Deciphering Thread Tags

Don’t throw out those thread tags!

You may not think so but there is lots of information there.
And if you run out of thread, or want do use it again, you’ll be glad
you have that information.

The information which may, or may not be included on the tag is:

Thread type name/size
Color number
Fiber content
Dye Lot
Dyer

Each of these is important and can help improve your stitching. Depending on your habits, the habits of your shop, or the habits of the designer, the thread color might be referred to by the name or number or both. Some thread manufacturers give names to their
colors, some don’t. Because of this variety it’s good to have access to both the number and the name whenever possible. Then follow the habits of your store and your stitching friends when you talk about thread.

Thread type name/size: Most threads have names and some also have sizes. For example Pearl cottons come in several sizes: 3 (the largest), 5, 8, and 12. Many experienced stitchers can tell the size of a thread by looking, but I can’t. It helps me to know the size of the thread.

Also most threads have names for the particular thread. The Thread Gatherer may make the same color in Silk n’ Colors, Flax n’ Colors, Sheep’s Silk, Shepherd’s Silk, and a few sizes of Silk Ribbon. Each is identified by the type on the tag. while people who use lots of different threads can usually tell the thread by looking, knowing the type helps when looking for another color of your favorite thread.

Color number: In general, companies will put the color number someplace on the thread tag, most often this number appears right before the color name. For example brown paper packages has a color Caviar. The tag for this says “40-caviar” — giving you the color number.

Actually most do have numbers but sometimes it is hidden. Caron used to “hide” the color numbers (they no longer do this) and here is an example of how to decode the numbers which appear.

Take a random skein of Watercolours. The one I picked up was
Periwinkle (162).

On the line below the color number it says “dyelot: MA162131”

MA is the initials of the dyer. This is good to know because the different dyers have different “hands” and two skeins from different dyelots but the same dyer might look more alike than two from different dyers.
162 is the color number
131 is the dyelot

Another place to find these often is on the order slips or on the companies’ web pages. Although you might not think of the color number, and shop owners don’t put threads this way, it’s good information to know.

Fiber content: Knowing the fiber(s) used in a thread can help you make decisions about other threads. If you are allergic to wool, then a thread with a content of “100% wool” is not for you. If you really liked that “50% merino wool/50% China silk” thread, then you might want to look for another thread from a different manufacturer with this content.

Dye Lot: Sometimes, as in the Caron Collection threads, this information is hidden in the number. Sometimes it is listed separately. But it’s very important when choosing threads to match dyelots.

A teacher once told me “Dyeing was an art. It’s only when you need to make the exact same color again that it becomes a science.” This is very true. The results of the dye can vary because of: the color of the base thread, the water, the weather, the amount of dye in the dyebath, the person dyeing it, the time left in, and probably the amount of cosmic rays at just that moment.

In other words — it is not exact, ever.

So knowing that this skein of thread and that skein of thread were dyed in the same pot (bath) at the same time, makes it easier for you to get a match. One pot with one chunk of thread in it constitutes a dye lot.

Whenever possible you should buy all your packages of a particular color of thread from the same dye lot for the same project. Some companies are pretty consistent from dye lot to dye lot, but always compare. Other companies are not. I have even had the experience where two packages of thread, from the same dye lot, were different colors and couldn’t be mixed. That was lots of ripping out.

Checking dye lots when available can same lots of trouble in stitching.

Dyer: Some companies, like Caron, identify they dyer of the threads. This can be helpful to know, especially in hand-dyed threads, because different people will dye their threads differently. Getting batches from different dye lots, but the same dyer might match better than different dye lots by different dyers.

For many manufacturers this information is not included in the tag.

Now I bet you are thinking “I never knew there was so much information on a tag!” I didn’t either until I learned how to decipher them. Now I never throw out a tag or I transfer the information to a hang tag for storage of the thread. it’s made me a more careful stitcher.