Old Sewing Threads Rejuvenated the EASY Way!
HTML-код
- Опубликовано: 20 ноя 2024
- Many sewing threads will dry out. This can lead to breaking, fraying, and leaving lots of fuzz/lint behind. Commercial nylon and Dacron threads usually will not need rejuvenating, as well as, household sewing threads like monofilament and sliver. Commercial nylon threads can loose up to 60% of their strength after 90 days in the sun, and commercial polyester threads can loose between 15%-25% of their strength in the same amount of time. The moral of the story... Don't store your threads in the sun.
Using this method of thread rejuvenation, I have never had any mold or mildew form on the sponge, or the threads. Be sure to squeeze your sponge well so that it is not wet, you only want it dampened. If you notice any moisture on the inside of the wall of your thread container, leave it open and remove the sponge.
Learn MORE about your Sewing Machines! Watch these videos and help your machines work better! Tech (Tek) Tips from a Sewing machine service Tech with over 50 years of experience on all brands of household and industrial sewing machines of all types. Sharing some knowledge to help you with tips, tricks, and more.
J&H Sewing & Vacuum Inc has been in business in Alaska since 1986, and it's founders have been in Alaska since 1968.
Serving all of Alaska, J&H Sewing & Vacuum Inc has (probably) the only service tech that pilots a plane all over south central Alaska servicing all brands and types of household and industrial sewing machines.
J&H Sewing & Vacuum Inc has locations in Anchorage & Soldotna, Alaska.
Household Sewing Machine DEALER FOR: Pfaff, Viking, Singer, Brother, Janome, & Elna.
Industrial Sewing Machine DEALER FOR: Consew & Bonis
We service all brands and models of household and industrial sewing machines.
I’m going to try this. When my relatives pass away I always get their thread and I am afraid it was so old that it would break. This is the first time I have heard this…thanks❤
My mom gifted me all her sewing treasures including her decades old Pfaff that still works like a workhorse and all her thread. Although the way I cleaned all the thread was a little different than this idea it was basically the same thing and it worked wonderfully. Thanks for sharing
Wow! I have been sewing for at least 58 years and have never heard of this method to rejuvenate old thread. On occasion, I purchase bags of thread from garage or estate sales only to find old spools mixed in. I will definitely be giving this method a try. Thank you! (new subscriber)
Having spent a lifetime in damp houses in a rainy country, the idea of this problem has never even occured to me 🤣
Yes, it's good to know in case I ever move to a dry climate, lol. Where I am is like a sauna.
Guess I’ve been living in a tree for the last 80 + years. This is the first time I’ve heard that moisture in old thread needed to be restored. I taught myself to sew mostly from trial and error with help from PBS programs decades ago. That drawer full of thread in my sewing room might benefit. I’ll give it a try.
Wow, been sewing many years, never heard of this, in fact was always told old thread couldn't be saved! I'll be doing this as I've got loads of old thread needing rejuvenation. Subscribing for more sewing info, thanks!
I’ve never heard of rejuvenating threads. I have some really old ones so I will try this
I keep my new thread in plastic bag to keep them longer. But we all have old thread from thrift, donations where that tip come handy.
Loved the health warning..... it applies to many frustrations in my life.
That was a lot of work! Little by little it gets done!
This is great! I have not heard of this before but will sure be doing to my array of old threads. Thanks so much for sharing. Take care and blessings to y'all.
Good morning. I am so glad I stumbled upon this video!! My thread keeps breaking and fraying. The local sewing machine repair shop changed their hours. So how they expect us working folks to come in is mind boggling!! I am going to give this a try!! Never thought it was a thread problem. I am going to give this a try!! Thanks so much!! I will subscribe!!
If you still have the thread breakage or fraying, check to make sure there aren’t any scars from needle strikes in the needle hole of your needle plate.
I think the freezer idea was transferred from the old ice boxes that had melting ice humidifying the air.
I just use old thread to hand baste sewing. That has worked very well for me, but I could buy more in yard sales if I could try your method. Thanks!!
I’ve had serger thread for over 30 years. Still works fine with no problems.
It really depends on where you live. Here in the desert southwest the sun, dryness, and heat just destroys thread. I really wouldn’t trust older thread. But I quilt.
Going off one of his statements, I wonder if your serger threads are polyester or partially poly. It would make sense. I won’t use high speeds on my sewing machine if it’s 100% cotton because even new spools break under the tension.
Thanks, I needed this.
Thank you, I never knew you could do this
Now that was cool thank you for your tip I will try it. So excited
Thanks! I've never known you can rejuthread.
This may explain why my old threads don't break. The room where I store them has a very slight humidity issue. Apparently it's enough. Thanks.
OMG, I love the health warning the best!
