Why separate embroidery thread?
Being able to separate embroidery thread is one of the most important skills to learn in embroidery. Many stitchers worry about mastering the skill—but it's easy when you know how.
Most embroidery thread is called ‘6 stranded’—each piece of thread is made up of six thinner strands twisted together. Patterns often ask you to stitch with a certain number of these thinner threads.
You’ll need to separate the six strands and choose the number of threads you want to use. This could be one single strand or all six, depending on the pattern. Varying the number of threads changes the thickness and look of your stitches.
Here you can see how the same stitch looks when the thread is separated into different combinations of strands.
Each curl is stitched in stem stitch, starting with one strand all the way up to the full six strands.
You can find a guide to stem stitch here.
The lines become thicker as more strands are used. Detailed and delicate areas can be stitched with a single thread, whereas a bold chunky outline would use all six.
How to separate threads: Step-by-step guide
When you separate embroidery thread for the first time, it can be a little tricky. Keeping the thread short makes things easier.
You can see how it's done in the video above or follow the steps below.
Step one
Cut about 30cm (12") of thread. A great tip is to hold one end in your fingertips, stretch it to your elbow and cut there. This gives you a manageable piece to work with.
Step two
Take one end of the thread and gently separate the number of strands you need. In the photo, the thread is split into two groups of three strands.
Step three
Put one finger between the separated strands and slowly pull down, untwisting as you go. It might be tricky at first, but you’ll get better with practice.
Using different thread thicknesses
Here’s another example using stem stitch with different numbers of strands. Larger rose petals are stitched with four strands to make them stand out, while leaf veins are stitched with one strand for finer detail.
This design was stitched using our 'Rose Bouquet' iron-on embroidery pattern.
We hope you found this guide useful and feel more confident separating embroidery thread.
You can find more helpful tutorials on our Beginner's Embroidery Guides page.
