Note: This product is not shipped; download the PDF at the link below

Hardanger Angel Ornament

Designed by Ruth Hanke of Hanky Panky Designs

Hardanger has been a popular form of needlework for, well, centuries. We asked designer Ruth Hanke to create a special Hardanger ornament for our web site visitors. Made with Kreinik silk threads, it will become an instant heirloom.

Materials needed:

• 6-inch square of 24-count white Congress Cloth 
• two skeins of Silk Mori 8000 Soft White 
• #24, #26 Tapestry needles 
• large Mother of Pearl star * 
• two 2mm joined beads (about three inches) * 
• eight white glass seed beads * 
• beading needle and white sewing thread 
• tacky glue and Fray Check

 Instructions:

Clickhere to download the FREE instructions for this design.You will need the Adobe Reader to view and print this file.

Note: this product is not shipped; download the PDF chart below

Garden In Silk Hardanger Design

Designed by Debra VanOverloop 

This just may be one of the prettiest Hardanger designs you’ve ever seen. Delicate Silk Mori flowers accent the silk-thread cutwork that resembles a French country window. The best part is that it’s small enough to finish quickly—better to satisfy the soul when you don’t have much time for stitching these busy days.

Materials needed:

• Kreinik Silk Mori 1092, 1105, 1107, 3011, 4163, 4166, 8000 (one 2.5m skein of each)
• Kreinik Silk Serica 1092 and 8000
• 28-count white linen
• sharp scissors for the cut areas  

Instructions:

Clickhere to download the FREE instructions for this design.You will need the Adobe Reader to view and print this file. 

Linda has created a fun, quick-to-make holiday ornament. Use fabrics from a family member to make a special gift (Linda likes to use men's old ties). The Kreinik silk threads are perfect crazy quilt embellishments; the colors are rich, and the look is timeless. For crazy quilting, silk is nice and easy

Materials needed:

• Kreinik Silk Bella in 4164 Medium Victorian Green, 2014 Medium Gold, and 1117 Very Dark Christmas Red (one spool each)
• Kreinik Silk Serica in 2014 Medium Gold (one spool)
• 9-inch square firm interfacing and red velveteen
  selection of red silks, satins, and Christmas prints, plus 1-inch wide green metallic ribbon
• also: scissors, needles, matching sewing thread, polyester fiber fill

Instructions:

J. Marsha Michler has written extensive, informative and inspiring books on crazy quilting, so we asked her to design a special ornament for our web site visitors. You will be delighted at the effects of Kreinik metallic and silk threads for crazy quilting; for many projects, they're the only decorative threads you need to create beautiful work. The light-catching metallics and smooth, rich silk threads dance off the medley of fabrics and help you achieve exciting results. Use them in all kinds of stitches.

Materials needed:

For crazy patching:

• scissors, dry iron, spray bottle of water, pins, ironing board
• 1/2 yard of 100% cotton unbleached muslin fabric, pencil, ruler
• Silk fabric scraps such as jacquard, crepe de chine
• 1 1/2" x 10 1/2" piece of silk fabric for shoulder strap
• 100% cotton sewing thread, size 12 Sharp needle for basting

For embroidery:

• Embroidery hoop, scissors, needles in various sizes
• Kreinik Silk Serica in 8-10 shades of red, gold and green, such as: 3017, 1119, 1098, 4077, 1092, 4163, 4164, 2026, 2016
• Kreinik Heavy (#32) Braid or Medium (#16) Braid for couching in 202HL and 5982, or any shades of gold and green
• size 18 Chenille needle
• Kreinik Silk Bella in gold, green (such as 2016 and 4164)
  

For assembling the pack:

• 100% cotton sewing thread, any color that blends with the fabrics
• two 1" metal rings (the type used for cafe curtains)
• 24" soft 1/2" rayon ribbon, deep red
• small amount of poly stuffing
• miniature toys and other small objects
• sturdy wire (I used paper clips bent open), pliers
• white glue
• fine beading needle, white beading thread
• 18-inch length of Kreinik's Medium (#16) Braid, any shade of gold such as 202HL or 221

Instructions:

Silk Serica® can be used as is, straight from the reel, as a 3-ply twisted filament silk. It can also be separated and used as a flat silk. Made of 100% pure filament silk, the sheen is so rich and bright, it instantly turns any design into a work of art. Perfect in heirloom projects and designs focusing on different textures.

The most important tip to remember when working with Silk Serica: moisturize your hands with a non-greasy hand cream. This will keep the filament silk from snagging on rough spots. 

See Description below for more tips and usage ideas.

Kreinik Silk Mori® is a 6-strand spun silk. That means:

• as a spun silk, it has a creamy natural luster (as opposed to a filament silk, which has a bright sheen)
• you can separate the strands and recombine to suit whatever your stitch is on whatever fabric or canvas you're using—two strands of Silk Mori is ideal for cross stitch on 14-count Aida, for instance. 
• you can use it in place of cotton embroidery floss, when you want to elevate a design (creating an heirloom), when you want to show off the beautiful natural sheen of silk (like in samplers), or simply when you want to spoil your eyes and your fingers (it's so soft!)

Read the Description below for stitching tips and usage ideas for Kreinik Silk Mori.

Since it was first processed in China, silk thread has been used in embroidery for more than 5,000 years. Silk is an animal fiber made from the viscous fluid of the silkworm. Originally, silkworm cocoons were collected from trees. In 2640 B.C., a Chinese Empress discovered that if a silk cocoon was placed in hot water to soften the natural glue or sericin (holds the cocoon together), then a silk cocoon could be unwound and stretched into a long filament. Fo Xi, China's first Emperor, taught the Chinese people to cultivate mulberry trees and raise silkworms.

