Janlynn floss

Hello there girls! I am very joyously commencing my new project with the bush babies hot out of the frame! It's a TW dragon (The Minstrel) from Janlynn (you may remember my trials and tribulations over buying this kit through Ebay!) and I already have a question:

In the general instructions it says "colourfastness can no longer be guaranteed and we recommend floss be seperated and washed before using...the finished piece should be professionally dry cleaned only by a cleaner experienced with needlework..."

Has anybody else found this to be necessary with Janlynn floss? I've done TWs before and I'm almost positive that I did not wash the floss beforehand (and I certainly didn't have it dry cleaned!). Rife, I know you have a few TWs under your belt, is this something new they're putting in their kits just to cover their backs? I really can't see myself seperately washing 60 different hanks of thread unless it is absolutely necessary!

The kit also includes some rather strange fabric- it says it's 28 count evenweave but it seems to be VERY loosely woven; I feel like I'm stitching on 12 count aida! I'm not particularly bothered about the quality of the fabric because almost all of it will be covered but now I'm just worried that the pattern won't fit onto the fabric! I think I may have to do a thread count right across the fabric... sigh

If you're worried about the quality of the materials messing up your work... I say dont use them. Get your own aida and floss from somewhere else. The real money is in the pattern.

(this is why I almost never buy kits...)

I did a Janlynn kit a few years ago, didn't wash the floss before working it, and washed the project after, with no problem. I don't know if they mentioned washing the floss on their instructions.

The only time I have had trouble with colours running was with a Mary Maxim kit for a tree skirt, which one of the reds spread itself around when I washed it!!

Happy Stitching

Nancy

I also have never washed the floss before stitching but have washed the items afterwards with no problem. I've seen this wording on all the kits I've bought in the last 10 years so I'm guessing it's to cover their backs.

I've never done a Janlynn kit, so can't comment on that aspect. As far as the fabric goes, I would suggest swapping that out with something you like - if you don't like working with it, it'll become a UFO!!!

I would suggest doing a colorfast test on a couple of colors, like any reds and dark blues or blacks. Take a section and put it in a bowl of water - if it bleeds, you can either prerinse your floss until the water runs clear, which should prevent having any problems with washing it once you're done. Or you can replace it. It sounds like they are not using DMC - I have never had a problem with any DMC, even the piece I soaked for 3 days to get the really old stain out of! And of course, I'm assuming the colors would be easy enough to convert to replace - I know a few folks who have had a bear of a time trying to get replacements for stuff in Dimensions kits.

Try the colorfast test - if they bleed, it's up to you how much you want to put into it to salvage the threads that came with the kit.

Thanks everybody for your valuable advice. The colour test on just a few different colours was a good idea Rife- I did that and nothing bled so I feel confident enough in going foreward. I also did a thread count on the fabric and it looks as if it will fit perfectly so that issue seems resolved as well. I think the different feel and the impression that the weave is looser may come from it being a synthetic evenweave, whereas I'm more used to linen or a cotton blend. But, as I said, the quality of the fabric doesn't worry me too much as nearly all of it is going to be covered. So, I guess I'm sticking with what I've got! I must say the people at Janlynn have been very nice to deal with (I was missing one colour of beads from the kit and they said they'd send them to me, no fuss).

As it turns out, the very first thing I did on this project was make a big mistake- I worked the vertical on the horizontal! A real amateur's goof! I guess I'm so used to working on square pieces of fabric that I didn't even think to make sure I was doing it the right way! Luckily, I had only finished one strand before I realised! I guess you never really stop making stupid mistakes, do you!

I'm having lots of fun taking my time on this project. After the big rush of getting the bush babies finished on time for my friend's little girl's birth, it's really nice to settle back into my normal pace- nice and relaxed!

Happy stitching everyone!