Updated June 25, 2019
In the past few years, several new brands of wool for needlepoint have come on the market. This has been after several years where it seemed that wool for needlepoint was an endangered species at best.
Colonial Persian Yarn from Colonial Needle is one of these. As I wrote in a previous post, this yarn is spun by the same company that spun JCA’s Paternayan Persian. It comes in hanks and on cards.
I tested this wool for the blue-violet on the tote pictured here. The canvas is 13-mesh and one strand was used. As you can see I got good coverage from the single strand. The canvas was painted turquoise so it’s easy to see how good the coverage is.
In comparison with Paternayan Wool from Saco, I felt this thread was just a shade thinner. Clearly though, this doesn’t affect the stitching.
The three strands are even in width and the colors are solid. It worked well for both Tent and textured stitches. It’s become my go-to wool. I particularly like that it’s available in hanks (great for large projects and backgrounds) and on cards. When Persian Wool was the only needlepoint thread around, it often bothered me that it was hard to find wool in smaller quantities.
It’s a lovely wool. I would not hesitate to mix brands of Persian wools in the same project, picking the brand based on color choice.
Because Colonial also distributes John James needles as well as several popular needlepoint designers (Lee, Silver Needle, and Kelly Clark), this wool will be easy for your shop to order.
About Janet M Perry
Janet Perry is the Internet's leading authority on needlepoint. She designs, teaches and writes, getting raves from her fans for her innovative techniques, extensive knowledge and generous teaching style. A leading writer of stitch guides, she blogs here and lives on an island in the northeast corner of the SF Bay with her family
I am working on a church project consisting of three large cushions for priests’ chairs and smaller kneelers for an altar party. I need threads to match what we used on the kneelers at the communion rail. There is no needlepoint store locally and few stores in the country carry wool. We used Paternayan on the first kneelers stitched about 10 years ago. I need much more thread for this project. Where can I order the thread? And is Colonial more reliable than the Paternayan?
Thank you!
Paternayan is now being made by Saco River Dyeworks. They have a website just for this thread (https://paternayanyarns.com/collections/all). They have the rights to the name and are using the Paternayan color numbers.
Colonial Persian is spun by the company that spun Paternayan most recently (before Saco). The colors are similar to Paternayan’s colors as far as I can tell but the numbering is different.
Both are three-ply Persian wools that are similar in width.
Given the age of your kneelers the wool used is probably most like Colonial Persian. Because you will need this in large quantities (any shop will need to order it) I would contact Colonial directly. Most needlepoint shops have accounts with Colonial because they distribute several designers as well as threads and needles. They should be able to give you some help.
If you run into problems, please contact me directly.
Keep stitching,
Janet
Hello, is there a color conversion chart? Paternayan to Colonial?
According to Colonial Needle they do not have a color card and I could not find a conversion chart. However, Colonial Needle has a mthod for finding their number if you have the Paternayan color number. Add CP and 1 to the front of the three-digit JCA/Paternayan number. After it put 4 if you want the 1/4 pound hanks or 1 if you want the 8-yard cards.
I have not tested this, so I don’t know how close these matches come. This information comes from Colonial’s website.
Keep stitching,
Janet
I would love to know what fiber you recommend for belts for longevity and wear! I’ve gotten so many answers and can’t seem to find a solid one.
Which one and why? Which not and why?
I would really appreciate your help. Thank you so much!
Gretchen
For a belt, you want to use a thread that is strong, not stranded, and that will not pill. That rules out flosses or all kinds because they are stranded. It also rules out blended threads because the combination of fibers often makes them pill. Softer threads also can pill, negating Planet Earth and Vineyard Silk. Linen threads are too uneven to be comfortable to stitch and could wear unevenly.
That cuts out almost all threads. My two choices for belts are Persian wool and pearl cotton. The wool will be slightly easier to stitch and longer wearing, but the cotton will give you shine. Both are extremely strong threads.
Keep stitching,
Janet