Freezing thread after they are hydrated in a very well sealed bag can eliminate odors, as it kills mold and fungus. Works for clothes and furs too...
I would just put a humidifer in my sewing room. I live in the c desert, so sometimes I do that
Thankyou for this very interesting hint. Many if my threads are pretty old . So I will definitely give it a try and also sent on your friends in England whom I know sew a lot.
Great idea. Thank you.
Wow, great tip, must try!
Can I use this tip for embroidery thread, also. Thank you for this great tip. 👍
Yes, it helps embroidery threads too.
In thinking over this tip, spools of thread being tightly wound I would think only the outside threads would absorb the moisture and not the thread that is more to the center? As you use the thread maybe you’d need to regularly refresh it by storing it in the gallon bag with the bagged damp sponge? I’m sure there comes a time when really old thread starts to rot? Looking at the thread you have in the gallon bag…it doesn’t appear very old. Thank you for sharing, will check out your other posts.
Great tip thank you for sharing will definately try this
You are very welcome.
This video is very general in its information. The manufacturing of thread has changed through the years as has much of the material used in making thread. Its inportant to try to date the thread one has to understand the material used in the thread & even how many pyls/twists are in the thread. Natural fibers are the thread types that can just get so old that the fibers just rot/dry out break down & no water is going to strengthen them. And then some threads that are a man-made fiber of a type of plastic, the old old ones can just become so brittle that no water can strengthen them. It really is about age of the thread & time involved & how they were manufactured & even how they have been stored, affected by temperature & sunlight exposure, that determines if the threads are saveable.
Also, why would water touching thread cause it to discolor? That means you could not wash a garment made with the thread. Then, what happens after you use the thread and it looses the moisture you added? It would be in the same brittle condition. So many questions.
Thank you for this, very helpful, I have a lot of old thread.
Thanks. Needed
Lovely advise, thank you ❤
Also using the bee's wax for running the threads through as using them helps after this rejuvenation method with the sponge.
Would you do that for anything other than hand sewing? I am new to this and still learning best practices for different methods. Should you wax cotton, linen, silk, polyester, split cotton/polyester, or nylon?
I just wax thread when its become sticky for whatever reason. It works for me for hand sewing, cross-stitch, embroidery, i even use a little clean lotion on my yarns when i am knitting or crocheting when i need to.
For sewing machine & their threads specific sewing machines recommend specific lubricants for their machines & then for their threads used.
This video is very general in its information.
I’ve been using it for basting
Great tip.
Will this method also work with cotton embroidery thread such as DMC, Anchor etc? I'm thinking it will.
Yes, it will.
Putting thread in the freezer does work for the outside thread. The reason it sort of helps is because when the thread comes out of the freezer, it attracts moisture to the outside thread and will moisturize those outside threads. If your thread isn't very old and only the outside threads lack moisture this method will 'fix' the spool.
His remarks of old wives tales is incorrect, it’s based on freezers of that time period which were NOT frost free freezers but the old type that needed defrosting 2-3 times a year due to the ice building up inside. I have an old freezer that has to be defrosted due to the ice that builds up inside over time. I place the threads into an old ice-cream tub leave them in the freezer for 3 days then take them out and leave to come to room temperature and they work fine. Depending on the size of the reels will depend on how often this needs to be done.
All the threads that I inherited off my Mom are in plastic boxes and as such I can place a small container with foam in it that has been dunged into water. It keeps the threads from drying out and no water touches the threads.
I live in Australia in the Outback, during the summer months the moister is sucked out of everything around so unlike the cities around the coastal areas that keep damp-rid in the cupboards we do the opposite to keep moister in the air to stop things from getting brittle.
I’ll try this!
How can this help with polyester thread? Some of your threads obviously are polyester, which doesn’t take on moisture.
Totally awesome, thank you so much 😊
Thank you for sharing!
Great! I have another problem. The plastic cones inside my rather cheap overlock thread crumble after a few years. I have tried stuffing them with toilet rolls shaped to conical shape, but this isn’t very successful. Any ideas? Thanks for your videos!
Sorry for the delay in answering. The plastic cones are designed to degrade for several reasons. If you store them in darkness, they will last longer.
Nice idea!
Question: I have some threads from around early 1930’s on some flat disk-shaped wooden spools with logo of manufacturer stamped on the wood ends along with content. They are silk. I would dearly love to hydrate these lovely coloured threads to use them in the finishing of some garments, but have discovered that they break very easily. Have you tried this with silk that is that old? (I used the manufacturer’s name on the ends to discover about when these were made since there were some mergers around that time and also name changes in the company due to factories being built, sold and bought back.)
