Well, you can always use it for handwork, or craft projects. I've had thread on old garments disintegrate (sleeves fell off) , but I'm not sure if that was because of the garment being dry cleaned or something. It was a 1930's knit dress. The fabric was fine, just the thread had rotted. I used to do a project at my kids' school--get a piece of lightweight cardboard. Draw an X or circle on it and punch holes about 1/4 inch apart. Sew- drawing thread from one hole to a set number of holes on--kind of like a Spirograph, for those of you who remember this toy. Use different colors and numbers of holes. Sharon C.
-----Original Message----- From: h-costume-boun...@indra.com [mailto:h-costume-boun...@indra.com] On Behalf Of Suzanne Sent: Tuesday, January 15, 2013 7:54 PM To: h-cost...@indra.com Subject: [h-cost] old sewing thread Here's an odd question: How long does cotton or silk sewing thread last? At work today, we found an old cigar box full of Belding Corticelli thread that probably dates back to the early 1950s. (The small spools of cotton were priced at 15 cents and the large ones at 25 cents.) I was admiring the beautiful shades of green. . . and then everyone else said it would all have to be thrown out because it was "too old" to use in machine sewing. I'd never heard of thread going bad so now I'm wondering if I was just daydreaming that day in home ec class [quite likely!] or if this is common knowledge for everyone but me? (I also have a friend who refuses to use vintage cotton fabric because it might rip, so there's another question for you!) I reeled out one spool of white and pulled hard, and it does seem thinner than the polyester stuff they sell most places these days--but does that mean it won't work even for lightweight projects? Such a waste! :-( Suzanne _______________________________________________ h-costume mailing list h-costume@mail.indra.com http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume _______________________________________________ h-costume mailing list h-costume@mail.indra.com http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume
