You Aren’t The Only One
When I first started hand embroidering I was always confused on why the thread was referred to as floss. Why wouldn’t they just call it embroidery thread?
Well after quite a few years of making myself apart of hand embroidery, as much as one could be apart of, a content provider of All Things Embroidery. I started to understand why we in the craft call it floss instead of referring to it as thread.
First, A Few Things
Before we go any further into this puzzling topic, I want to go over what each of the main terms related to the difference between thread and floss. These are not dictionary definitions. These definitions are of my own interpretation of each word, to make it easier to understand and simplified.
Definitions:
Z & S Yarn Twist: Z twist is less likely to fray and unravel, usually used for sewing or threads that aren’t suppose to come part. S twist is thread that is suppose to be pulled apart.
Floss: Made up of 6 or 3 paired strands of embroidery thread. Those 3 pairs along with the whole piece of floss are loosely twisted in a S yarn twist.
Strand: 1 of the 6 pieces of embroidery THREAD (made with a Z twist), BUT part of 1 of the 3 pairs that make up a whole piece of embroidery floss (each pair is made up of a S twist)
Thread: . The classification of 1 of the 6 strands. ‘I used 2 strands of thread from the embroidery floss’
Still confused? Yeah, so was I.
It took me probably a solid year to grasp this whole concept, and I still don’t know if I’ve gotten it right. This is how I think of it (as an illustration), maybe it will help.
My Own Illustration Explaining Floss v. Thread
I am a very visual learner, like most people. But I especially am when learning something a little more confusing or complicated like this topic, or my college anatomy classes.
Maybe this will help you understand a little better what the differences are. If it doesn’t, I’m sorry and I hope I can explain it well enough for you.
The Differences
Embroidery Floss:
A piece of embroidery floss is made up of 6 single strands of embroidery thread, or 3 paired strands of embroidery thread. Floss is yarn twisted with an S twist, allowing it to be pulled apart into the 6 single pieces of thread its made up of. However, even though the piece of floss is twisted with an S twist, each piece of thread is a Z twist, meaning is is harder to pull apart or unravel.
Embroidery Thread:
The single strands that make up a whole piece of floss. Now to understand the difference between strand and thread. I think of it like this. Strand refers to it being a type of fabric, usually cotton. Thread is related to what type or variation it is. It‘s a threaded piece of cotton. Or 6 threaded pieces of cotton make up 1 whole skein of floss.
Conclusion
Honestly, this is where it got confusing to me when straightening this all out. Cause there is embroidery thread in an embroidery floss. So were people referring to those single stranded pieces of thread or debating the embroidery floss as a whole being called thread? I never found a definite answer to this, but I did come to the conclusion that it is referring to embroidery floss as a whole being called embroidery thread.
Going off of this conclusion, which is the right answer? Both! I use them both, most people I know that are very serious and into embroidery use them both. We as a society have kinda tossed the definitions out the window and called it what we wanted. So whether you think it’s Floss or Thread, you’re technically right either way. If you didn‘t get the answers you were looking look, I hope you learned a few things.
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I will be posting a few great tutorials this upcoming week including a few stitching ones on Bullion Knots & different types/examples of Satin Stitches. Along with a tutorial on how to embroider sunflowers a few different ways. All are based on requests from others. If you have a certain stitch, technique or anything else you want to see a tutorial on, please reach out! I love to take your requests! After all, these videos are for you!
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