C-Lon® Beading Thread

February 2005

The desire for a better nylon beading thread grew from long frustration with both nymo and silamide. A few years back, tired of hearing complaints from employees and our retail customers about thread fraying, snarling, tangling, and breaking, I started to look for a stronger thread that we could offer in a broad range of colors. Eventually I found a thread manufacturer based in the USA (I'm old-fashioned and like to support American businesses when I can). Months of discussion followed with lots of dyed thread samples travelling from the factory to us and back again. More months followed while we waited for all 36 colors to be produced. In the process, and since then, I've learned more about the thread industry than I ever expected to, and I'd like to share a little of that information.

Vat-dyed vs. range-dyed: a few months ago a customer in Sweden who was thinking about buying some C-Lon asked me if the color could rub off--she had had this happen with another brand of beading thread. I had never heard of this occurring with C-Lon, but it never hurts to check with the factory. What I learned is that there are two ways to dye thread. The less expensive and faster method is called "range" dyeing. In this method the surface of the thread is colored, like painting, but the dye does not penetrate through all the fibers of the thread. The vat-dyeing process--which C-Lon undergoes--involves high heat and pressure which forces the dye completely through the thread. This process is more expensive but results in a permanent dye which should not rub or wear off.

Thread sizes: One of the surprising things I learned about sewing thread is that the size marked on a bobbin may not be the actual size of the thread. This is done so that sewing machine operators don't have to change bobbins as often (but results in a weaker seam...). For beaders this is only an issue insofar as the size marked on the bobbin you buy may not, in fact, be the size you're getting. It also means that size D from one company may be thicker or thinner than size D from another company. (And you thought seed beads were bad!)

To keep things simple, we only offer two thicknesses of C-Lon. Size D is suitable for use with Delicas, 11/0s, 10/0s, or larger beads. Size AA is thinner (so not as strong as D), and is best for 15/0s as well as Delicas. If your beading technique includes pulling thread through the same bead many times, then the AA is preferable. We use both sizes here and choose based on the stitch and bead size(s).

Dye Lots: Please keep in mind that dye lots do change and as with yarn, we can't guarantee that a color produced next year will be identical to one produced last week.

Here are a couple of reviews of C-Lon: The first is from Paula Morgan on About.com; the second is a .pdf file from the Heart of Illinois Bead Society.

Questions about C-Lon® and Super-Lon? More info here.