Review, April 2003

Thread Review, C-LON

This month's review is for a new beading thread. It's a nylon, monofilament thread which comes in bobbins of 80 yards. It doesn’t seem to be pre-waxed, but it also doesn’t seem to need waxing. (But I hate waxing my thread anyway, so I may be prejudiced on this one.) The claim is that it is better than Nymo. So, is C-LON better? Or is it just different? I decided to get some samples and find out.

As background, I decided several years ago to stop using Nymo for two reasons. First, it tangled horribly for me, even when coated with thread heaven or wax, and second, it frayed badly when I tried to use thread lengths longer than a yard. Especially on large projects, these traits quickly became annoying, and for the past several years my thread of choice has been Silamide.

Durability

The first thing I noticed as soon as I started pulling thread off the bobbin was that C-LON had a much stronger feel than Nymo, in part because there is very little give to the thread. I've become accustomed to pre-stretching my thread, because both Nymo and Silamide will stretch and in some pieces this can become a problem. When I grabbed the ends of the C-LON and yanked, I felt no give at all. (This thread is listed as 7-lb test.)

By now, you are probably jumping up and down with joy at hearing about a thread that doesn’t stretch. In making my sample pieces, however, I discovered that in some cases, this lack of stretch can actually be a problem. Specifically, I was creating a peyote piece, using Delicas. When I tried to weave my thread back through the beads, I was having a terrible problem getting the needle through, even though I was using a size 14 needle. Then the beads started breaking. At that point, I finally realized what the problem was. When working a project in peyote, especially with Delicas that fit together so tightly, we count on the thread stretching a little, because it is the only way we can get the needle through the beads that have already been stitched into the piece. The needle has to tilt up just a teeny bit so that it angles over the finished beadwork, and in order to get that angle, the thread has to stretch just a bit. If the thread doesn’t give, the only other option is for the bead or the needle to give. If the bead has thin walls, like a Delica, the bead will break. Otherwise, the needle has to twist or bend. When I finally gave up on the piece, I had about 6 broken beads and a needle that looked like a pretzel.

Fray-Resistance (Does it shred?)

In my sample piece, I also used "silky" Delicas. These Delicas get their "silky" look from having tiny grooves cut into the inner surface of the bead. As you can imagine, this can cause major problems as the thread is pulled through the bead. Even Silamide snags and breaks occasionally when using silky beads.

With Nymo, thread getting snagged on the inside of a bead was a big problem for me, and was one of the major reasons for my switch to Silamide. With Nymo, once you snag, the thread shreds terribly, and your only choice is to struggle to end the thread and start a new one, because the fuzzy bits of thread keep getting caught and snag the thread even further, often to the point that you have to just cut your piece apart and start over. In a similar situation Silamide will become worn, but is still usable.

With C-LON, the first time I snagged the thread, I figured I was going to have the same problem I had with Nymo, because it seemed to shred badly. But since I was only 3 beads from finishing the row, I decided to struggle to the end of the row before finishing the thread. So I added a bead, tugged out the annoying fuzzy piece, added a bead, tugged out the annoying fuzzy piece, etc. Then something interesting happened. I went to weave in the thread, and I realized there were no more fuzzy bits. Not only that, the thread seemed just as strong as if it had never snagged.

I figured this was a fluke, so I shrugged and kept working. A few beads later, I got another snag, and I did the same thing. Once again, after a few beads, I found myself with a seemingly unharmed thread. This happened a third time, and then a fourth, but even though the thread still seemed strong, I decided to end the thread at that point. So with respect to fraying/shredding, C-LON is definitely superior to Nymo, although not as good as Silamide.

Colors

This is an area where C-LON really shines. There are 36 colors available. The colored thread is a tiny bit stiffer than the plain white, but not enough to be troublesome. The shades available are incredible! I’ve listed the colors below. To see pictures of all the colors, visit http://caravanbeads.com/pages_f/clon_mixes.html.

Conclusion

I found the C-Lon to be a strong and easy to use thread. When I bead, I want to be able to ignore the thread and concentrate on the beadwork. With C-Lon, I was able to do that. In fact, I often forgot that I was using C-Lon instead of Silamide. The only exception is when working peyote with Delicas if you are doing any kind of layering or embellishment of the base rows.

I can see that this thread would be great for netting projects, Dutch spiral projects, and any other technique that has multiple beads strung on the thread. It will be a great addition to my thread options, although I will still use Silamide for some projects.

So is C-Lon better than Nymo? In my opinion, yes, it is. Is it better than Silamide? I think I’d have to declare a tie. I would decide which thread to use based on what techniques and what beads I was planning to use.

C-LON is still only available from a few locations. I received my samples from Caravan Beads in Portland, Maine. (http://www.caravanbeads.com). Ordered individually, they cost $1.50 per 80-yard bobbin. (Caravan Beads has a $25 minimum order, however, so if anyone wants me to stock these or pull together a group order, let me know.)

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