I find kit threads tangle more often. I prefer Anchor as it seems smoother, but I usually use DMC as they have triple the colour range and are almost as good. As I cross-stitch for my own enjoyment, I usually dont worry too much about it being not perfect, but when i made a birth sampler for a friend recently I was told to make every stitch perfect by sewing each stitch down between the two threads to separate them. This did make each stitch sit perfect and even, and had the added benefit of stopping it knotting, twisting and tangling. It was fairly labour intensive though.
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I assume Thread Heaven is a wax based thread conditioner. I was taught from young to use white candle wax. Have had great results so far.
We simply cut a small piece from the candle, and run the thread strands through wax each time we thread it to the needle. It does prevent it from tangling up. The knots we let the needle unwind every now and then.
Hope this helps for those who cant get Thread Heaven.
A cheap trick that I have recently learned about to prevent knots is to run your threaded needle through a dryer sheet. Just poke your threaded needle into the sheet and pull it through. You can also place a dryer sheet in your belt loop to keep mosquitoes away! :D
For stitching requiring 2 strands of floss, I dampen it so that when it dries, it straightens. I find that it knots less. Of course, I let it untwist every few stitches. 2 strands here means 1 long strand folded. For 2 unconnected strands (eg 2 different colours combined), I dampen them separately, then let them dry before putting them back together.
For stitching requiring a single strand, I dampen, let it dry, and run it through wax. This is to stiffen the single strand a little, giving it a bit of body. 2 light pulls will do. If you see the thread cutting a groove in the wax, and flecks of wax sticking on the thread, you might have pulled too hard. Unless wiped off, the bits tend to accummulate into white spots at the legs of stitches. Candle wax or thread wax or Thread Haven works as well.
So far I have only treated cotton floss (and DMC metalics) this way. Not sure about satin or silk.
chekccard