Yes, I have rethought working with the “F” thread. I needed to choose a thread for my new tea light cover that would not melt and was transparent. I had very few options. And the one that I settled on was Fireline.
In my past experience with the thread, I had faced a lot of tangles and knots. I am also an avid hand quilter, and I remembered a technique I use with quilting thread that helped with the Fireline.
I had thought because this Fireline was a fishing line, it would not have a “direction” to it. But it does. When I take thread from a spool to hand quilt, I thread the needle and use the thread the same way that it comes off of the spool. In other words, my knot (in my quilting thread) goes on the end closest to the place where I cut the thread from the spool.
When I applied this technique to my Fireline… Well, it made all the difference in the world!!!
One thing I noticed right away was that the thread is stiffer than Nymo (duh!). But that fact kept it from getting caught on things as I worked.
And it also made it harder to tear out when I made a mistake. But I guess that is the point. I am not supposed to make mistakes 
I also noticed that the finished piece was straighter than pieces I had done with Nymo. Usually the Nymo pieces curved into a slight rainbow shape, but the Fireline piece did not.
I also tried doing some Brick stitch with the thread.
The first thing I notice was that my ladder stitches stayed close together and even.
But, when I tried to work the first row on top and bottom of the set-up row, I did have some problems slipping the needle under the threads between the beads.
My conclusion: Fireline is not all that bad to work with. It has it’s place and uses in my bead box. It will not longer be banned or bad-mouthed by me. I have always said, use the right tool for the right job and you will get a good result. Fireline will now be my tool for tea light covers and transparent projects.
I don’t think I will use it for fringe work, though. It is just too stiff.
Blessings,
Beth
LOL I guess I will have to give it a try like you and hubby suggest. I use PowerPro and am happy with it. But, the Fireline could be a good substitute when I can't get PowerPro (getting harder to find in the 10lb 2lb diameter).
ReplyDeleteI have been using fireline for quite a while. I,too, figured out the quilter's trick of threading off the spool. I don't understand why it has a direction but this sure works. I have also found that if I am getting tangles it helps to clip off the last bit of the loose end. If you run your fingers over that lose end after having pulled it through so many beads, you can feel a roughness. I don't know why that is either but clipping it off seems to stop the thread from hanging up on itself and the beads. Fireline is definitely not for fringe unless you are doing something really wacky. The right tool for the job can't be said enough times.
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