PURLS (FRIEZE) Purl threads, also known as Frieze (French term) and soft Purls are very fine wire threads in a tubular shape. The thread typically comes in two or three lengths to make up one yard. All of the purl threads are a hollow soft and flexible metal tube. The tube is cut up into pieces and sewn down like a bead. The purl threads are very similar to the bullions but with a slightly firmer quality, I prefer to use purl threads for traditional goldwork and bullions for modern pieces. I offer a choice of Gold 2% WM, Gilt, Copper and Silver metal purl threads that are available in four different types: Bright Check Purl (Brilliant Frieze) has a faceted surface and is shiny in appearance. Rough Purl has a smooth surface and is matte in appearance. Smooth Purl has a smooth surface and is shiny in appearance. Wire Check Purl has a faceted surface and is matte in appearance. Coloured Purls I also offer Coloured Purls in Red, Blue, Violet and Turquoise Purls in No. 5 Rough Purl and No. 5 Dull Check. Back to Goldwork Supplies Page!  |    View Shopping Cart Metal threads are packaged in clear acid free plastic or paper bags or tissue paper. What is the difference between Gold 2% WM and Gilt? Gold 2% WM is the highest standard gold thread that can be purchased for Goldwork. 2% gold is also known as Admiralty or Government standard and are 2% gold on white metal. Gold 2% is a brighter and truer in colour to real gold than the Guilt metal threads. Gilt is about ½ % of Gold on silver plated copper. Gilt metal threads are similar in appearance to the Gold 2% but Gilt tends to be more yellow in colour and stretchier than the Gold 2%. HOW TO USE PURLS Purl threads typically come in two or three lengths to make up one yard. All of the purl threads are a hollow soft and flexible metal tube. The tube is cut up into pieces and sewn down like a bead using a double strand of waxed Polyester Sewing Thread. It is a good idea to cut the chips on a Velvet Board, this soft surface keeps the chips in one place rather than skidding all over a table top. The sewing thread is waxed using Bees Wax this is to help the purl chips slide down the thread. A No. 10 Crewel Embroidery Needle is used to sew down Purl chips sizes No. 6 - No. 4 and a No. 12 Beading Needle with a Regular (Sharp) Point is used for No. 7  - No. 9 as the hole down the center of the tube is narrower. Purls are generally sewn over padding i.e. Felt or Crochet Cotton and are always sewn down in the fashion of Bugle Beads and never taken to the back of the work or couched over so that the thread is showing. A pair of fine tipped Tweezers are a great tool for working with purl threads as you can use the tweezers to pick up the chips and position them and you can use the tweezers to unpick a wrong size chip. Visit the free instructions for the goldwork Fleur De Lys to view pictures and instructions on how to sew down felt padding and purl chips. Sizes range from No. 1 being the largest to No. 9 being the smallest. 1. Example of Rough Purl Sewn Down over Crochet Cotton Padding 2. Example of Rough Purl and Smooth Purl Sewn Down over Felt 1: A stem is worked in a Rough Purl over crochet cotton padding. The purls are cut into approximately 1/4 inch (6 mm) lengths and sewn over couched down crochet cotton at a 30- degree angle. The purls lays most aesthetically if the chips are sewn over the crochet cotton at an angle rather than straight across. 2: A leaf is worked in Rough Purl for the main body of the leaf and Smooth Purl on the tip of the leaf over felt padding. Purls are cut to the length required to cover the felt. The contrast between the Rough and Smooth Purl can be seen clearly demonstrating how the two golds can be used together to create a dimensional piece.  3. Example of the use of Rough Purl, Wire Check Purl and Smooth Purl 4. Example of alternating between one Wire Check Purl and two Smooth Purl. Leaf 3. is worked in Rough Purl for the lower portion of the leaf and Wire Check Purl for the upper portion of the leaf over crochet cotton and felt padding. The s-ing vein down the center of the leaf is worked in Smooth Purl. Leaf 4. Is worked  alternating between one Wire Check Purl chip and two Smooth Purl Chips. The s-ing vein line down the center of the leaf is worked in Rough Purl. The sewing down of the different metal threads brings a special quality of light play to the embroidery. 5. Example of Bright Check Purl 6. Example of Bright Check Purl 5. The bottom part of a Fleur De Lys is worked in Bright Check Purl over crochet cotton padding. 6. The center of a flower is worked in Bright Check Purl over felt padding. Chips of Check purl are cut up into 1/16th of an inch (3 mm) length and sewn down randomly over the felt covering the entire surface. See below the Purl threads that I offer.

