On your list of threads you avoid are Water n’Ice, Flair, Frosty Rays, Fyre Werks, or Kreinik holographic ribbons?
Yep, me too. This is because I HATE the way they come unravelled. Yes, the look of many of these threads is so good that I use them often, but it is never without frustration.
I’ve tried the tricks and while often they help, that only means the problem happens slightly less often.
Now I can use these threads with ease because I got a great new tool, the Thread Zapper II, made by Beadsmith. This tool was, I think, originally designed to cut fishing line and threads for fly tying. It’s now packaged for needlework shops and is widely available. It should be in your tool box.
Thread Zapper II is powered by one AA battery. To heat the tip (pictured above), hold down the button. It gets how after a few seconds (often it will smoke or glow slightly). Touch it to the end of a thread and it will fuse the fibers together. Touch it along a length of thread and it will cut and fuse at the same time.
So far, I’ve tested it on Flair and holographic ribbon. To be sure it works better, I alternated thread zapped stitching lengths with lengths done the old way, with severe diagonal cuts. The zapped threads performed better with no raveling at all.
Always use a light touch with this tool, the longer you hold the thread to it, the more the thread will fuse and the bigger the blob at the end. Those blobs can make the needle hard to thread. Only touch the end for a moment and use a needle threader.
Cut the thread straight across. This exposes less of an edge to the zapper, once again resulting in smaller blobs.
Keep the cover close by, it’s great to keep the zapper away from accidentally hitting you, zapping a stray thread, or hurting someone as it cools.
I haven’t tried it with Chainette threads or with Water n’Ice. Butt I have no doubt it will work great there too.
This tool deserves a place in your needlework tool box.
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
HI Janet,
A similar tool is indeed used by specialty fly tiers. I am going to go through my fly tying equipment and pull it out my variation. It would be ideal to fuse the ends of threads or ribbons that easily ravel. One caution, however the tip shot enough to melt monofilament. Stitchers need to use caution if their fingers are too close to the hot tip. After use, I would put the tip of the oil in a dish until it cools off and not automatically put it on a table. If you have any small children around the house, I also would make sure that it is not easily accessible to them. Little tykes are pretty curious souls.
If anyone has a bit of time you might go into a fly fishing or even a fishing store. You will be amazed at what things that you can adapt to needlework. Tiny plastic sectioned boxes are great for storing a batch of beads. For that matter, you can even find lots of ideas if you wander up and down the aisles of a hardware store.
Happy stitching,
I may just take a field trip to Bass Pro Shop & see if they have these in the fly-tying department.
Actually, as Marlene said, they have a lot of goodies that are very useful in needlework, and at bargain prices. Plastic worm storage is fine for skeined fibers. I’ve bought a “third hand” for holding mounted silk gauze, some wickedly sharp (inexpensive) little scissors, and a lot of fibers. Colors are limited – I suppose by what fish can see – but I have purchased holographic (Prizm), fluffy (Estaz), chenille (Very Velvet), and something very like Fuzzy Stuff. Many come in several thicknesses. They have other embellishment possibilities, too, including fancy feathers & strips of fur.