Make Your Own Variegated Thread

Ok, I'm stubborn. That's all there is to it (but don't tell my husband I'm admitting it). When I get an idea in my head it's like arguing with a signpost. And today I decided I had to have variegated blue-green thread for a layout. Nothing else would work. Problem? No variegated blue-green thread in site. Closest Jo-Anns is 30 minutes away, and a spool of variegated thread costs about $8. Solution? Make my own.

It's really easy and this technique works on other mediums as well.

Step 1. Find an ink in the right color. Gather some white thread and a piece of Cut-N-Dry Foam or other medium that will hold ink.
Step 2. Ink up the Cut-N-Dry foam.

Step 3. Fold the Cut-N-Dry foam in half, inked side in, and pull your thread through it. Repeat until you are happy with the color saturation.

Here's what my thread looked like after pulling it through the ink about 5 times, re-inking the foam only once. If you want stronger variegation, use a couple different shades of ink and only pull part of your thread through each color, then repeat.

Step 4: Once dry, wrap your new thread around an empty spool, if you have one, or a partly empty spool, if you don't. Use like regular thread.

I used a similar technique involving paint and hemp floss on this layout (I wanted my brown hemp to be red-orange to match the bridge):

Happy Monday!