RETURN POLICY ON THREAD: Like most needlework retailers, we do not allow returns on thread except when there has been an error on our part. Please keep this in mind before you buy. When in doubt, we recommend you buy and test a small amount prior to ordering larger quantities. We have very low shipping charges of approximately $2.00 for small thread orders to enable you to do this affordably. There are many reasons for this, but a primary reason is that once the thread has left our store, we can no longer verify that it has been kept clean and unused, and in most cases, we can no longer tell which dye lot a given thread came from. Therefore you can be confident that the thread you buy from us is clean, unused, and that we can send you multiple skeins from a single dye lot when that is important. If you buy thread from a company that accepts returned thread, how do you know where the thread they sell you has been before it gets to you?

This page updated September 10, 2011.

LINEN THREADS

Linen thread has been used in needlework for thousands of years, and in many parts of the world was once in more common use than cotton. It has a tendency to be a bit "springy" and somewhat uneven in diameter (the finer the thread the less noticeable this is). It is also a very strong thread in general, although it will wear easily in the eye of the needle, so it's a good idea to leave a short tail hanging from the needle to start, and not to slide the needle along the length of thread as it is used up. Another note about linen: a "natural" color of linen (either thread or fabric) is a brown color, not an off-white. The shade of natural will depend on the batch of linen (and perhaps the processing?), being sometimes more of a grayed brown and other times more of a golden brown, but it will be a brown. I mention this because sometimes people think a "natural" color would be the same as a natural color of cotton, which would be much, much lighter than a linen (wow, this is turning into a linen 101 lesson, and we haven't even discussed wet spun versus dry spun linen!).

A note about linen thread sizing: the lower the number, the larger the thread (i.e. a 35/2 is larger than a 60/2). The number before the slash symbol (/) refers to the linen thread size. The number after the slash symbol refers to the number of ply that make up the thread. To use the term "ply" in this sense does not mean that this thread is to be divided or separated for use (that would weaken it substantially). It refers to the spinning process when the thread is made. All other factors being equal, a 3 ply thread is heavier and stronger than a 2 ply thread. Linen thread sizes are different than threads made out of other fibers such as cotton or silk and a size of linen thread is not necessarily the same size as a thread made out of another fiber that uses the same number. For needleworkers, the larger sizes of linen threads are good for use in lacing fabric for framing; while the smaller sizes are better suited to pulled thread, drawn thread, hemstitching, etc. The count of the fabric you are working on will necessarily affect the size of the linen thread you choose. NONE of our linen thread is waxed.

All the linen thread we sell has been manufactured for use in lacemaking or for hand embroidery (decorative stitching). An increasing number of people have been contacting us wanting to buy linen thread for actual sewing (i.e. seams, buttonholes) done both by hand and by sewing machine. None of our threads are manufactured to be used as sewing threads; however, several people have told us they have had good results using our Londonderry linen thread. We don't have the expertise to advise you what choices to make for these purposes. We can only suggest you try a few sizes and test the results for yourself (size 18/3 is heaviest, size 100/3 is the finest Londonderry). For normal sewing purposes the size 80/3 has worked well for many customers but PLEASE TEST FOR YOURSELF and be prepared to experiment with adjusting sewing machine tension and testing different needles.)

An increasing number of people contact us wanting linen thread for many, many other purposes (sausage making, stringing bows for archery, bookbinding, musical instrument repair, modelmaking, etc. etc. etc.). If you are interested in it for modelmaking, although we ourselves have no expertise in this area we can provide a very limited amount of help thanks to a customer of ours who makes models, but if you need it for any other purpose, we are not able to advise you as to what to buy. For those who need to know the diameter size in inches for our Londonderry linen thread, please click here to see a PDF file that was created by a model-maker customer of ours.

We also are not able to sell wholesale.

DMC used to make 24 colors of linen embroidery floss. This is similar to their cotton embroidery floss, consisting of thread that divides into 6 indivisible strands, on 8 meter (8.8 yard) skeins, only it is made of 100% linen. The colors coordinate with cotton floss colors, just omit the L from the color number to know the equivalent or similar shade in cotton. Special note: DMC has discontinued their linen thread and we have sold out of many colors. The available colors are:

LEcru	L159
L162 - NO LONGER AVAILABLE	L223
L225	L310 (black) - NO LONGER AVAILABLE
L415	L435
L437	L452 - NO LONGER AVAILABLE
L648 - NO LONGER AVAILABLE	L677
L739 - NO LONGER AVAILABLE	L760
L778	L779
L822	L833 - NO LONGER AVAILABLE
L902	L967
L3012 - NO LONGER AVAILABLE	L3013
L3790 - NO LONGER AVAILABLE	L3861 - NO LONGER AVAILABLE

DMC Linen floss is $1.30 per 8 meter (8.7 yard skein).

LONDONDERRY LINEN THREAD is a wonderful high quality linen thread which is very smooth for a linen thread. The most exciting thing about it is that it comes in colors in sizes as small as 80/3! Please note that white Londonderry linen thread is not a stark white but a soft white, and it is occasionally possible that a dark batch of "white" and a light batch of "ivory" can end up looking very similar to each other. Londonderry Linen is the linen thread people most often buy from us to use in sewing. If you need a large number of spools in one color and size, please allow additional time.

Sample	Color	18/3 12 meters/13 yards $1.80	30/3 20 meters/22 yards $2.00	50/3 30 meters/33 yards $2.10	80/3 50 meters/55 yards $2.40	100/3 50 meters/55 yards $2.70
	Jonquil	1801	3001	5001	8001	Not Available
	Canary	1803	3003	3003	8003	Not Available
	Maple Sugar	1805	3005	5005	8005	Not Available
	Sweet Potato	1807	3007	5007	8007	Not Available
	Wild Rose	1810	3010	5010	8010	Not Available
	Cotton Candy	1815	3015	5015	8015	Not Available
	Azalea Pink	1820	3020	5020	8020	Not Available
	Violet	1825	3025	5025	8025	Not Available
	Lilac	1830	3030	5030	8030	Not Available
	Terra Cotta	1835	3035	5035	8035	Not Available
	Redwood	1840	3040	5040	8040	Not Available
	Cabernet	1845	3045	5045	8045	Not Available
	Saddle Brown	1848	3048	5048	8048	Not Available
	Clove Brown	1850	3050	5050	8050	Not Available
	Persian Green	1855	3055	5055	8055	Not Available
	Peacock Green	1860	3060	5060	8060	Not Available
	Dandelion Green	1863	3063	5063	8063	Not Available
	Evergreen	1865	3065	5065	8065	Not Available
	Cornflower	1870	3070	5070	8070	Not Available
	Bluebird	1875	3075	5075	8075	Not Available
	Bluebonnet	1878	3078	5078	8078	Not Available
	Ash Gray	1880	3080	5080	8080	10080
	Beige	1885	3085	5085	8085	10085
	White	1890	3090	5090	8090	10090
	Ivory	1895	3095	5095	8095	10095
	Black	1899	3099	5099	8099	10099

Copyright 1998-2011. All prices are in U.S. dollars and are subject to change without notice.