Free Breast Cancer Awareness cross stitch pattern

As we near Breast Cancer Awareness Month, we want to share a beautiful cross stitch design created by Brooke Nolan of Brooke's Books Publishing for Kreinik thread fans several years ago. See the chart, instructions and color key below. 

 

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Just pure elegance in stitches

Leah Van Horn shares photos of her work to inspire our senses today. Look at the cheerful spring-like colors and variety of interesting stitches. Leah uses Kreinik threads in her purse designs, and you can see more here: justpureelegancepurses.com or on Instagram @justpureelegance.

"One of my grandmothers was an extraordinary crocheter and did table linens, but she was not an embroiderer or a quilter," Leah shares. "I have always loved stitching, fabric, threads and antique buttons etc."  Leah combines vintage frames and embroidery to create one-of-a-kind purses. Kreinik metallic threads are a lovely contrast in texture and light to her mainstay fiber, silk ribbon. The blend creates visual interest—a beautiful mix that we find in life itself.

We asked Leah a few questions about her embroidery work:

Q: When did you start stitching?

A: I have had a sewing needle in my hands since I was about eight years old!  (I’m a young 65 now) starting out with regular embroidery, then counted cross stitch, then beginning in 1980 I began a quilting journey that lasted until the early 2000’s.  At that point I had a burning desire to go back to embroidery but wanted to focus on silk ribbon because of the beautiful dimensional aspect of it. I discovered Kreinik threads about 8 years ago and have been incorporating it into my needle work whenever I can now. 

Q: Do you have any tips on stitching with Kreinik threads?

A: I used the black glittery thread on my fish and it was very curly coming off the spool, making it not want to lay flat when I stitched. I finally ran it through my hair straightener tool (which heated it up a bit) and that took the curl out without damaging the thread.

Q: Where do you get your inspiration?

A: For me as an artist, inspiration comes from many places, nature, my gardens, Pinterest, bird watching, my photography etc. since I mostly stitch with silk ribbon I am constantly playing with new stitches or threads to see what will happen with them. I play around all the time. I have a small library of stitch books and if I am in a jam I go onto YouTube and watch tutorials regarding stitching. That helps a lot too!

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Spring silk colors in bloom

Spring is coming, along with blooms and colors galore. We celebrate nature's spring shades with a spotlight on pink colors in Kreinik Silk Threads. See below for color families you can use in samplers, embroidery, cross stitch, needlepoint, and more.

Kreinik Silk Mori® is a 6-strand spun silk with a creamy luster. Silk takes dyes deeper than cotton, so the colors are richer, deeper. Silk feels dreamy to your fingers too, soft but strong. Use Silk Mori in any stitch, combining the number of strands you need depending on the stitch or fabric. Silk Mori comes in the same colors as Kreinik Silk Serica, the filament (shiny) version, plus a group of sampler-specific tones we call "Milkpaint." 

Kreinik Silk Serica® is a 3-ply twisted filament silk most often used in needlepoint, Hardanger, embroidery, crazy quilting and samplers. The natural high sheen of a filament silk looks best in specialty stitches that show off the lustre. If you use Silk Serica as it comes, straight off the reel, it's similar in weight to a pearl cotton. You can also separate it, moisten it and use it as a flat silk for Japanese-style embroidery.

Kreinik Silk Bella™ is a super thin filament silk. Even though it is tiny, you can still see the gorgeous natural sheen of silk. It is most often used for detailed work like stitching on silk gauze, or couching thicker threads, or fine details on designs (think veins in bug wings, etc). Silk Bella comes in a smaller range of colors, but still in matching shades to Silk Mori and Silk Serica.

For more information, visit http://www.kreinik.com/shops/Silk-Threads/

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Factory temporarily closed

For the safety of our staff, we have decided to close the Kreinik factory until February 5, 2021. Unfortunately we have several crew members out with COVID, and several waiting for test results. We want to make sure everyone stays healthy and returns healthy.

