I discovered on the HAED Bulletin Board (BB) that our beloved DMC floss has a grain. That's right, stitching against the grain can cause your crosses to appear less shiny, to fuzz, or even to lay differently. "To find the grain direction, cut a length of floss, loop the thread over so both the cut ends lie next to each other. Holding the cut lengths close together, about 1/2" from the tips, use one finger of your free hand to gently tap the cut ends. Watch carefully - the end that balloons most is the end that should be threaded through your needle." Colette (taken from the HAED BB)
Funny, I always ignored ends that ballooned and threaded the oposite side! The Maiden
