Cottage Garden Threads

New to our store is a beautiful new range of hand dyed stranded cotton threads.  These threads are all beautifully dyed and cut into managable lengths with 10mtrs of thread in each skein.

Its History

Pam Spurway is the  dyer and passionate creator of Cottage Garden Threads.  Cottage Garden Threads has been continually growing in popularity and demand for over for about 3 years.

Now for the facts: Threads with the wrong treatment can bleed their colour but Pam is proud to produce 95% colour fastness due to the time and effort she puts into the preparation and process of dying. From batch to batch there may be slight variations as with all hand dyed fibers but as the sole dyer, Pam manages to control extreme differences.

Cottage Garden Threads has been designed with a short colour length of 2 to 3 inches especially for embroidery to enable a good variation of colour in smaller lengths of stitching. The variegated colour sequences are inspired by the natural beauty that surrounds her every day, living in rural Australia.

The range is constantly growing as interest increases. Specialty dying of thread colours is also available upon consultation of designers requiring a specific thread colour combination or style.

Being a small business owner herself, Pam understands the difficulties in competing with the larger chain stores and companies and so to offer her support, she intends to exclusively stock smaller shops and designers.

Thread care notes for Cottage Garden Threads

These threads are carefully hand over -dyed in small lots to ensure a quality product.
They have been designed specifically for stitcheries and therefore have a short stitch length. The colour repeats quickly and gives a lovely shaded effect for stitcheries . The dye process for this technique is more labour intensive but results in a beautiful quality stitchery thread .
The colour range is carefully designed to allow a wide range of colour expressions, from soft and subtle to loud...and the range is increasing.
The processing of the thread in small batches also means that the thread is treated gently ,has a good sheen remaining ,a low knotting rate and excellent handling properties at the end of the process.
As of the end of 2009 the range has now 65 colours from a starting point a year ago of 31 colours.
Keeping the thread: a simple way is to simply tie the threads into an overhand knot ,put the loop of the overhand knot onto a ring and keep the thread in a small snaplock bag.
Like any hand dyed thread the Cottage Garden Threads can not be guaranteed completely colour fast... however these threads are processed very carefully to avoid colour loss.
Using the stranded thread.
It is a good idea to strand each length as it is required by separating the strands and putting them back together as required.
Washing stitchery:
If you need to wash the stitcheries do so in lukewarm water with a little soft soap or neutral laundry detergent.
Rinse very well .
Roll the piece quickly in a very dry towel, just like a Swiss roll .Press firmly to remove water.
If it is a quilt top spin in a machine gently to remove the bulk of the water.
Air Dry .
Some Don'ts

Do not leave it wet,
Do not press whilst wet or damp.
Do not hard press, treat with care.
It is not a good idea to spray an embroidery with water or fabric spray and then stamp a hot iron onto it whilst the embroidery is at all damp.
Any embroidery thread if treated this way will react badly by flattening, losing sheen and possibly bleeding colour.
Is important with any embroidery to treat it gently.
Some Do’s
Press each stitchery from the back onto a soft cloth, trying not to flatten the design.
If you have flattened the stitchery by hard pressing :holding the embroidery over a steam source for just a few seconds will usually revitalise the threads.
Enjoy the thread