No threads will be made or shipped until we get back on February 5. We apologize for the inconvenience and thank you for your patience during these unprecedented times.

Stay safe and healthy!

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Important production and color news

To our valued stitchers, creators and fly fishing enthusiasts,

2020 has been the most out-of-the-ordinary year of our collective lives. The pandemic created regulations and upheaval on every level: economic, medical, social, personal, national, international. It has been devastating for people and small businesses. Kreinik is still here because of two factors: 1. You; and 2. Our staff. Strengthened by your patience and their dedication, Kreinik is determined to get us all through 2020 and thriving in 2021 in the best possible way.

With that goal, we are enacting an extraordinary—but temporary—measure. For the next eight weeks, we are only making the top 60 to 80 colors in Kreinik #4, #8, and #12 Braid lines.

We know that limiting the colors in production sounds drastic, and some people won’t be able to get some colors temporarily, but we need to catch up. We need to dedicate all production machines to in-demand colors. Shops need to get the most popular colors restocked. Our staff needs some pressure relief. This will do it.

The limit on color production does not apply to silk threads, Blending Filament, Medium #16 Braid, Canvas #24 Braid, 1/8” Ribbon, 1/16” Ribbon, Ombre, Micro Ice Chenille, Facets, or Japan Threads. It applies only to Very Fine #4 Braid, Fine #8 Braid, and Tapestry #12 Braid for the next eight weeks.

What can you do if you are in desperate need of a color that we aren’t producing right now? There are several solutions:

• Many retailers have stock of these “odd” colors, so search online, or contact us for names of shops that do mail order.
• Join one of the needlework or fly fishing groups on Facebook, Reddit, or other social media, and ask if someone has the color you need. Many people are willing to trade, give, or sell. There are also retailers in these groups who may see the post.
• Consider substituting with a similar color in the line. In the next week, we will share on our social media several conversion lists that may help. 

Please feel free to contact us with any questions. Thank you so much for your patience and understanding. When we are caught up, we will return to making our full color line. While our facility is closed to the public right now, we hope to restore factory tours and reopen the outlet store in 2021. 

Regards,
Doug Kreinik

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A bit of bad thread news...

We are out of stock of Micro Ice Chenille in 221 Gold and 003 Red. Unfortunately, we may not be able to make it in the future due to a manufacturing problem. If you are mid-project, make sure you have enough to finish.

If you need more to finish a project:

• Check with needlework or fly fishing shops to see if they have any remaining stock
• Check with needlework or fly fishing groups on Facebook, Reddit, and other social media to see if anyone has some and is willing to swap or sell

We sincerely apologize for having to discontinue an item, especially something as fun as red or gold in this fabulous fuzzy thread. We will let you know if we can work out the issues and bring them back. In the meanwhile, we do have other colors in Micro Ice Chenille. Click here for the list.

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"I need Balger, which thread is it?"

"I need the Balger, which thread is it?" We get this inquiry a lot, especially now during the pandemic as people are stitching older projects from their stash.

Balger was the name we used for our metallic thread line back in the 1970s/1980s. Today we have about 20 different threads in that line, but back then the number was much smaller. If your design uses that old term "Balger," we know it's probably Blending Filament, Cord, or #8 Braid. In order to figure out which of these three threads your project may be calling for, we need to look at how the thread is being used in the design.

If you have an older project — particularly a cross stitch project — check your chart or pattern for these potentially identifying factors:

• Is the Balger color meant to be combined with cotton floss? If so, it is probably Blending Filament.
• Is the Balger color meant to be used by itself, for a bolder look? It is probably Fine #8 Braid.
• Does the Balger color have a "C" in the color number? It is our thin Cord.

Of course, if you're having any trouble identifying a Kreinik thread from old, you can also email us and we'll do our best to figure it out together.

Keep in mind that some colors have been discontinued over the years. Here's a list of those colors: http://kreinikthread.blogspot.com/2019/04/discontinued-kreinik-thread-colors.html

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