Gold Bright Check Purl Close up of Gold Bright Check Purl Silver Bright Check Purl Copper Bright Check Purl Click on images for enlargements

BRIGHT CHECK PURLS (Brilliant Frieze) I offer gold 2%, gilt, silver and copper Bright Check Purls, also known as Frieze Brilliant (French term) and soft pearl. Bright check purls are very fine wire threads in a tubular shape with a faceted (jaggered) surface and is shiny (in contrast to the wire check purl which has a matte appearance). The thread typically comes in three lengths to make up one yard. All of the purl threads are a hollow soft and flexible metal tube. The tube is cut up into pieces and sewn down like a bead. The metal in the threads will tarnish over time. For a description and pictures of how purls can be used and required tools click here! 1. GOLD 2% WM BRIGHT CHECK PURLS (Brilliant Frieze) Gold 2% WM Bright Check Purls are the highest standard gold thread that can be purchased for Goldwork. 2% gold is also known as Admiralty or Government standard and are 2% gold on white metal. 2. GILT BRIGHT CHECK PURLS (Brilliant Frieze)  Gilt Bright Check Purls are about ½ % of Gold on silver plated copper. (Gilt purls are very similar in appearance and quality to the 2% gold purls). 3. SILVER BRIGHT CHECK PURLS (Brilliant Frieze)   The Silver Bright Check Purls that I offer are silver plated. 4. COPPER BRIGHT CHECK PURLS (Brilliant Frieze)   Copper Bright Check Purls are 100% copper. SIZES Threads range from No. 4 being the largest to No. 9 being the smallest No. 4 Bright Check Purl: Approximately 2.00 mm wide. No. 5 Bright Check Purl: Approximately 1.8 mm wide. No. 6 Bright Check Purl: Approximately 1.5 mm wide. No. 7 Bright Check Purl: Approximately 1.2 mm wide. No. 8 Bright Check Purl: Approximately 1 mm wide. No. 9 Bright Check Purl: Approximately 0.8 mm wide. COSTS You may order multiple sizes of Bright Check on the same order. i.e. Select Gold 2 % Bright Check No. 5, click "Add to Cart" Button. To add another size of Gold 2 % Bright Check, i.e. No. 7. select No. 7 and click on the same button to add to cart. To check your order click on view cart below. (MG2BCP) 1 Yard of Gold 2% WM Bright Check Purl (any size): $12.00 Canadian Dollars Quantity: Select Size: No. 5 No. 6 No. 7 No. 8 No. 9 View Cart (MGCP) 1 Yard of Gilt Bright Check Purl (any size): $7.00 CDN Canadian Dollars Quantity: Select Size: No. 5 No. 6 No. 7 No. 8 View Cart (MSCP) 1 Yard of Silver Bright Check Purl (any size): $7.00 Canadian Dollars Quantity: Select Size: No. 5 No. 6 No. 7 No. 8 View Cart (MMCCP) 1 Yard of Copper Bright Check Purl (any size): $7.00 Canadian Dollars Quantity: Select Size: No. 5 No. 6 No. 7 No. 8 View Cart View the   Shopping Cart for mailing costs.

Gold Rough Purl Silver Rough Purl Copper Rough Purl Coloured Rough Purls Blue Rough Purl Red Rough Purl Violet Rough Purl Green Rough Purl Turquoise Rough Purl Click on images for enlargements

