxes, trays, fishing tackle boxes or small drawers cleaned out of a spare piece of furniture. Get creative with what you have!
When you do need to buy storage supplies, look to discount stores like Poundland, B&M, Dollar Tree or Dollar General, also remember the charity shops or thrift stores. You can find embroidery bobbins, plastic containers, storage boxes, binder pages, and more at low prices. Shop their craft and office sections for versatile organisational items to keep your growing floss collection clean and tidy. The quality might not be top-notch, but these inexpensive solutions do the job!
For bigger quantities of essentials like bobbins, plastic bags and storage boxes, shopping online in bulk can save money. Check wholesale sites like AliExpress and eBay to snag 100+ packs of supplies at cheaper per-unit pricing with free shipping. Wait for sales and coupon codes around holidays for additional discounts. Stock up on a few key organiser items to keep on hand as your collection expands.
Think outside the box for completely free floss organisation solutions. For instance, use cleaned out jars or food containers, empty toilet paper rolls, or sturdy cardboard. Any empty small box can hold bobbins sorted by number. Binders and sheet protectors are likely already in your home – use them to contain floss bundles neatly. With a dash of creativity, you can organise on a tight budget. Make sure you label every box and container with what colours it has, this will speed up finding them later.
Resist the urge to buy new floss until you’ve noted colours you already own. Apps like Pattern Keeper, Thread Tracker, MarkUp R, Thread Stash and many more, allow you to log thread by number to see what’s in your current stash or create a simple spreadsheet of floss colour numbers and make eg DMC, Anchor etc. Identifying duplicates avoids waste and unnecessary purchases that disorganise your collection again.
When purchasing new floss, refrain from buying bundles with extra shades you may not use soon. Look at the pattern and just get the exact colours it calls for to complete that piece. It is worth looking at cross matching colours at the start of a project, as you may have the equivalent colour by a different brand already in your stash, just make sure that you note any substitutions before you start sewing. Buying only the necessary thread as you go prevents clutter from colours that just sit unused for long periods.
Connect with fellow stitchers in person or online to trade floss colours so you can get the shades you need without always buying new. Your likely to have duplicates of popular colours, like 310 black that others would welcome. Trading allows you to swap colours and minimise purchases.
When starting a new project, unwind the floss immediately and wind it onto bobbins (or your home-made solutions) to prevent tangling. There are lots of “off the shelf” thread sorting solutions, but these can be expensive, however, they may make for excellent Christmas or Birthday gift suggestions!! Keep any bags, boxes etc that you may have emptied during your preparation, as they will no doubt be needed when the project is finished, or when you buy your next floss selection.
Organising a mess of tangled embroidery floss may seem like an expensive, time consuming headache, but it doesn’t have to be! With second-hand supplies, dollar store finds, buying only what you need, and other clever cost-cutting tricks, you can tame that jumbled thread stash into a quick to use, easy to to track collection. Use these budget-friendly tips to create an orderly system that makes finding the perfect colours for your next cross stitch project quick, easy and affordable. Aslo, share your solutions with others, as one of your ideas may make another stitchers sewing experience so much better!
Everett, C. (2021). Organizing embroidery floss 101. The Spruce Crafts.
Primeau, S. (2020). The ultimate guide to organizing embroidery floss.
Collin, R. (2020). How to organize embroidery floss. The Purple Poncho.
Hall, A. (2021). How to organize embroidery floss: 5 easy ideas! Salty Pearl Embroidery.
Marie, S. (2020). Embroidery floss storage ideas: How to organize all your thread. Stitch and Unwind.
Embroidery.com. Organizing embroidery thread.
Peacock & Fig How to organize embroidery floss and wind on floss bobbins
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