Old Spools of Thread Can Still Be Used!

I recently consolidated the contents of the old sewing boxes that belonged to my mom and grandmother with my sewing supplies. I found so many spools of old, but colorful threads. (I knew my mom did a lot of sewing, as she is the person who taught me how to sew!) I know I am not able to use these old threads on my new sewing machine, or my old one, but I see no reason why I can’t use these threads in other ways.

Remember these plastic sewing boxes? It was filled with lots of colorful, but old, threads. You can use these threads for many projects!

There were also some bobbins that had threads on them; some of them had not been wound correctly. (I must admit that the white thread on the bobbin was my own doing…one of my early ‘learning’ mistakes.) These threads can also be used for projects or hand basting. Many older threads are still strong and even if they can’t be used in today’s sewing machines, you can still use them to sew on a button or hand baste a project.

You can use old bobbin threads, or bobbins that didn’t wind properly, for hand basting or other projects.

There are so many colors so I have plenty of basting threads for many quilts or other sewing projects. I select contrasting threads when I hand baste my quilts. It is much easier to see the threads when it is time to remove them.

I used old blue thread, which contrasted with the fabric, to hand baste this quilt.

You can read all about this special wedding quilt HERE.

When I create a greeting card with ribbon I often ‘tie’ the ribbon to allow me to add a bow or other accents. (This method gives my cards a better appearance.) Since I have so many colors of these old threads to choose from, I can match them to the colors of my ribbons.

I matched the old threads to my ribbon to ‘tie’ the middle. This makes it look nicer when adding a bow or other accents.

It was a bittersweet trip down memory lane as I sifted through these old sewing boxes. I remember watching my mom sew many things as I grew up and I loved the clothes she made for me. Putting these older threads to use is a good thing…..I knew I couldn’t just toss them out. Once I have used the threads, I will have some wonderful wooden spools to create another project.
I also found several ‘vintage’ needles and sewing items my grandmother had used. These items deserve their own story, so I will show you those in another post!

What else could you do with old threads?

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I am sharing this post on Sew Many Ways linking party. Karen has so many wonderful things to share! Thanks Karen!

Enjoy your Creative Day! ~ Vickie

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