Renaissance thread  (Burmilana) is a size 12 wool/acrylic blend yarn. It resembles crewel yarn, but can be used in your sewing machine! It is two-ply, which means it is two yarns twisted together. Because Renaissance is heavier than regular sewing or embroidery thread, it is very effective with many fabric embellishment methods. I like to use it in free-motion machine embroidery. It fills in quickly and is highly visible. Even a single line of straight stitching shows clearly. I love the warm texture and dimension it adds to my work.

When I first started using Renaissance Thread, I was concerned about how to care for this wool blend yarn. I was afraid it would fray, shrink, stretch, fade or bleed all over my fabric. Good News! It does none of those things! Treat it as you would any fine washable, including washing it in the washing machine and machine drying it.

Because it fills in so quickly, changes or corrections are not difficult. If you don't like a color, or if a line goes off at an awkward angle, simply remove it and embroider again. Even if an entire section is filled with straight stitch, you can easily and quickly remove every thread you applied.

HOW DO YOU USE THIS THREAD? Here are some quick ideas.

Hand Embroidery Methods - wonderful for delicate embroidery designs. Some crafters use it for Japanese embroidery. It's very easy to use one or two strands with a large-eyed embroidery needle.

Machine Applique - use the blanket stitch on your machine to finish the outside edges of an applique.

Automatic Stitches or Digitized Designs - use simple open designs.  There is more about these stitches later in this guide.

Machine Quilting - either free-motion or with a presser foot. These stitches will be very visible. I like it when I want to make the quilting design itself a focus of the item I'm working on.

Free-motion Embroidery - also known as thread painting. This is my favorite way to use Renaissance Thread. Embroidered designs work up quickly, and you can have a variety of looks. I have used it for crewel designs. It works well for adding texture and dimension to parts of your embroidery. It's just a whole lot of Fun!

SO, HOW DO WE GET THIS GORGEOUS WOOL THREAD TO WORK IN OUR SEWING MACHINE!

Bobbin thread - For the easiest stitching, the bobbin thread weight should be close to the weight of the Renaissance. Good stitch quality is much easier to achieve with regular sewing weight threads in the bobbin. You may prefer to use an even heavier thread. Since the bobbin thread will not show, use a white or neutral color in the bobbin. We have a heavier than usual bobbin thread we sometimes use with Renaissance. Later on, you may want to try renaissance thread together in both the bobbin and the needle.

Tension - If you are matching the bobbin thread weight to the Renaissance, both the needle and bobbin tensions should remain about where they are for regular sewing. If the bobbin thread shows on the front of your work, loosen the top tension. This will allow the bobbin thread to pull back to the underside of your stitching. Of course, for some work you may prefer to have that little bit of bobbin thread showing. In that case, you might want to use an accent color in your bobbin. If you want to use Renaissance in the bobbin, you will need to bypass your bobbin tension completely. This is an advanced use of this thread, and not something I would suggest for a beginner.

Machine Needle - I prefer to use Top Stitch needles when working with Renaissance thread. This needle has a deep groove down the front into which heavier threads "disappear" when the needle enters the fabric. Choose a size 90/14 or 110/18. The larger needles make a larger hole, which allows the thread to be pulled back and forth without fraying while the stitch is forming. Later on you might want to try a Twin Needle, size 100, to allow two colors of Renaissance to be used at the same time. Beautiful!

Threading - Renaissance is fuzzy, so it can be difficult to thread your needle. If your machine doesn't have a needle threader, make yourself one. Cut a short length of regular thread, about 6 inches long. Double it and insert both ends through the needle eye. Place the end of the Renaissance in the loop and pull through the needle. Easy!

Thread Guide - On some sewing machines, the thread guide immediately above the needle may be tight or narrow, which can cause Renaissance to fray. If this happens, you can bypass this guide.

Presser Feet - Use an embroidery foot with a groove underneath when sewing decorative designs. For free-motion embroidery or quilting, a darning foot (free-motion foot) will give the best stitches, even if the fabric is in a hoop. If working without a hoop, a darning foot is a necessity. Sometimes these feet will have an open area in the front. This is a distinct advantage. If you aren't sure what these feet look like for your machine, refer to your owners manual.

Fabric - I prefer a 100% cotton fabric. Wrinkles and puckers easily press out. If you use a blend, look for those with higher percentages of cotton. Blends of 50% Rayon and 50% Polyester are usually easy to work with also. Fabric weight is as important as fabric type. I prefer medium weight fabrics. Experiment on a doodle cloth to see how a fabric reacts to this thread. If you want to use a lighter weight fabric, consider adding a lightweight interfacing to the back side.

The texture of the Renaissance blends well with sweater knits. I have one sweater in particular which I've worn for several years, and  the design still looks good. Stabilize the knit by making a sandwich of a layer of soluble stabilizer, the knit fabric and another layer of soluble stabilizer. (See the next paragraph for information on this). Place the sandwich in  a hoop. (the hoop is a necessity to control all the layers). Complete your embroidery. When you are finished, pull the extra stabilizer away, and rinse out the sweater.

Stabilizer - Sometimes it is necessary to use a stabilizer under your embroidery. I like water soluble stabilizer such as our Aqua-Solv or AquaFilm Super. There are many other types. Experiment to see which you prefer.

Stitching ideas - Start with simple lines of straight stitching using a presser foot, gradually moving to some open automatic designs such as zig-zag, a small curve, a blanket stitch. As you become familiar with how this thread works on your machine, experiment with designs with reverse stitching, as long as there is not a lot of heavy over-stitching. To use a filled design, elongate or lengthen it so the stitches don't build up in one spot. As you become more familiar with the thread, you will find it easier to choose effective stitches. When you are comfortable using the thread, graduate to free-motion embroidery or quilting. You will find it not that much of a jump.

I hope you find this guide helpful as you consider using this thread. If you are interested, we have both the thread and a book available. To find them, visit my store page for Renaissance (Burmilana) Thread .