Last week, I briefly mentioned the shaded metallic thread sets from Au Ver a Soie that I’m so happy to be carrying here on Needle ‘n Thread!
I’ve been a HUGE fan of Au Ver a Soie’s metallics for years and years. Years ago, I wrote about Au Ver a Soie metallics in depth here, and again, here, when using them on my Winter Snowflakes projects.
There are many reasons why I prefer Au Ver a Soie’s metallics over just about every metallic thread on the market today, but what those reasons all boil down to is this One Major Point: they are simply better and more enjoyable to stitch with than any other metallics.
In my earlier article on Au Ver a Soie’s metallics – titled “The Metallics You Want to Use” – I share with you a lot of information about the threads and about the use of metallics in general. You’ll see the threads up close, you’ll see a comparison in thread sizes (lined up against familiar threads like DMC), and you’ll see the threads stitched, using regular surface embroidery stitches on firmly woven embroidery fabric.
If you’ve struggled with metallic threads, I highly encourage you to try AVAS metallics. They are much, much easier to work with than other metallics on the market – even though they might look similar to other threads. They aren’t the same. They’re engineered differently, and it shows in the way they actually work.
One of the lovely things about AVAS metallics is that they come in a terrific color range.
And because they come in a terrific color range, they can be grouped for shading, which is not something you see in other lines of metallics.
I’m so excited about this! Think of the possibilities for stitching with shade groups of metallic threads – whether you’re using them for surface embroidery, for counted cross stitch, or for needlepoint (counted or painted)! For those who love working with ranges of shades and who love sparkle, this is Fan-Tas-Tic! Just think of the fun you can have playing with the concept of shades of metallics!
Right now, there are four different shade families available in these curated sets, including a very exciting grouping called “Orange Crush” – absolutely perfect for this time of year! If you’re a fan of stitching Halloween stuff, you’ll love these sparkly oranges!
I’ve been playing a bit with the blues – I sneak-peeked some stitching to you last week, mentioning that they remind me so much of Van Gogh’s Starry Night and other star-bespeckled skies.
The deep to light blues in this range are beautiful. Besides working well in starry sky-scapes, they’d be great for anything sea themed, or even for fancy sparkly snowflakes in blues and silvers.
And heck, anything else that you want blue and sparkly!
There’s a glorious set of pinks-to-reds that immediately put in mind to stitch this:
See what you can do when you’re working with shades? This is worked in a technique called battlement couching, where you work up layers of color in long laid stitches, and then couch the intersections of the topmost laid stitches, to hold everything in place.
It creates a pleasing depth of color, with a little bit of optical illusion thrown in for the fun of it.
And it works great in metallics!
Besides Orange Crush, Blue, and Red, there’s a shaded gold set of metallics as well.
I am currently playing with a stitched sample of these, but I haven’t finished it yet. As soon as I do, I’ll share it with you!
The discovery process of what you can do with shaded metallics is really kind of fun. It’s just the type of exploratory stitching that gets the juices flowing! I’ve got so many ideas that I want to try with these – we definitely will explore more possibilities together soon!
Where to Find Them
I’m delighted to have a bunch of Au Ver a Soie metallics for you to choose from available here in my shop, including these shaded collections.
If you’re looking solely for silvers and golds, I have thread sets of Au Ver a Soie’s silver and gold metallics available as well, with various sizes. And for those who want holiday colors, you can find holiday sets available in the shop, too, in different sizes.
If you love adding a bit of sparkle to your needlework, I hope you have a chance to enjoy these beautiful threads!
Have a great weekend!
Ummm…did I read that right? You’re not so happy to be carrying them?!?
LOL! Yes, you read it right – but I wrote it all wrong! Thanks for catching that. I’ve corrected it in the blog post!
Typo, I think. You’re “not so happy” to be carrying them?
LOL! Thanks for catching that. I corrected it. I was probably going to say that a completely different way, rethought and simplified it, and didn’t delete all the words previously typed.
So glad you corrected yourself here. I was reading the blog in my email and kept waiting for the shoe to drop about what was wrong with them! Now I can go back and read it again. Those metallics look fabulous!!!
Now that I have read the post and those threads sound marvelous, I have a question. Between arthritis and old age vision I need to use a needle threader, especially for hand needles. Is there a type of needle threader that you have found tio be the best? Those threaders that have the silver look end with a stamped face and the tiny wire that are currently manufactured are boken the first time you try to use them or look at them wrong the wire pops out. Of course the vintage (truly vintage, not because a Chinese seller on Amazon choses to call something vintage that was manufactured last month) needle threaders tend to live a long life. Anyhow, with the metallic thread I would want to use something that doesn’t shred the thread while attempting to thread it into a needle. I have never had success with bending thread in half and sticking it in the needle. Happily for you and sad for me, your stock is about all sold out.
Thanks
Gail
Hi, Gail – I like the needle threads that I carry in my shop, because they aren’t made of various parts like the wire ones: https://shop.needlenthread.com/product/needle-threaders
Are these available in this country please, since London Bead sadly closed down I have been going to Victoria Aus to buy my threads , many thanks.
Hi, Diane, Thanks for your note! You said “are these available in this country” – which country are you in? These are available in the US. They’re also available in France, though I’m not sure if they are available in packaged color sets there. If you’re in the UK, I’m sorry that I don’t know if they are available there. It’s very difficult for me to discover what shop in the UK carries what, without spending a lot of time searching online. You might try that – maybe just do a google search for the threads “in the UK” and see if anything comes up.