There are a lot of interesting notions for sewing and you really could spend every penny buying them. I'm onto the thread tracing for the jacket and have decided to try some Japanese cotton basting thread. It comes in a skein.
I wasn't sure what to do next.... if it were a knitting yarn I would wind some balls with it.
So here's one way to deal with it.
Remove the paper (that's where the knot should be hiding)
Open the skein.
Find the knot
Cut the knot, or not. You can leave it would around all of the strands or you can cut it.
Then I cut the large loop on one end.
Now every time I need a strand I just pull one out.
So far I've found that it's a good length for basting, the thread has short fibers which makes it easy to pull out after the garment is sewn but it does tend to knot a bit in use.
Comments
One little trick I learned for threads that knot/tangle if you choose not to use beeswax is to press a few strands at a time with a steam iron. I know it sounds odd, but I have had good luck with it.
I bought it online at
http://www.shiboridragon.com/Notions-Japanese.htm