Tutorial – Thread Holder

After repeated hints from various friends I have constructed a tutorial on how to make a Thread holder, suitable for Edmar threads or for that matter any thread I guess. I made one of these to hold my Edmar threads for the Easter Gather and it was wonderful. All the threads stayed right where they were meant to, there were no creases or wrinkles in them, they were easy to access and best of all I could find them – always a bonus.

You will need:

Main Fabric, Batting and Backing (or inside fabric) all cut 21 x 9 inches. Ribbon to tie the finished thread holder, a plastic pocket – the type you put in folders to hold papers and some fabric for the binding.

With the three layers pinned together all around the edges, mark down three inches from the top edge and one inch from the bottom edge. This is where the plastic will sit – allowing you access to the threads.

Cut the plastic pocket along the sides so it will open out. Do NOT cut along the bottom – you will need the length to hold your threads.

Pinning just one seam line at a time – sew down to create a channel for each lot of threads. I made mine one inch apart which gave me plenty of room. Remember plastic rips so only use just enough pins to hold it to the fabric sandwhich. Also I found sewing one seam line at a time then marking the next meant the plastic didn’t bunch up or move on me.

There are 8 “channels” all one inch apart.

When you have finished sewing down the plastic pocket then sew on the binding. I used the same method I would use for putting binding on a quilt, but you could use bias binding or even just satin stitch around the edge of the fabric sandwhich – it’s really up to you. Don’t forget to sew on the ribbon which will tie the thread holder together when it’s rolled up.

The Finished Thread Holder. Plastic sewn in, binding handsewn down.

Pulling the threads through the Channels. If you have a “thread puller” from when you purchased your threads – then use that otherwise……….

Use a Straw….I used a fairly large straw (because it was all I had) to push the threads into the holder. Cut about a half inch slit in the top of the straw, feed that slit over the paper tag that comes with the threads and ……

….feed it up through the plastic channel.

Pull out the Straw and Pin the tag in place. I used a pencil to help push the straw along the channel – but use what works for you. Pin the tags in place with a safety in when the threads are in. I found this way I didn’t lose the tag so I knew what thread was what and they also help to keep the threads in place. When you need a thread, just pull out one at a time – they come out quite easily and the rest are left in place.

All finished and rolled up into a neat package which protects the threads and looks great too.

As always any questions – please ask and I will do my best to answer them. I work on the theory that these Edmar threads are quite silky to touch and even though I have used cotton for the inside lining they slip out quite easily when required. I would imagine that if you use some sort of silky fabric for the lining you could also store cotton threads such as “Needle Necessities” in the same sort of holder. If any ones tries this please let me know – I would love to know how you get on.