The first variety of silkworm to be domesticated was the Bombyx Mori. Over the centuries, at least thirteen other species have been cultivated. In addition, there are more than 80 varieties of wild silkworms. In the history of needlework, silk was a primary thread for embroidery, used in tapestries and garments, blackwork, and samplers. When the world was at war in the beginning of the 1940's, however, the silk supply literally dried up overnight. Chemical companies developed synthetic fibers commercially, and these fibers replaced silk almost instantly. As a result, for more than fifty years, people have looked upon silk as rare, expensive and delicate.

Today, embroiderers acknowledge silk for its practical and lustrous qualities. The translucent cellular structure of silk allows it to absorb dyes and to reflect light to a high degree, giving the finished product a pure color and a beautiful luster. When worked in specialty stitches and laid properly, silk has a bright sheen unrivaled by other threads. Due to the different cellular structures of silk and cotton, for example, silk is very smooth while cotton is fuzzy.

Silk also remains lustrous and strong over time, while cotton loses its luster and strength. Archaeologists found that silk in China, buried in tombs for 3,000 years, was the only fiber that remained intact and recognizable. Also, in Sweden, while dredging a channel in the harbor where an old warehouse had burned, black silk skeins buried under mud for 27 years were discovered. After cleaning, they found that the color, strength, and lustre still remained.

Choose silk thread for its unparalleled lustre, texture, and elegance. It adds a richness that raises your needlework to a higher level. Whether used in sampler work, needlepoint, or other techniques, silk threads enable needleworkers to play with light and with textures in their stitchery. It is an affordable thread that is perfect for treasured, keepsake needlework. Its softness, too, makes silk the ultimate in luxurious stitching enjoyment.

Convert designs from cotton floss or other threads to Kreinik silk threads. Click on one of the links below to view and print our silk thread conversion charts. 

Find the closest match for DMC to Kreinik Silk Mori®
DMC Cotton Floss to Kreinik Silk Mori® Conversion Chart

Find the closest match for Anchor to Kreinik Silk Mori®
Anchor Cotton Floss to Kreinik Silk Mori® Conversion Chart

Find the closest match for Pearsalls Silk to Kreinik Silk Mori®
Pearsalls Silk to Kreinik Silk Mori Conversion Chart

Find the closest match for Soie d'Alger to Kreinik Silk Mori®
Soie d' Alger Floss to Kreinik Silk Mori® Conversion Chart

Find the closest match for Pearl Cotton to Kreinik Silk Serica®
Pearl Cotton to Kreinik Silk Serica® Conversion Chart

Find the closest match for Pearl Cotton to Kreinik Silk Bella™
Pearl Cotton to Kreinik Silk Bella™ Conversion Chart

Silk is a fabulous thread to work with in any needlework technique, and there are many reasons silk has been used in needlework for centuries. It is durable, strong, and takes dyes on a deeper cellular level than any other fiber (that means you get really rich, gorgeous colors). Today silk is used in everything from fly fishing to knitting, needlepoint, cross stitch, weaving, and smocking.

Remember smocking? It's back. Once England's Prince George wore his cute little smocked jumper on his visit to Australia as an infant, smocking was back in style. Smocked sundresses are a staple in little girls' fashion, but fashion-forward children aren't the only ones wearing the style. Vintage-inspired embroiderers are embracing smocking for everything from wedding dresses to home decor and handbags. "I am on a campaign to get the word out that smocking is so much more than children's clothing," says smocking teacher Barbara Meger.

From the Middle Ages onward, smocking has been an embroidery technique with pretty but practical virtues. It may look like simple elastic-like pleating, but the sculpting effects, embroidery stitches and eye-catching patterns make smocking extraordinary. The most popular threads in smocking are cotton and silk, but you can use other threads as well—Kreinik metallic threads too!

The photos shown here are designs from Barbara's company, Classic Creations. This smocking and bead embroidery bag is created with Kreinik Silk Bella, a 100% pure very thin, fine silk thread. The design is called "Beaded Van Dyke Reticule."  You can find many of Barbara's smocking patterns online (search her name or company name), as well as many other smocking patterns. Substitute Kreinik silk threads, and your beautiful embroidery will be instant heirlooms.

Jewelry makers and other fiber artists often choose thread by their width. Whether you’re working with wire, beads, needles, or general crafts, now you can choose the right Kreinik thread width for your project. 

mm means millimeter

KREINIK THREAD NAME + WIDTH

Silk Mori, one strand 0.4mm

Silk Mori Milkpaint, one strand 0.4mm

Silk Mori is a floss, comparable to DMC or Anchor Embroidery floss in size

Silk Serica .34mm

Silk Serica is a twisted silk, comparable to a DMC #3 or #5 Pearl Cotton in size

Silk Bella .21mm

Silk Bella is a thin twisted silk, comparable to a DMC #12 Pearl Cotton in size

Color stash of the softest, most beautiful silk floss for your stitching pleasure. This 100% pure spun silk is used in samplers, embroidery, cross stitch, needlepoint, crazy quilting, punchneedle, and more. Each set contains twelve 2.5-meter skeins. Perfect for starting your silk thread addiction.

This set includes the following Silk Mori® colors: 5012, 5014, 5016, 5022, 5053, 5055, 5057, 5073, 5093, 5095, 5097, 5103

Color stash of the softest, most beautiful silk floss for your stitching pleasure. This 100% pure spun silk is used in samplers, embroidery, cross stitch, needlepoint, crazy quilting, punchneedle, and more. Each set contains twelve 2.5-meter skeins. Perfect for starting your silk thread addiction.

This set includes the following Silk Mori® colors: 4033, 4034, 4037, 4066, 4067, 4074, 4076, 4077, 4203, 4204, 4206, 4212