>Each ziplock bag has 10 skeins of floss. The bag is split down the sides a little to make it easier to remove and replace the skeins. Each bag has a rectangle of acid free illustration board. One drawback to this system is that the numbers on the skeins are upside down. (I know, I know. I could flip them all over.)
I close up the bags by folding the plastic from the front to the back and the plastic from the back to the front. Then I use a small piece of clear tape to hold it in place.
When I want to remove a skein of floss from a bag I don't have to remove the bag from the box.
When I'm searching for "the perfect blue" I can pull out several bags, toss them on the desk, pick out the skein that is the best match and then quickly refile the bags in the box.
And if I ever needed to pack it all up I could lay all of the bags on their sides,
and put the top on the shoe box.
When I have cut thread to store away with a skein I roll it into a tiny skein,
and tuck it in the top band.
When a skein gets too thin and floppy I fold it in half and tuck it into the larger band.
I always thought that this type of DVD case would make a great floss filing system. This size has 150 hanging sleeves for 300 CD/ DVDs but I don't know how many floss you could put in each sleeve and still fit all of the sleeves in the box. I think I talked someone on 123 MB into buying one but I never heard how it worked for them.
For a simlar one see http://www.amazon.com/Aluminum-Like-Hard-CD-Case-Silver/dp/B0065E7VZW/ref=pd_cp_e_2
Neat. I organize mine in ziplock bags by by colour family as per the original DMC Floss Card. I find this is the best way of seeing similar colours in case I want to substitute, which I do quite often.
ReplyDeleteIf you do a lot of substituting organizing by colour family makes a lot of sense.
ReplyDeleteBefore I had my "almost full set" (and my DMC colour card!) I used to do a lot of substituting too. What I liked about organizing them this way was that I could pull out several options and put them away quickly, because I didn't pull the individual threads out of the bags until I had narrowed it down to the best matches.
Very cool! I like how you use he larger zip-loc bags, andd how it all fits into one box. Thanks for sharing. :)
ReplyDeleteHello fellow cross stitchers! Can anyone direct me to someone who might be willing to finish a cross stitch project for me? I started it many years ago and just cannot seem to finish it. It probably needs just a few hours of work. Thank you and I will check back for any replies. Andrea
ReplyDeleteAndrea I don't know how I missed your question over 3 months ago. If you are still looking for someone to finish your project I suggest asking at
Deletehttp://www.123stitch.com/cgi-bin/BBS/bbs_forum.cgi
Thanks so much for all your hard work to develop clear directions on how to finish ornaments. I am looking for directions on how to finish a gusseted needlepoint ornament. You can see samples of this finish by going to Pinterest and searching for "gusseted needlepoint ornament". This ornament has a shallow box-type appearance with a ribbon wrapped around the edge. Have you ever done this? Do you have directions? Donna
ReplyDeleteHello Donna. I had not heard of gusseted ornaments before so I did have a look at some photos. I also looked for a tutorial but I didn't find any.
ReplyDeleteMy suggestion would be to assemble the front and back the same way that you would assemble the front and back of a padded ornament. Then I would make a "sandwich" where the padded front and back are like the slices of bread and shaped foam core is like the sandwich filling. (If the foam core is wider than the ribbon you are going to use then you will want to wrap the edge with some fabric that is wider than the foam core and make sure the raw edges are tucked into the sandwich.) After you have glued the front and back to the foam core you can add the ribbon and twisted cording.
How did you get so clever? I have spent a few hours looking at your blog and I am impressed.
ReplyDeleteI suspect that I'm just a chip off of 2 very clever blocks but I'm also lucky to have lots of time to ponder these things.
ReplyDeleteI truly like your idea. Much more user friendly & takes up a lot less space.
ReplyDeleteThanks
This is such a simple and useful system - one I might actually be able to maintain. I've had a few false starts (surprise, surprise :-)
DeleteAnd thank you for the finishing tips, I'm still going through them. Shared experience is the best part of the online world.
you are god sent! I have the complete DMC floss plus the variegated and silks (DMC as well) ... I was not looking forward to winding them on the bobbins with a 1 year old toddler on the move -_- and here I have found your blog looking for alternatives ... Thank you!!!!
ReplyDelete