Perle Cotton

Perle cotton, also written as pearl cotton, is a low-twist embroidery thread made of two non-separable strands. Because the twist is loose, it feels very soft and often appears fuzzy. It comes in several sizes and many colors, and is readily available at craft stores.

Crochet Thread

Crochet thread is usually made of three twisted strands. The twist is tighter than perle cotton, so it feels much firmer and doesn’t fuzz as easily. Aunt Lydia’s crochet thread size 10 comes in many colors and has been on the shelves at most craft stores I’ve been to. DMC Cebelia has finer sizes, but fewer colors and is often not stocked in big box stores.

Tatting Thread

Tatting or lace thread is a six-strand thread that is highly twisted. The thread is very strong and firm, and comes in much finer sizes than perle cotton and crochet cotton. Lisbeth thread has an extensive color selection in sizes 3, 10, 20, 40, and 80. DMC Cordonnet Special is available in white and ecru in sizes 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, and 100. I think the DMC thread is slightly softer than Lisbeth, and size 100 can be prone to breaking.

The picture below shows what each type of thread looks like when worked. From top to bottom:

• Aunt Lydia’s crochet cotton, size 10
• DMC perle cotton, size 12
• Lisbeth thread, size 20
• Lisbeth thread, size 40
• DMC Cordonnet Special, size 80

Recommendations

Beginners can’t go wrong with crochet thread in size 10 or size 20. It’s softer than tatting thread, and the large sizes and bright colors make it easy to see. In my experience, it’s also pretty forgiving of mistakes and knots aren’t too difficult to adjust.

If you have previous lace experience, your preferred thread in a size similar to size 20 or 40 tatting thread is a great place to start.

I primarily work with size 40 Lisbeth thread. I love the color selection and it’s not too small for me to see in the car or in bad lighting.

For sentimental projects or future heirlooms I would use Lisbeth size 80 or DMC cordonnet special size 80 or 100.