Eterna Silk

Also could you have seen the item please tell me the difference between mini
twist, stranded, and silk twist.
I am using it for surface crewel work and it has to cover the fabric well.

(BDS2pds) wrote:

Also could you have seen the item please tell me the difference between mini
twist, stranded, and silk twist.

Mini twist is like cotton floss.

Stranded is more like filament silk. It's not twisted.

Silk twist is the pearl equivalent. It's fairly tightly twisted.

I am using it for surface crewel work and it has to cover the fabric well.
A single ply of the MiniTwist is a little bit heavier than a single
ply of cotton floss.

Two plys of the stranded (which is a 12 ply thread) is a bit lighter
than a singly ply of cotton floss or Splendor. (when I'm doing satin
stitch on 30ct, I need to use five plys of Eterna where I can use two
strands of cotton floss or Splendor.)

I've not used the silk twist for embroidery...I've cross stitched with
it, and it's a little bit lighter in coverage than the equivalent
sized cotton perle.

jenn
--
Jenn Ridley

WIP: Art Stitch Rose Trio, Emperor's Coat, Stretch, Halloween Circle
Most recently Finished: Santa Christmas Stocking, Will Work for Freezer Space, Turnberry Ridge

Thanks very much Jenn. For coverage in surface work then, I guess I would need
6 or more plys then. Does it lie flat nicely?
I heard today that the silk is less glossy and shiny than the mini . Does that
sound about right.
I also heard it converts well to the DMC numbers. That is promising as I have
to figure out 60 or more. I went through the list and all of those converted
to an Eterna Silk number so hope they are true.

(BDS2pds) wrote:

Thanks very much Jenn. For coverage in surface work then, I guess I would need
6 or more plys then. Does it lie flat nicely?
I have no problems laying it flat using a laying tool. I've used it
on 18ct canvas (using 9 strands, iirc) as well as the 30ct evenweave.

I heard today that the silk is less glossy and shiny than the mini . Does that
sound about right.
The stranded silk is glossier than the minitwist. It's glossier than
Splendor (I've got them side by side, and the coppery Eterna is much
glossier than the red Splendor). I don't have any minitwist in that
piece, but I've used it on other pieces, and the minitwist is about
the same level of gloss as the Splendor. The Splendor is a little
grainier, but they're both glossier than cotton.


I also heard it converts well to the DMC numbers. That is promising as I have
to figure out 60 or more. I went through the list and all of those converted
to an Eterna Silk number so hope they are true.
IIRC, the Eterna colors were to match DMC and Anchor numbers....

ymmv

jenn
--
Jenn Ridley

WIP: Art Stitch Rose Trio, Emperor's Coat, FrankenFlora, Halloween Circle
Most recently Finished: Santa Christmas Stocking, Will Work for Freezer Space, Turnberry Ridge

On 2004-03-09 10:56:08 -0600, Jenn Ridley said:

(BDS2pds) wrote:

Also could you have seen the item please tell me the difference between mini
twist, stranded, and silk twist.

Mini twist is like cotton floss.

Stranded is more like filament silk. It's not twisted.

Silk twist is the pearl equivalent. It's fairly tightly twisted.

I am using it for surface crewel work and it has to cover the fabric well.
A single ply of the MiniTwist is a little bit heavier than a single
ply of cotton floss.

Two plys of the stranded (which is a 12 ply thread) is a bit lighter
than a singly ply of cotton floss or Splendor. (when I'm doing satin
stitch on 30ct, I need to use five plys of Eterna where I can use two
strands of cotton floss or Splendor.)
I've not used the silk twist for embroidery...I've cross stitched with
it, and it's a little bit lighter in coverage than the equivalent
sized cotton perle.

jenn

This is just the question I had. Thanks for the explanation, Jenn.
One thing I'm afraid I still don't understand is how to know which is
best for what project.
Suze

Suzanne, I've used the Eterna minitwist and stranded silk line. The
minitwist is just like ordinary cotton floss in appearance, except it
has more sheen. Use it like you would ordinary cotton floss, or Soie
d'Alger, or Splendor (Rainbow Galleries) or Madeira.

The stranded silk is futzier in that you need a laying tool. Probably
not great for cross or ten stitch - unless you're anal (nothing wrong
with that, but most aren't that fussy), but works well for satin stitch,
fishbone, long canvas stitches such as florentine - that type of
embroidery. It has a lovely opulant sheen close to the sheen of rayon
but without that neon glare. g The sheen comes from "within".

