Eco Vita is a durable thread but as with any thread, if you stitch with a piece that's too long you risk it becoming worn, frayed or dirty from being handled excessively and passed through the fabric too many times. We generally recommend using pieces of thread no longer than 12 inches at a time.
Don’t Divide the Thread
Eco Vita 360 is designed to be used as it is straight from the skein. If you have done a lot of embroidery you might be used to using stranded embroidery threads which can be separated. You might use a single strand for fine details or all six strands to achieve a lot of texture. Eco Vita 360 thread should never divided in this way. It is about the same thickness as 3 strands of DMC stranded thread and can be doubled to build a lot of texture.
Use it to Build Texture in Embroidery
Eco Vita 360’s fluffy texture makes it brilliant for building texture in embroidery. Try it with the following stitches to add a three-dimensional quality to your work: Satin Stitch, French Knots, Fishbone Stitch, Chain Stitch and Stem Stitch... Try with any stich you like...
What to stitch on
For embroidery projects, you can stitch on almost any base fabric including linen, cotton and woven woolen fabric. Try adding stitcheries to your blankets
For cross stitch, we recommend 14 count/5.5pts Aida or 28 count/11 threads per cm linen.
What size needle?
The needle you choose for any needlecraft will depend on the fabric you use as well as the thread. As a guide, we recommend using a size 5 embroidery needle and for cross stitch a size 24 cross stitch needle. For punch needle, we recommend a medium 1.6mm diameter needle.
Mending
If you are using Eco Vita 360 to create visible mends or embellishments on clothing, it’s important to consider the combination of fabric and thread you are using and how the finished item will be used... If it is an item you will wash it is especially important to take care of washing instructions for both the fabric and the thread to avoid shrinkage and puckering.
Eco Vita can be washed at 30 degrees so it is ideal for mending and embellishing cherished woolen textiles that will have similar washing and care needs. If an item is purely decorative or only needs to be washed occasionally at the same 30-degree temperature then it is okay to stitch on almost any fabric.
Here's a few links that might help out!
How to French knot stitch: https://youtu.be/YHVNBteoyew?si=H2oUi5MtnWJdxGiH
How to satin stitch: https://youtu.be/S7ZKCKHMtxY?si=s_7YrMR6zP8X5aDj
How to fishbone stitch: https://youtu.be/ubuvCJIWslA?si=g_91YT9CqXCQWiL0
Happy stitching!
