Organization

[queenallie03]

So I have tried many types of crafts and still find myself coming back to my love of needleworks. I have done cross stitching kits so everything all comes in the general amount that you need and when you finish it's not a lot so there's no need to keep it.

I am going to start on a project of my own where I buy everything so now I have no idea what to do with my thread or what to do with it when I'm done.

What kind of organization do you guys use to keep track of thread during and after a project? I want to start off kind of being set up or a few years down the road I will have a giant box full of random thread loose everywhere. XD

[CarrottessSparklepaws]

I have the same question!  Right now all my thread is wadded up in a tiny plastic bag, held together with a needle.  Not exactly efficient.

[AGFH]

I use floss bobbins and boxes. They are really cheap, plus you can actually make the bobbins yourself out of things like cereal boxes.

Here are the bobbins. Simply wrap each color on it's own bobbin. There are plastic and cardboard bobbins, I prefer the cardboard. Note that there is space on either end to write the color number:


And here is the box. They come in several different sizes and some have a spot on one side to keep your needles and a small pair of scissors:


Place the bobbins in the box(es) in numerical order and BOY HOWDY, you are organized and neat!

[CarrottessSparklepaws]

I use floss bobbins and boxes. They are really cheap, plus you can actually make the bobbins yourself out of things like cereal boxes.

Here are the bobbins. Simply wrap each color on it's own bobbin. There are plastic and cardboard bobbins, I prefer the cardboard. Note that there is space on either end to write the color number:
http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a293/AGFH/FlossBobbinsCard.jpg

And here is the box. They come in several different sizes and some have a spot on one side to keep your needles and a small pair of scissors:
http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a293/AGFH/flossbox.jpg

Place the bobbins in the box(es) in numerical order and BOY HOWDY, you are organized and neat!

Can you come to my house & do this for me  

[Listessa]

I'm the same way with bobbins and boxes.  I picked up a TON of the DMC boxes when some local craft store had them on sale for half price (or less) so that covered my collection. 

Another great means of storing floss on bobbins is tackle boxes!  They come in many different sizes and shapes, so the possibilities are wide open.  Plus, they tend to be cheaper in general than the specifically marketed craft organizers and they're all the same stuff. 
Or you can get some of those little binder pages designed for floss bobbins and put them in a three ring binder.  Personally, I find the box method easier and it conserves a little more space.  Other people use the little holes in the top of the bobbins to loop them all around a large hinged ring that opens and closes.   

Some people use DMC's StitchBow storage system too.  http://www.dmc-usa.com/majic/pageServer/1a010100kk/en_US/StitchBow-Storage-Systems.html   If you have many different colors stored this way, I find it takes up more room than it's worth.  Again, that's just my preference.   

All in all, I prefer the plastic box style storage for bobbin wound floss.  They are stack-able.  I can label the boxes with my label maker so I know right off which numbers it contains (ie 310-666).  It also is my favorite way of keeping the dust out of my craft supplies.  I live in a very dry climate, and my apartment has a suspended ceiling that seems to generate dust daily. 

Another cool thing- if you have awful handwriting (I do- it resembles a second grader's scrawl) there are little stickers with numbers that you can buy for DMC brand floss, which stick right on the bobbins!  Or you can mess around with a label maker and DIY too.  (I've done both.) 

I found it was actually pretty relaxing to wind the bobbins, label, and organize them during the evenings when my eyes were too tired to stitch.  Now my DMC is all boxed up on bobbins stacked on the craft drawers for easy access.  It was a HUGE project when I started, but it went pretty fast. 

Good luck! 

[Lilibet]

I love DMC for their neat solutions for embroidery work!
I have a wonderful organizer for one embroidery project. It is from DMC only, so specifically designed for their threads, but I'm currently using it with a different kit, and I'm loving it. Bought it with my very first paycheck ever, so it's kinda special...

http://www.dmc.com/majic/pageServer/02010100oy/en/ct/os/prid/21421/index.html

Mine is blue though...
DMC has got a nice thread organiser in that travel bag, and I just saw that they got it in a binder too. Might be an idea too...

http://www.dmc.com/majic/pageServer/02010100oy/en/ct/os/prid/21410/index.html

EDIT: Damn, Listessa beat me to it :p

[queenallie03]

I saw both of the DMC ways to organize everything, the bobbins and the longer thread holders and I was honestly looking between them for 5 minutes. XD My Joann's trips can never be simple. I thought the bobbins would be a bit nicer just because they are more compact and now that I see your pretty box AGFH I think I am going to try that one. It seems to hold more than the box for the stitch bow could. Plus the bows are actually set up t hold the little piece of paper that says the number on the thread, and I am quite sure I would lose them.

The only problem I will have now is to keep myself from buying at least one of every thread because they're all so pretty!

[Listessa]

The only problem I will have now is to keep myself from buying at least one of every thread because they're all so pretty!

I really don't have an answer for that part.    I recommend ebay, walmart (if you can find one that still sells DMC.  Mine discontinued it much to my dismay) finding stores with closeout specials, thrift stores, and super duper coupons for collecting!  In defense of having a huge variety of floss on hand at all times, it's very handy.  You will rarely end up needing something after all of the local craft stores are closed! 

[wvudarling]

The only problem I will have now is to keep myself from buying at least one of every thread because they're all so pretty!

It's OK to have one of each.  I actually couldn't stop until I had bought one of every DMC color and wound each one on a bobbin and stored them in the little boxes.  Good luck with organizing, I agree that it is a big project at the beginning, but it is goes quickly and it is definitely worth it!

[NancyDrew01]

I find winding floss onto the bobbins to be incredibly relaxing. I also find it helpful that when I start a project I put all the bobbins I'll need for the project in a ziploc bag. That way I'm not constantly messing around with my bobbin box, and sometimes it even works to make me realize I won't have enough of a certain color before I get to the point I run OUT of a certain color.