If you can stand just another blog about 60 weight thread, I was looking through some of the designs that will lend themselves to enhancement by lighter weight thread. This blog about horses and 60 weight thread will delight and please any animal lover but especially horse fanciers. (OK, maybe not. . . . )

Unparalleled beauty, a rich history and a unique ability to bond with their owners.

From the ancient deserts of the Middle East evolved the oldest known breed of riding horse, the Arabian. Now one of the most popular breeds in America, the Arabians' incredible energy, intelligence and gentle disposition allow riders to excel in most equine sports and activities. Today, Arabian horses spend as much time on the trail as they do at horse shows and other competitive events.  (To read more about these magnificent horses, click on the photo.)

Photo courtesy of:  https://www.arabianhorses.org/education/education_history_intro.asp

For the truly beautiful embroidery of just about any subject, use of the 60 weight will give more elegance in subtle highlights, shadows, delicates, dainty designs, baby items and details.  Using it with a detailed embroidery design is just what your embroidery needs to get to the next level.

Think in terms of using an extra sharp pencil, giving points that are viewed by the eye as just a dot - but that dot is a WOW!  If you have ever looked at a bitmap, those dots make a great photo.

Just as the dots do their work almost anonymously, so does each of the stitches of embroidery.

And, when we go one step further and use a lighter weight thread, we may well have something worthy of a treasure for your personal best project and a possible museum piece!

I recommend having on hand several colors of 60 weight.  Additionally, I also recommend having metallics in their most used colors:  Here is my suggested colors for the 60 weight:

• white
• brown (I prefer brown to black)
• red
• beige
• green
• blue, light and deep
• pink or salmon
• grey

For metallics, I keep these on hand:

• silver
• gold (more than one shade, if available)
• copper
• brass
• blue
• red
• green
• white

I might even make use of a little metallic on a horse design as well.  Just a glint of sparkle can be a defining project.  In the following photo, use of a silver metallic thread on the harness would be fantastic.  (I am using all these 'extreme' adjectives because I think the Arabian Horse is so incredible.)

The following design, available here at AnnTheGran, is one that comes to my mind as the prize for a horse lover or just someone who loves mind-boggling artistry.

Since there are 11 colors to create this design, you have multiple opportunity to for light weight threads to shade and show the details.  I personally would review the colors and the sequence to determine where I want to make alterations that will make my project really outstanding. 

My testing of this concept is below.  Obviously, I sewed this on a much too light a fabric (and did not compensate with stabilizer) for the weight of the stitches.  Nontheless, it gave me a lot of information. 

As is common for my camera, the photo does not clearly indicate what I hoped to show you.  However, the 'in person' design has silver for the blade on the left skate, and the 60 weight was only used on the shadow.  There IS a difference in person that you cannot view.

You are always more judgemental on your work that the average person.  Most people looking at your final results would be in awe.  Not everyone knows the difference between good and acceptable embroidery.  Other embroiderers will see or wonder what you actually did.  It is truly subtle.  But you can see the finer points that you personally created.  You are the expert of your project, my blog on your knowledge is worth a second look. 

Lastly, when I have a design that has many facets to it - like the skates - adjectives can be winter, skates, shadow, sports among other things, the use of Catalog Xpress 2.5 is just the ticket.  You save your designs on a hard disk with a back up on a USB drive.  Then, you place your LINK (only) in various folders that describe the content.  Therefore, your design link can be in one place or dozens and easier to find.  Catalog Xpress DOES NOT save your designs, it gives you a link to your actual design.  

(Also Note: Madeira Incredible Threadable Gift Boxes are on sale this week!)