[thread management]



George Bournigal
Managing Director
MESCO

Thread management is an important part of any embroidery production manager's duties. It can help or hinder a shop's bottom line, therefore, it is important to learn what type of thread to keep in stock, what colors to maintain in stock, and how to store them.

Whether you are new to embroidery or a veteran of embroidery the controversy of whether to use rayon or polyester embroidery thread has and will always pop up from time to time throughout a career. The answer is preference. Just as some people like butter and other people like margarine, some embroidery operators prefer one or the other. Often an embroidery machine operator may prefer rayon instead of polyester or vice versa because they learned to embroider with one or the other. The truth is both are good and both can be used. It is a matter of which thread suites your shops needs. A write-up on the different attributes of rayon and polyester has been included with this article for your review.

It is prudent to stay with either rayon or polyester embroidery once your shop has decided which of the two best meets your company's taste. Rayon and polyester sew differently, therefore, it is not advisable to switch between the two, if you can help it. One, it requires a more skillful operator to understand the different tension settings between the two type of threads. Two, to inventory two different types of the thread in the same colors is costly and unnecessary. Three, once you begin mixing and matching polyester threads and rayon threads, you begin to negate the abilities of the sewn product. In other words, if you sew a white chef coat in navy blue rayon and polyester black, you cannot tell the end user to bleach the chef coat without concern for bleeding. Rayon is less bleach resistant than polyester therefore, by mixing rayon and polyester, you will make it difficult for yourself to offer the end user proper laundering instructions. It is best just to stick to either rayon or polyester if you can. In the event a client requests a thread you do not use, then make the client pay for it, either by charging them for the cone(s) or by charging a higher price per 1000 stitches to compensate for the additional cost. Another option is to charge a higher price per garment, which will offset the additional investment in thread.

Stock One Brand of Thread (Be Prepared, Choose an Alternative Brand):
It is best to choose a brand of thread to standardize on because it can help to reduce costs with respect to time, inventory and shipping. Also, find a competitor brand, which maintains a similar color selection to your primary brand. Familiarize yourselves with your backup brand's color numbers. In the event you are forced to use another brand of thread, you are already prepared and can call the other company and order the color(s) you need with little difficulty.

Sell the Colors You Stock and Stock the Colors That Sell:
It is expensive to maintain an inventory of all the thread colors you come across. Especially because out of 450 colors to choose from, you may only use 25 colors on a regular basis. It is best to establish a stock color selection to offer your clients and if necessary, purchase additional colors when needed. You can sew-out swatches of your stock colors much like a color chart you would receive. Present the sewn-out swatch to your clients and allow them to choose from the colors you normally stock.

Most of the time this will work fine. At times you may have to offer a greater color selection to a particular client in order to satisfy their desire for a particular color(s). In such cases, present the color chart to the client and allow them to select their color(s), but make sure they know they will have to pay for them. Often, the additional expense will force a client to choose from your stocked color selection. If they do opt to purchase the additional colors, then you have increased your color selection without having to incur much more expense. In cases where the order is so large, it will more than pay for the additional investment in thread, you may opt to accept the additional expense. More often than not, this would be for a repeat order.

Thread Storage:
It is always best to store your threads in a controlled environment where sunlight, heat, cold and humidity will not effect the life of your thread stock. Many embroidery houses have enclosed shelves located in a controlled environment. Some use plastic tubs with lids. Other embroidery houses keep threads in the vary boxes they came in. They place them on shelves properly labeled for easy access. What is important is one, the threads are kept out of direct sunlight to prevent fading. Two, the environment where threads are stored must not be too hot and/or humid so as not to affect the thread (especially rayon thread).

If possible, tie off your cones or use the tie-off mechanisms offered with certain brands of thread. You should not allow threads to dangle. Often dangling threads get caught on articles of clothing or just start to fall off the cone and this is a loss that can easily be prevented if operators are encouraged to store the cones properly. Please do NOT use scotch tape to tie-off your cones. One, the adhesive tape is not good for the thread. Two, the adhesive tape will stick to the thread and may build-up in the thread path of your expensive embroidery machine, which may cause damage to the machine over time. Three, the adhesive on the tape may build up in the eye of needles causing thread breaks. The remedy is to switch out the needles, another expense, which you can avoid by not using clear tape to tie-off cones of thread.

Proper thread management is as important to your embroidery business as keeping those embroidery needles going up and down, to make you money. By properly storing and controlling your inventory of thread, you can actually make money by saving money.