On a different note, I used to use this method with brown sugar in my foods classroom. Either you have to deal with rock hard brown sugar, or someone has thrown a damp paper towel on top and the water from the towel has “washed” the molasses coating off the sugar and turned it white. (I watched another teacher throw a mostly full tub of sugar away because she thought the white area of sugar meant it had gone bad. I couldn’t get to her fast enough to stop her and my voice wouldn’t have been heard over the classroom noise during the lab that was in progress. Arrrggg!!!)
Put damp paper towels in a small plastic bag; leave it open. Put the brown sugar in a large plastic bag…this makes it easier to press the sugar into the measuring cup (supporting the cup portion so you don’t break the handle off) and level it off using the outside of the bag to keep fingers clean. Put the open bag of sugar in a tightly sealing tub and tuck the small open bag down the side between the brown sugar bag and the tub. Check it once in a while. It will keep the brown sugar moist and also rehydrate any sugar that has dried on the store shelves.
Of course since Lantic/Roger’s sugar has finished with the strike that occurred last year, there shouldn’t be any old sugar on shelves anywhere round here. Trying to plan labs and acquire ingredients was interesting last year due to all kinds of suppliers and transport going on strike…couldn’t get salt round here at one point. Needed that for labs and to throw in the backs of cupboards to get rid of the silverfish we saw (Not my classroom; I inherited it for 4 months before I decided to retire.).
Yes, it will work well for your silk threads. Be sure to squeeze your sponge out well. It's better to add a little moisture at a time.
Thanks so much. This helped a lot.
Thank you!
Or You could set the threads outdoors on the porch when its raining just a friendly suggestion
I just filled two bags with machine embroidery thread to toss. I tested every spool to see if it would easily break. If it breaks after a tug, I was planning to throw it away. I guess my thread is rayon or polyester, and some I’ve had for years. But I don’t want to sew an embroidery design with thread that breaks easily. I guess I’ll dig it out of the trash bin and try this method. It’s a lot of money to throw away!
So this is for natural type threads e.g cotton? Sounds good.
I doubt it would help much. Cotton gets rotten. Synthetics probably OK.
@kc8ueu He just said in the vid. there's no point in trying to rehydrate old Nylon/ Polyester thread - as they are stable & don't dry out.
I’ve always just put mine in the freezer, just sitting next to the shelf. Thanks for a different idea...
@@mymai5859not true nylon does dry out. I have a piece of equipment that uses nylon cord and the company instructions is to place the nylon cord in to boiling hot water over night as it stops it from being brittle and braking. So I would be doing the same as some synthetic threads are a combination of polyester core wrapped with cotton on the outside to give the thread extra strength.
So unless you know the complete makeup of the threads just treat them all the same regardless.
Mine are healed in plastic thread boxes because of this there is space to add a container with a wet foam into it and sit it in with the threads at all times. I live in the Aussie Outback so it’s dry as dry can be 80% of the year. So I do this with all of my boxes of threads regardless of how old they are.
Plus his remark about old wives tales is taken out of context as he’s using Modern Freezers which are frost free where as in his Mothers and Grandmothers day they were either a freezer that had to be defrosted 2-3 times a year or was a “Ice-Box” which needed a block of ice to be placed in it every few days to keep food either frozen or cold. My freezer is NOT a frost free freezer so this method does work when I use it.
Have you ever needed to use this on Polyester thread? (Thanks for posting this!)
Yes, the home machine polyester thread on spools and cones need rejuvenating too. The nylon upholstery thread, monofilament, and sliver threads do not need rejuvenating.
@@jandhtektipsactually nylon threads do need to be treated in the same method as they get brittle and the moisture stops this from happening. Polyester and synthetic threads only if they are a combination of both which all of mine are. They are polyester cores with cotton wrapped on the outside. Cotton stops the polyester from rubbing the natural fibers of woven fabrics when sewing as over time the polyester threads actually damage the fabrics that are made of natural fibers. The polyester/cotton threads give you the benefit of durability of the polyester but the benefits of cotton threads not rubbing away at the natural fibers and thus not cutting through the stitched line.
I learnt that lesson the hard way. It’s why you never sew natural Fiber fabrics with polyester but with cotton threads only and use polyester on polyester fabrics. It’s why you can buy polyester/cotton thread the core is polyester and it’s covered with cotton. It’s cheaper than pure cotton thread and works well, but because of the cotton cover it can dry out.
Does that suggest we could rejuvenate clothing pieces too?
Sorry, I would not know. I didn't test clothing, or clothing fibers. I only tested garment construction threads.
I have a lot of old thread. I mean really old, wooden spool old. I hate throwing it away buy I know I'll never use it. Is there somewhere to recycle it or do I just throw it away? Any help would be greatly appreciate it. Thanks.
Me too, it’s from my grandmother’s stash probably dates from the 1960s. I don’t use it because it breaks, will try this trick.
