Threads

Threads

Arrasene is a silk or wool thread, often regarded as a form of chenille, which is used for embroidery, including Arrasene work. The name is derived from that of the northern French town of Arras (Dutch: Atrecht), which was an ancient textile centre.

Berlin wool is a type of wool fibre derived from Merino sheep in Saxony, Germany. In the nineteenth century, the wool was sent to the city of Gotha to be combed (worsted), spun and then taken to Berlin where it was dyed and sold. The wool was softer and separated more easily into strands than types of wool from England and the Netherlands, which were widely used at the time.

Bouclé is the name for a yarn of varying thickness, which creates an uneven effect in the fabric. The yarn is created by plying together two or more threads of different diameters and twist. This creates a yarn that has small loops and a varying thickness. The name is also used for the resulting fabric itself. See also the bouclé stitch.

Chenille thread is a form of tufted yarn. The name derives from the French word chenille, for  ‘caterpillar'. Traditionally, chenille thread is made by weaving a fabric (chenille blanket) with the warp ends (usually four) placed in groups, with a gap in between each group and a weft in a much thicker yarn (or pile). The resulting woven fabric is then cut along the length between the groups of warp ends to make very long tufted strips that are used as yarns.

Coton à broder is a 3-ply mercerised, tightly twisted cotton thread used for embroidery.

Count is a measure of thread size, based on the relation between the weight of fibres and the length of thread produced. 

Crewel thread is a fine, loosely twisted worsted (wool) thread used for crewel embroidery. Modern crewel wool is normally a fine, single or 2-plied thread. According to the Shorter Oxford English Dictionary, the earliest written example of the word crewel dates back to AD 1494, but the exact origins of the word are unknown.

DMC Diamant is a single-stranded metallic thread that was produced from the end of the twentieth century by the French company of DMC, initially in twelve metallic colours.

At the end of the twentieth century, the French company of DMC started to produce a very shiny, six-stranded rayon thread that was sold under the brand name of Satin Floss.

Embroidery floss is the American term for stranded embroidery cotton threads. GVE

Filo-floss silk thread is a trade name for a silk thread produced by the British company of Pearsall's (Filo-floss six-stranded embroidery thread). 

Filoselle silk is a silk yarn used in embroidery. It is made from filoselle, the portion of a silk cocoon that is not used for good quality silk cloth or yarn because the filaments are damaged or broken. Filoselle silk was introduced in Europe and North America in the 1850's.

Fine d'Aubusson is a four-stranded Merino woollen thread made in France by the firm of La Route de la Laine for the retailers of Au Ver à Soie. It is basically a worsted thread rather than a springier tapestry or woollen yarn. Fine d’Aubusson can be used for a variety of crewel embroidery forms, as well as for fine work, such as tambour embroidery.

Ingrain cotton is a nineteenth century English term for a coloured, usually red, cotton thread used for marking. For example, in Mrs Beeton’s Book of Needlework (1870), the author refers to coloured ingrain cotton for marking, while in Mrs Warren’s The Ladies Treasury from 1882 there are several references to “Messrs. Walter Evans & Co.'s Scarlet Ingrain Marking Cotton.”

Long shades is a nineteenth century term for a type of Berlin wool thread, in which the colour gradually changes from light to dark over a long length of the thread.

Various forms of mercerised cotton embroidery thread were developed in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, which are still widely used. The most popular forms are perlé and stranded cotton yarns.

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