You’re right: different threads will make your stitches look different. There are really very few hard and fast guidelines about “what thread to use for which stitch in ALL CASES EVERY TIME.”
Embroidery floss (like DMC or Anchor) is a great choice for lots of kinds of embroidery. You can separate the threads and use only one or two plies for cross stitch, surface embroidery, or blackwork, or you can use all six plies for canvaswork or needlepoint. You can give your stitches texture by using textured threads or make them sparkly by using sparkly threads.
Pearl cotton is a great choice for Hardanger embroidery or pulled thread embroidery, as well as for canvaswork and needlepoint. #12 pearl cotton is ideal for Hardanger fillings, pulled thread embroidery, and drawn thread embroidery. #8 pearl cotton is great for Hardanger Kloster blocks or putting buttonhole edges on things you want to finish (like placemats or table runners). #5 pearl cotton works great on canvas and in needlepoint projects, or on large-count Aida fabric to make stockings, bellpulls, or other pieces that are meant to be displayed and have practical use.
Here are some examples of threads that I have for projects from my own stash:
Regular six-strand cotton thread, both DMC and overdyed, for samplers and other counted projects, as well as for thread painting and stumpwork
Twisted silk threads, for counted projects
Flat silk threads, for silk and metal embroidery and for when I want to torment myself (because they look lovely but are a pain to work with)
Metal and metallic threads for goldwork projects
Pearl cotton (in white and in various weights) for pulled and drawn thread projects
Pearl cotton (in lots of colors and in various weights) for same
There are so many different kinds and weights of threads that it’s worth taking some time to mess around with them to see what you like to work with! I would recommend that you take a trip to your local needlework store (or find one when you’re out on a vacation somewhere) and buy some threads that you like. Mess around with them and see what you prefer!
Thanks again for your question – I hope this helps you out!
You also need to take into account a number of other things when choosing thread: 1) your fabric or canvas vs the thread; 2) intended use and care of the finished item; 3) the look you want to achieve; 4) your intended stitches.
To expand a bit: 1) some threads are much more sturdy than others for repeatedly being drawn through fabrics, and some fabrics are harder on threads than others. I work a lot with denim and cotton wovens, and tightly woven silk fabrics, as well as knits. Very fine lightly twisted threads (some silks and silk/wool, or alpaca, etc.) don’t stand up well to being repeatedly drawn through denim and cotton, but are great for looser weaves and canvas. Cotton flosses–like DMC–and finer weights of perl cotton are very sturdy and do well with denim and tightly woven fabrics. Rayon flosses do better with smooth fabrics, and may fray and shred when used with some of the rougher canvases or with very stiff denim and acetates. Bamboo and tightly twisted silks play well with most fabrics, but can fray at the needle eye, so require shorter working lengths.
2) For items to be worn and washed, or that will get potentially repeated abrasion–cuffs, collars, purses, etc.–cotton is probably the sturdiest and stands up well to washing and drying, as do many tightly twisted silks and most rayons (altho you have to watch for color bleed and possible shrinkage with rayon and some silks). Nylons do well too, if dried at low heat or air dried. Metallics and textured flosses generally don’t do well with repeated washing and drying, in my experience. Regular sewing thread is superb for very fine work that is sturdy and wearable. If a piece is to be displayed only, then the sky’s the limit and you can use anything, as long as you are aware of light exposure that can cause thread color to fade in time.
3) For shine, rayons and silks are awesome, as are metallics. DMC cotton floss has a shine to it, but it’s very low key. Textured threads can be used for all kinds of depth and effects, including three dimensional looks. Some flosses have a wide color range, good for color blending, and some don’t. Any floss or thread or ribbon can be couched on the surface as well.
4. Some stitches are easier with certain types of floss than with others. I mainly do freehand embroidery, not counted cross stitch or needlepoint, so my experience may be different, but cotton flosses are great for most stitches, except some Brazilwork. Rayon works more smoothly for those knotted/3-D stitches because the thread is smoother and glides better along the needle. Stitches that repeatedly go into the same place, like eyelets, some knotwork, etc., may need a sturdy thread, while tiny repeated stitches work better with fine silks. The type of stitch you’re planning on using, combined with the type of fabric, may determine which thread or floss you choose as well.
But there really are no hard-and-fast rules. If you try it and it works, and you can get the look you’re after, then it’s all good.
A fantastic (and expanded) contribution to the question that was asked earlier!
Society: I have made an NT-passing child
Me: You fucked up a perfectly good autistic kid is what you did. Look at it, it’s got anxiety
I sincerely believe that by 7th year Ravenclaws would just tell the door to their common room to fuck off and it would open for them
Q “Why is a raven like a writing desk?” A “You shouldn’t shove either up your arse.” “…Technically, yes.”
Imagine it, a poor First Year is waiting outside the common room, they can’t answer the riddle in a way to appease the eagle and must wait until someone else to answer it for them. It’s getting late, they’re starting to resign themselves to having to spend the night here.
Suddenly, their saviour comes! It’s a seventh year! Back from a night finishing off their Araithmancy essay in the Library. They look angry, but our poor little first year squares their shoulders, waiting to see what will happen, and hope that they’ll keep the door open for them.
The Seventh Year bangs the handle against the wall, and a slightly disgruntled voice asks the question again: “What is the truth?”
The Student Replies, “The Truth is that I am so fucking sick of all these mother fucking questions about stupid fucking topics like this you bloody fuck-witted bastard. Who in the name of Merlin’s saggy left testicle gives a fucking damn about all this shit anyway? I’ve been working my arse off in the library for the last seven hours now let me the fuck in or, truthfully, I’ll blast my way in and take you with me.”
The eagle knocker tutts, but allows the student entry anyway, and our little first year enters, eyes wide and in shock. They watch the seventh year go up to their bedroom, awe all over their face at their new hero. They did, indeed, learn something that day by waiting for someone to arrive, they learnt that swearing has a magic all of it’s fucking own, and that sometimes it is big and clever to use it.
When words fail, there’s a GIF for that. Find your Perfect GIF now.
i feel like this ties back to that other post with the tyler oakley gif/analysis. like sure 4/5 of these gifs are about sleeping/waking up/alarms but ? that is not how gifs are used with the Hip Youth now? this is a much too literal interpretation. when words fail me i’m not going to turn to a gif that is exactly what happened to me. that doesn’t raise the common experience to a new level. everyone has had this feeling so you have to find a new way to express it that is equally as relatable, but has the benefit of being new and humorous. or, alternatively, reviving an old ~relatable gif (or, honestly, a reaction picture, because who uses gifs anymore), which then relies on background knowledge to add an extra dash of humor
for example:
when you sleep through your alarm
or
when you sleep through your alarm
even better is when you can revive a well-known meme to emphasize your point. for example:
when your alarm doesn’t go off
this requires knowledge of the meme’s previous life, giving context as to why exactly it is funny in the first place, for the viewer to find its inclusion in the current post equally as humorous
once again the Marketing Adults™
fail to fully understand the language of reaction
Ah yes, the classic “It’s a dialect I don’t speak so here’s a simplified inaccurate version of it” problem.
I think this particular example also speaks to one of the motivations why people innovate online: making relatively mundane or trivial updates more interesting so you look like an interesting person and people interact with you about them. Adding visual interest in the form of a reaction gif/image/emoji is somewhat more interesting than a plain update, which the Marketing Adults appear to understand, but adding a level of irony and cultural reference is far more interesting and subtle.
Kimchi and Justice 