Thursday 22 October 2015

Sparkly Threads

As you know from my previous post, I had been wanting to add a bit of sparkle to my snowflakes and said I would share with you the results of my experimentation.

I received the Sulky Holo (no. 6001) I was waiting for.  Wow, that is blindingly sparkly on the spool!  I think you can see how shiny it is in the photo below.


But I have to tell you that I found it disappointing when tatted up.  I did as I had done with DMC Metallic and added a strand to my favourite DMC Babylo in size 20.  It does sparkle as you can see in the blurry photo below...



But what I don't really like is that it makes the white thread look grey.  You can see in the next photo how the snowflake on the left is still very white with the added subtle sparkle of DMC Metallic and the little sample on the right doesn't sparkle much more but looks grey.  I don't like that.  It's funny stuff too, it's a bit like tatting with a thin strand of plastic.  



I also tatted Mirabelle in the DMC Diamant; that's also like tatting with plastic and I don't find it very enjoyable to work with.  It has a strange texture that is not smooth and makes it look a bit like… sugar? It kind of "glistens" but doesn't sparkle I would say.



My favourite so far is definitely tatting with one strand of size 20 thread and a strand of DMC Metallic added to it.  From any distance you don't really see the extra strand as it's practically transparent but sparkly.  I don't know if there are other things I can try, I wouldn't mind a bit more sparkle but overall I'm still pretty happy with that combination and it's easy to work with and to tat.  The rings close well although you occasionally get a bit of bunching of the thin thread but it's so thin that it's not really problematic and not very visible.



I've now tatted 10 of them and I wish I'd had DMC Metallic from the beginning as half of them are just plain thread and the other half are sparkly.  Still, I need to tat a few more yet!

p.s. Three winners of the draw from my previous post haven't contacted me with their email yet - please do so if you'd like me to send you the pattern!

Best wishes,
Frivole

20 comments:

  1. Those are beautiful!! :) Thanks for sharing your results!!! )
    Oh, just a thought....could you possibly use 2 strands of the sparkle with 1 strand of white to make more sparkle?? :)

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    1. Thanks God's Kid! That's a thought… I shall have to try it!

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  2. Interesting, thanks for sharing your experiments. It's clear not all shiny threads are created equal!

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  3. Love the look of cotton and dmc metallic thread, also with size 80, the metallic adds stiffness but it isn't a plastic-look of a 100% polyester. Dmc has the topmost quality, I think. I also tried silk and dmc metallic silver, I agree it looked quite grey to me too, but not as bad, a very soft effect. That snowflake is gorgeous.

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  4. Thanks for the thread review! Now I'm off to find some DMC Metallic!

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    1. Diane, let us know if you're u find it in the Midwest.

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  5. Wow, the greyness is startlingly different, I wouldn't have guessed it would be so. I love the gentle sparkle though, got to get me some DMC. It truly is a lovely pattern!

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  6. Will have to get some DMC. Superbe, merci!

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  7. Really appreciate the thread review especially as I know I can buy the DMC Metallic in England! Also it would be good to use the sparkle with other colours.

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  8. Very interesting, I will try some metallic thread with my white lizbeth no 20 and see how it works, like you I don't like my white looking grey. I was going to try some glitter glue and paint it on the snowflake.
    Margaret

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  9. Thanks for sharing :). I will have to get some DMC Metallic to try :).

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  10. I am new to this blog and am amazed at your talent! I don't know how to tat. Do you ever sell your snowflakes?

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    1. Hi Cheri, thank you for your nice comment! Yes, I do sometimes sell my snowflakes and plan on making a few of the Snowdrop design for my shop (link in the side bar). I currently only have some "Flocon d'Or" for sale but hope to add a few more in the weeks leading up to Christmas.

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  11. Sublime ! Merci de partager tes essais. Je n'ai pas encore essayé de mélanger fils normal et métallique, mais j'avais doublé du fil irisé avec du polyester, le rendu est sympa. J'adore ta navette <3

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  12. Sparkling experimentation :-D
    It made for a very interesting show & tell. Love the subtle sparkle !

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  13. I love snow crystals too! Will this pattern be available in the near future?

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    1. Hi Lorraine, thank you for your comment, the pattern is available and there is a link in the right side bar (to my Etsy shop). I hope you like it!

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  14. I'm in the US and having a terrible time trying to find the 4300 color of the DMC metallic. You made your point -- very interesting write up and pictures!! Is that only available in England and Europe do you know? I would love to try it.... Thanks for sharing the examples. Your pictures are priceless.

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    1. Hi Moopsee, I have unfortunately just found out that that colour has been discontinued but I have found an alternative which you can read about in my latest blogpost.

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