DMC has announced some changes to their labels for skeins and balls of their pearl cotton.
On skeins all the labels will have coral bands at the top and bottom of the DMC label. This will make pearl distinguishable from floss at a glance.
In addition, they are adding letter designations to some sizes of pearl to make it easier to understand the size. Size 3 will be labeled L, for large. Size 5 will be labeled M, for medium. Size 8 will be labeled S, for small. The letters will appear after the color numbers on both skeins and balls.
Tips for Reducing Tangles on Floss & Pearl
For pearl cotton in skeins, you can easily pre-cut and avoid tangles. Find the end with two loops in the skein, with its labels still on. Cut through it. Pull your threads from the uncut end. All will come out except the one with the knot. Don’t bother with this length until you have used enough thread to remove it easily.
As you use the thread the labels will get very loose. If you want to retain them, fold the DMC label around the skein and push the number label, which is larger, over it.
Do you get your floss tangled because you pulled the wrong end? Always pull from the end with the number label. So I don’t forget this I always pull a bit more than I need so that the end to pull hangs out further when I pick up the skein.
Using pearl in balls? Store it neatly by getting the smallest size of food storage containers with plastic lids. Heat us a nail or metal skewer and poke it through the top. Feed your thread through the hole and put the balls in the container. This keeps it neat and easy to use.
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
Thanks Janet. Passed this information onto my chapter’s FB page. Love the new sizing–S, M, L.
This is a comment: I can not believe that after all these years the label has to have addition info. Really folks!
I suspect one reason is that the numbers for pearl cotton originally referred to something that is no longer relevant. I also suspect there is some confusion for some people because it’s the not the same as metallic threads, but more like needle sizing, i.e. the bigger the number the smaller the thread.
But that’s a guess on my part.
Keep stitching,
Janet