I am planning to use mine, probably as hooks for my hats and bags, they are so beautiful!
Collecting wooden sewing thread spools is a “thing”. I am sure you could find homes for your wooden spools, with and without thread. Please don’t toss them❣️
Don't throw away old thread on wooden spools. Put them in a glass jar with top and place in sewing room/area as a decoration
I kept all the thread of my mothers that was on wooden spools, I decorate with them or removed the thread and wrap other fibers and ribbon on them.
Would there be a mold or mildew problem doing this?
Your sponge should only be damp. Check your sponge once a week. If it is damp when you check it, you should remove the sponge bag and sponge from your thread bag. Never had any mold or mildew with this method.
Wow,no didn’t even know it dried out. I have some from the 1980’s.
Sorry, but to many of us 1980s isn’t old!
My grandma was born in the 1920s and I have her sewing box with various old threads that I still use. But I'm in the UK so it's not a dry climate!
Amazing
Actually I give my threads a bath. I bought some large cones that were moldy. Sunshine and hot water.
I'm skeptical of this because once its used one wouldn't store it in a damp environment. Only natural fibers would be effected and that's just cotton, linen, wool, and silk. It's an interesting concept though and would hydrate them temporarily.
How do you keep the sponge from getting mildewy?
That’s a good question.
You can use a little bit of soapy water when you dampen it if you are getting any mold. I have never had my sponge get moldy, though. The threads usually will evacuate all the moisture out of the sponge. Make sure to squeeze all the water out of your sponge so it's only lightly damp.
Another thought is to only use a new sponge. I try to only buy natural cellulose ones but it does seem the polyester ones are less prone to molding.
@@jandhtektips Thank you so much for your invaluable information and video.
Old cotton thread will break easily with a tug. Polyester would stay strong, so I’m not sure what kind of thread you are hydrating…?
Nylon upholstery threads do not need rejuvenating, however, polyester does need some moisture to keep it from fraying and breaking. Cotton is stronger with moisture, you can tell the difference if you have a damp cotton thread and a dry cotton thread when you pull them to the breaking point. It's pretty need to see how.
how long before possible need for rejuvernating???
If you have a lot of thread breakage or thread fraying, it is usually because your thread is too dry. If you live in a very humid area, you'll probably never need to rejuvenate your threads. However, her in Alaska, especially in the winter, the threads will suffer from dryness.
@@jandhtektips 👍anticipating future problems...so far old, old cotton thread is "linting" up my bobbin area, needle...the thread is still strong and is not breaking...thanks for info...son just moved from AK "Brrrr" to TX ..LOL NM
But how old is "old thread"? Is a year old?? 2 years? More? And how do you know how long the thread sat in a store? New to sewing so I have no idea.
I just bought this cone of thread - had it only a week or so - and its constantly breaking. The top thread. But it doesnt make any rats nests.
If your thread is breaking constantly, fraying, and you have lots of lint... it's probably dry.
But does it remove the dust? That is what gums up sewing machines. Think I'll skip this hint. Not that bad off.
Heh Heh, no, it doesn't remove dust. But the fuzz off of the fabric and threads are the reason you need to "de-lint" your machines.
The worst thread I have used came from Viking store. Do not like rayon thread. I prefer to sew with polyester thread.
Old brittle thread will not get better by using this technique or any. Just like clothing, thread can dry rot.
Using old and brittle threads can cause issues with your sewing machines as well.
Actually, a lot of testing has been done that proves it works for both strength and less lint on all home sewing machine threads except the monofilament and sliver threads
@@jandhtektips Testing was done on old brittle threads to make them strong enough to use to make garments that you would wear? Wow! Just because it’s on the internet doesn’t make it true. But to think about it, there are different generations speaking on this topic so a younger person grandmother may be my age…my grandmother would be over 100 years old and thread from my grandmother age is not getting rejuvenated with a sponge in a ziplock bag. 100 year old thread as dry rot if not taken care of through the years.
I was was the one that did the testing on all types and ages of threads and developed this technique before I posted the info. Thanks for watching my video.
New idea to me! If hand sewing, run your thread across a bit of wax.
Just run thread through bees wax. So much easier
Yes, however, beeswax is not good for sewing machines.
I think using beeswax is good
However, beeswax is not good for your sewing machines😊
Or you could just buy some new thread.
Thanks for this tip. Thankfully I live in a moderate climate with enough humidity to keep threads fit for purpose for a long, long time. Please let me be your friendly neighbourhood spell checker for the day: rejuvenate… juventus = youth in latin and re for getting the youth back
Thankyou for this very interesting hint. Many if my threads are pretty old . So I will definitely give it a try and also sent on your friends in England whom I know sew a lot.