The first time I used the "stranded", I had problems, but once I
understood what to do, it was nice to work with. If you don't have a
laying tool and want to experiment, you can use a 1. sewing awl, 2. thin
nail you have cleaned and polished, 3. large tapestry needle (size 22).

Dianne
Suzanne wrote:

On 2004-03-09 10:56:08 -0600, Jenn Ridley said:

(BDS2pds) wrote:

Also could you have seen the item please tell me the difference
between mini
twist, stranded, and silk twist.


Mini twist is like cotton floss.

Stranded is more like filament silk. It's not twisted.

Silk twist is the pearl equivalent. It's fairly tightly twisted.

I am using it for surface crewel work and it has to cover the fabric
well.

A single ply of the MiniTwist is a little bit heavier than a single
ply of cotton floss.

Two plys of the stranded (which is a 12 ply thread) is a bit lighter
than a singly ply of cotton floss or Splendor. (when I'm doing satin
stitch on 30ct, I need to use five plys of Eterna where I can use two
strands of cotton floss or Splendor.)
I've not used the silk twist for embroidery...I've cross stitched with
it, and it's a little bit lighter in coverage than the equivalent
sized cotton perle.

jenn


This is just the question I had. Thanks for the explanation, Jenn. One
thing I'm afraid I still don't understand is how to know which is best
for what project.
Suze

Me too Suze; wish I could see it...A lady is bringing me some to see as she has
a skein and no one else in my EGA ever heard of it. Tried today. So next
month this time I will have seen some. BUT I do not know what she is bringing
me to see- whether it is mini twist or stranded....


This is just the question I had. Thanks for the explanation, Jenn.
One thing I'm afraid I still don't understand is how to know which is
best for what project.
Suze

On 09 Mar 2004 20:11:06 GMT, (BDS2pds) wrote:

I also heard it converts well to the DMC numbers. That is promising as I have
to figure out 60 or more. I went through the list and all of those converted
to an Eterna Silk number so hope they are true.

The Eterna website has a full conversion list of their colors from DMC
and from Anchor, including having both lists in MSWord and Excel
formats to download for offline use.
www.eternasilk.com/conversions.htm has bookmarks to the various
conversions and download links.


Jenn L.
--
http://community.webshots.com/user/jaliace
http://sewu9corn.blogspot.com
Current projects:
Lady Scarlet's Journey (Just Nan)
Just Nan Round Robin - currently Silver Needle
Lady of the Flag (Mirabilia)

Suzanne wrote:

This is just the question I had. Thanks for the explanation, Jenn.
One thing I'm afraid I still don't understand is how to know which is
best for what project.

Trial and error?

Really, that's the best way.

I will say that, in my experience, the Minitwist is better than the
Stranded if you're doing standard cross stitch, or things like
herringbone, queen stitch, etc. The Stranded is enough more difficult
to work with, and the results not that much different, that it's not
really worth the effort. Anything that uses a longer stitch
(bargello, satin stitch, sprat's head, etc), the stranded is worth the
extra effort, *if* that's the look you want.

If you want the look of a cross between rayon and cotton floss with an
inner glow, the minitwist is fine. It's glossier than the cotton, but
more forgiving than the stranded, and doesn't whack you over the head
with the shine like some rayons do.

The stranded Eterna is glorious when laid in a long stitch. It's also
a glorious pain...it snags, it ripples, it shows every little
imperfection. But when it's right, it's gorgeous.

If I've not stitched with it for a while, I will plan on trashing the
first length I thread, because it is different to work with, and it
takes a while for me to remember it. If I use it every day or so,
it's not nearly so much of a problem.

(having said all that, I will say that I'm using the Stranded to do
cross stitches on Rose Trio....I didn't have the minitwist when I
started, and it's too late to rip it out now. )

jenn
--
Jenn Ridley

WIP: Art Stitch Rose Trio, Emperor's Coat, FrankenFlora, Halloween Circle
Most recently Finished: Santa Christmas Stocking, Will Work for Freezer Space, Turnberry Ridge

Thanks so much for all of your help gals. Yes I did the conversion sheet and
of course all converted and so happy to see that everyone thinks they are
accurate. Is there no other silk choice with so many hues then?
So, which would work better for crewel then, Dianne? The stranded or the
twist?