Variegated Floss

Has anyone worked with variegated floss before? I will (eventually) start working on the Ink Circles pattern "Cirque des Circles" (awesome pattern I found online several weeks ago) for my sister's wedding in about 18 months. She wants it done on black in shades of tan. Right now I'm looking at using the Gentle Arts color "Wood Smoke," since combining 3 shades of DMC floss to get the type of variation she wants is way too complicated. And DMC variegated floss is all too pink for her taste. Suggestions, other (non-orange or pink) variegated colors I haven't found? Any tips for handling the stuff?

I think I'm going to be known for long posts, too --there are two of us now, I guess!

Thanks in advance! Kathleen

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Originally posted by kmcecelia
Has anyone worked with variegated floss before? I will (eventually) start working on the Ink Circles pattern "Cirque des Circles" (awesome pattern I found online several weeks ago) for my sister's wedding in about 18 months. She wants it done on black in shades of tan. Right now I'm looking at using the Gentle Arts color "Wood Smoke," since combining 3 shades of DMC floss to get the type of variation she wants is way too complicated. And DMC variegated floss is all too pink for her taste. Suggestions, other (non-orange or pink) variegated colors I haven't found? Any tips for handling the stuff?

I think I'm going to be known for long posts, too --there are two of us now, I guess!

Thanks in advance! Kathleen

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Wow, she doesn't want much, does she? Rife is most definitely your woman for this, she is the queen of interesting variegated stuff. She put me on to some really great variegated threads, I think the sites she listed are on my first post ('New to SQ, needs encouragement.), but if not I'm sure she can post them on this one. Rife, where are you?!
(BTW, Rife is the original and best at the loooooong posts. Check out her website, she's just fabulous.) (I'm sounding like a one-woman Rife fan-club now, aren't I? )

Forgot to mention that she want it larger than the pattern is--four times larger. As in, repeat the pattern four times to form a really big square/rectange. Lots of floss. I drew the line at four times. Fortunately the pattern is really easy to repeat. Kathleen

One of my favorite subjects There are so many brands out there, you first choice is cotton or silk
One of the online needlework shops that has a very comprehensive list of fibers is Stitching Bits & Bobs - here is the link to just the fibers she sells: https://www.stitchingbitsandbobs.com/Fibers.htm

Some of my favorite cottons are DMC Variation, Carrie's Threads (she also has silk now, though haven't gotten any. Yet.), Threadworx, Dragon Floss. Really the only cotton that I really avoid at all cost is Weeks Dye Works - I think it is just awful stuff to work with; brittle, thin, frays terribly and doesn't cover well.

Some of my favorite silks are Gloriana, Thread Gatherer Silk n Colors, and HDF from Vikki Clayton. Also out there is silk & cotton from Dinky Dyes - not bad, but I prefer these other 3 more. Actually, I like them all...

You may have seen the gold-on-black version of Cerque, done by Mark Davis. It's here in Tracy's gallery:
http://www.inkcircles.com/html/Cercles%20Gallery.html - scroll down, it's the 2nd from the bottom. He did that with good old DMC 111. And then Vikki Clayton brought out a silk to match: http://tinyurl.com/ygq3nb4

Once you pick a color - and make sure you buy enough at one go, because variegated thread other than DMC can vary in dye lots, some by a LOT - the way to work variegated thread is to complete each X as you go, as opposed to doing a pass of ////// and then coming back with the \\\\\\. Completing each X as you go allows the variegation to do it's thing. If you want it to be more muted, then you can do the two-pass method, but it kind of defeats using a variegated.

If you cut your lengths off the skeins so that each end is the same color, you can end and start threads without any trouble. You can also manipulate the colors by strategic stitching, stopping & starting to get your colors to lay the way you want them to. Or you can just go with it. When I did Bouquet for Cheryl, I used 1 strand of Carrie's premium cotton, and juts let the thread do it's thing as I went here & there in the pattern:
http://rifestitch.multiply.com/photos/album/66/2009_Finishes#photo=15

I love Tracy's designs, have several of them in the stash and/or kitted up to do, and did her Book of Ink Circles Stitch ALong last year. Have fun with this design - it's a great piece, and suits itself to infinite color combinations (as you can see scrolling through Tracy's gallery page there!)

Thanks, Rifestitch!

I did see the gold version of Cirque; they use it as their sample of the pattern, and it is cover picture on the chart you get when you order the pattern. My sister (unfortunately, in a way, because it means more searching), doesn't want anything that gold, or pink-ish, which seems to be the other most common tint in tan-shaded variegated floss. I'll keep looking.
In the meantime, I am already seriously considering starting another project and having two going at once. I haven't stitched anything that I haven't ended up giving away. Two at once usually sounds the death knell for whatever I am already stitching (I have a Thomas Kinkade thing half-completed I lost interest in ages ago when I found out he wasn't so great as a person), but it's been so long since I've stitched something for myself (as in, never, apparently). Like you said in another post I found a bit ago, it is supposed to be fun. . . we'll see.
Kathleen

Gee, your sister has rather specfic requirements, doesn't she??? I think it will look brilliant whatever colour you end up getting, as you can see on the gallery list, there are so many ways the pattern can be interpreted and they all look stunning in my opinion. Just remember, as Aunty Rife says, do each cross individually and the varigations will play out the way they were designed to.