I got another source for good yarn today, I went to longs drugs and in the knitting/craft department they had “J.P Coats Embroidery Floss” made of 100% cotton. It comes in little 8.75 yard cards. Here is a pic of it:
I think it may be a good substitute for Punch embroidery yarn. Cost was only $.39. They had very many colors available.
And here is a Fly tied with it: 
Hope it helps
Chris,
Nice tie…Best Regards…
Hi flyandtie1,
I use embroidery yarn for my source of wool as well. Comes in a lot of colours, and is inexpenisve. I’ve found some nice floss in colours I can’t easily find in fly shops as well. Like yours, it’s not on a spool, but as I finish up spools of thread I transfer the floss to the spool for storage. Keep track of the brand name and the “colour code” if you find some that you really like. Makes it easier to replace later.
- Jeff
There is an excellent book by Don Holbrook and Ed Koch using embroidery threads, it is about tying midge patterns.
There is a huge list of patterns down to size 32 and probably smaller.
There is also manufacturers colour lists for Coats and Clark Dual Duty Plus #200 Thread, and DMC 6 strand Cotton embroidery Floss.
The results of his matching midges in Pennsylvania streams is fascinating to say the least.
Lots of macro pictures of real midges of an amazing range of colours.
I have just found the the book - ‘Midge Magic’. by Don Holbrook and Ed Koch.
This book was recommended to me by the late Ron Koenig ‘Osprey’, who was a contributor on this site.
Is embroidery yarn the same as embroidery floss?
I assume it’s different from punch embroidery yarn. When I asked for that at Michaels, they looked at me funny.
Edit Nevermind. I looked at the photo with my glasses on.
Just for everyone’s information…
Embroidery Floss is cotton
Needle Plunch Yarn is acrylic yarn
There will be a difference, but, not sure the fish know this…
Hi misterpaul,
The shop I go to sells what I think they call (I’ll have to double check) Embroidery Yarn, Embroidery Thread, and Embroidery Floss. The Yarn is like regular wool yarn, it just comes in small bundles like Flyandtie1 posted. I pull the wool yarn apart and I have a good supply of wool dubbing.
The floss is multi-stranded floss, similar to fly tying floss. It’s polyester (I thought, but WarrenP says cotton. I’ve not actually looked, so I’ll defer to his knowledge). Again, it comes in the small bundles.
The Thread is quite thick, but it can be separated into a number of strands. I pull these apart, tie the strands end to end, and put these on a spool. The thread is generally to thick to use as the tying thread, but it’s good for making bodies.
Basically, the floss and the thread require a fair amount of time to unravel and then re-spool. However, it comes in a lot of colours that I can’t find in any other source. Same with the yarn, I don’t need full balls of yarn, and these are easy to store, have a huge variety of colours and shades, and yet still provide enough dubbing to last for years.
Now, I can’t say that the terms used at the shop I go to is used by every other shop.
- Jeff
what i do is i just got to the local craft store and buy just a pound of regular old yarn like for crocheying and then when i need some wool like dubbing, i just cut off about 6 inches of yarn and then i fray it and pull it apart untill i have a pile of dubbing. it workd great, and you can use some vecro after you dub the body to just pull the fibers out and make them buggier. ive got a life time supply of some of the colors and its about 6 bucks for a pound of yarn.
Chris,
Today while Volunteering, i found a copy of Fish Alaska magazine. In this issue there is an Article by Scott Sanchez about Dragon & Damsel Flies. Scott ties a pattern called a “Fur Damselfly” that looks like a yarn fly , but he uses brown dyed Finn Raccoon fur. I think Scott is a genius! :lol: ; http://www.scottflyrod.com/pros_detail.php?&recKey=42 There is also a photo of a “Bootlace dragonfly” that features a woven body of yarn (Awesome!)
The Link is Scott’s Bio and my magazine was published in Anchorage.
I think there is a tutorial at FAOL of Scott’s Double Bunny.
Doug
A search on Google for Embroidery Floss produced this:
Composition of DMC Embroidery Floss:
DMC six-strand embroidery floss is 100% long-staple cotton.
Wide Range of Colors:
There are 454 solid colors and 18 variegated colors of DMC six-strand embroidery floss.
Ok, just looking at the actual stuff at home now.
I have DMC Tapastry Yarn, which is wool.
DMC Embroidery Floss, which says it is 100% Rayon
And DMC “Mouline Special”, whic is 100% cotton (the thread one).
- Jeff
From Company site:
"Six Strand Embroidery Floss (Art. 117)
This quality thread is perfect for stitching on all types of fabric:
-
Made with 100% long staple cotton
-
Double mercerized
-
Brilliant six-strand divisible thread
-
Colors are washable and fade resistant
-
Size 25
-
454 solid colors, 18 variegated colors"
Deezel
Whoops I called it embroidery yarn when it was embroidery floss. sorry about that.
You have started an extremely useful string Chris, don’t apoligise.
The J & P Coats(Anchor) and the DMC embroidery floss are virtually the same.
Here is a site with comparison charts for them.
http://crossstitch.about.com/od/flossconversioncharts/Floss_Conversion_Charts.htm
There is also Anchor and DMC Tapestry Wool, which also have a large range of colours.
A useful alternative to Seal’s fur etc., it is also quite cheap and one hank will last a long time.
If you are tying up a load of traditional wet flies, of the Bergman type for example, for a major attack on holiday,
a lot less expensive, from a true Scot.
There are colour charts for the wool as well.
Here is a fly I tied using the tapestry wool in blue.
DMC-----25 cents at JoAnn’s.
I started using DMC cotton floss back in 1974, when I saw one of my teachers using it (while we were writing down exercises). It is very useful. It is not perfect. Being cotton, it is susceptible to both rot and fish teeth. I have had bluegill ruin a nymph with a cotton floss body in only one cast. They have literally chewed through it. That aside, I have a fair supply of the stuff and I continue to use it. After all, any of my flies is subject to ending its usefullness to me on the first cast into a tree anyway. 8)
Ed