ROUGH PURLS I offer Gold 2%, Gilt, Silver and Copper Rough Purls in a range of sizes. Rough Purls are very fine wire threads in a tubular shape with a smooth surface and has a matte appearance (in contrast to the smooth purl which has a shiny appearance). The thread typically comes in two or three lengths to make up one yard. All of the purl threads are a hollow soft and flexible metal tube. The tube is cut up into pieces and sewn down like a bead. The metal in the threads will tarnish over time. For a description and pictures of how purls can be used and required tools click here! 1. GOLD 2% WM ROUGH PURLS Gold 2% WM Rough Purls are the highest standard gold thread that can be purchased for Goldwork. 2% gold is also known as Admiralty or Government standard and are 2% gold on white metal. 2. GILT ROUGH PURLS Gilt Rough Purls are about ½ % of Gold on silver plated copper. (Gilt purls are very similar in appearance and quality to the 2% gold purls). 3. SILVER ROUGH PURLS The Silver Rough Purls that I offer are silver plated. 4. COPPER ROUGH PURLS Copper Rough Purls are 100% copper. 5. COLOURED PURLS Coloured Rough Purls are 100% copper. SIZES Threads range from No. 4 being the largest to No. 10 being the smallest No. 4 Rough Purl: Approximately 2.00 mm wide. No. 5 Rough Purl: Approximately 1.8 mm across the end of the tube. No. 6 Rough Purl: Approximately 1.5 mm across the end of the tube. No. 7 Rough Purl: Approximately 1.2 mm across the end of the tube. No. 8 Rough Purl: Approximately 1 mm across the end of the tube. No. 9 Rough Purl: Approximately 0.8 mm across the end of the tube. No. 10 Rough Purl: Approximately 0.6 mm across the end of the tube. COSTS You may order multiple sizes of Rough Purl on the same order. i.e. Select Gold 2 % Rough Purl No. 5, click "Add to Cart" Button. To add another size of Gold 2 % Rough Purl, i.e. No. 7. select No. 7 and click on the same button to add to cart. To check your order click on view cart below. (MG2RP) 1 Yard of Gold 2% WM Rough Purl (any size): $10.00 Canadian Dollars Quantity: Select Size: No. 4 No. 5 No. 6 No. 7 No. 8 No. 10 View Cart (MGRP) 1 Yard of Gilt Rough Purl (any size): $5.00 Canadian Dollars Quantity: Select Size: No. 5 No. 6 No. 7 No. 8 View Cart (MSRP) 1 Yard of Silver Rough Purl (any size): $5.00 Canadian Dollars Quantity: Select Size: No. 5 No. 6 No. 7 No. 8 View Cart (MMCRP) 1 Yard of Copper Rough Purl (any size): $5.00 Canadian Dollars Quantity: Select Size: No. 5 No. 6 No. 7 No. 8 View Cart Sorry currently out of stock of the coloured rough purls, will have in stock again in May (MGRPC) 1 Yard of No. 5 Rough Purl (any colour): $5.00 Canadian Dollars Quantity: Select Colour: Red Blue Violet Green Turquoise View Cart View the   Shopping Cart for mailing costs.

Gold Smooth Purl Silver Smooth Purl Copper Smooth Purl Click on images for enlargements

SMOOTH PURLS I offer gold 2%, gilt, silver and copper in the Smooth Purl. Smooth purls are very fine wire threads in a tubular shape, with a smooth surface and is shiny in appearance (in contrast to the rough purl which has a matte appearance). The thread typically comes in two or three lengths to make up one yard. All of the purl threads are a hollow soft and flexible metal tube. The tube is cut up into pieces and sewn down like a bead. The metal in the threads will tarnish over time. For a description and pictures of how purls can be used and required tools click here! 1. GOLD 2% WM SMOOTH PURLS Gold 2% WM Smooth Purls are the highest standard gold thread that can be purchased for Goldwork. 2% gold is also known as Admiralty or Government standard and are 2% gold on white metal. 2. GILT SMOOTH PURLS Gilt Smooth Purls are about ½ % of Gold on silver plated copper. (Gilt purls are similar in appearance and quality to the 2% gold purls). 3. SILVER SMOOTH PURLS Silver Smooth Purls are 90% Silver. (Silver purls can come silver plated instead and cost less). 4. COPPER SMOOTH PURLS Copper Smooth Purls are 100% copper. SIZES Threads range from No. 4 being the largest to No. 10 being the smallest No. 4 Smooth Purl: Approximately 2.0 mm across the end of the tube. No. 5 Smooth Purl: Approximately 1.8 mm across the end of the tube. No. 6 Smooth Purl: Approximately 1.5 mm across the end of the tube. No. 7 Smooth Purl: Approximately 1.2 mm across the end of the tube. No. 8 Smooth Purl: Approximately 1 mm across the end of the tube. No. 9 Smooth Purl: Approximately 0.8 mm across the end of the tube. No. 10 Smooth Purl: Approximately 0.6 mm across the end of the tube. COSTS You may order multiple sizes of Smooth Purl on the same order. i.e. Select Gold 2 % Smooth Purl No. 5, click "Add to Cart" Button. To add another size of Gold 2 % Smooth Purl, i.e. No. 7. select No. 7 and click on the same button to add to cart. To check your order click on view cart below. (MG2SP) 1 Yard of Gold 2% WM Smooth Purl (any size): $10.00 Canadian Dollars Quantity: Select Size: No. 4 No. 5 No. 6 No. 7 No. 8 No. 9 No. 10 View Cart (MGSP) 1 Yard of Gilt Smooth Purl (any size): $5.00 Canadian Dollars Quantity: Select Size: No. 5 No. 6 No. 7 No. 8 View Cart (MSSP) 1 Yard of Silver Smooth Purl (any size): $5.00 Canadian Dollars Quantity: Select Size: No. 5 No. 6 No. 7 No. 8 View Cart (MCSP) 1 Yard of Copper Smooth Purl (any size): $5.00 Canadian Dollars Quantity: Select Size: No. 5 No. 6 No. 7 No. 8 View Cart View the   Shopping Cart for mailing costs.