Thread stand makeover

thread stand makeover

Of the luxuries I’ve missed most about having a dedicated sewing space, a thread stand is definitely in my top five. Not only do I love the look of having my thread on display, it is a lot easier to find what you’re looking for when it is neatly displayed on the wall instead of digging through a basket with thread tails everywhere.

But the natural brown wood of my thread stands just weren’t going to cut it for my colorful creative space. Enter a can of spray paint. I could have alternately titled this article, “I heart spray paint” because I just love how a can (or two in this case) can completely transform the look of an object.

thread stand makeover

I chose Rust-Oleum 271474 Universal All Surface Spray Paint in Antique Nickel for this project. I liked the metallic look of the paint color and the antique nickel fits in well with my color scheme for the room. Two cans later my ugly, boring thread stands are a modern-looking foundation for my thread display. I love that it is both functional and aesthetically pleasing.

Spray paint is pretty easy to use, but I do have a few tips for those who are new to the magic that it can create.

  • You generally want to be about eight to 10 inches away from the object you are spray painting
  • It is better to apply several thin coats within half-an-hour or so than one quick coat all at once
  • Spray paint usually dries to the touch within half-an-hour, but wait to flip it over to do the other side until it has been at least an hour
  • Wait another 24 to 48 hours before using the piece you have spray painted to give the paint time to cure

Back to my thread stand. I hung both the small and large one right on top of each other. It required some careful measuring, but now it looks like I have one giant thread stand with five empty row still to fill up. Because I’m slightly anal retentive about random stuff like this, I organized the thread by brand and fiber content so I can easily grab the color I want in the fiber that is appropriate for the project I’m working on.

thread stand makeover

I also realized I own almost the complete line of Sulky Blendables. Yes, I may have a problem. No, we’re not going to talk about it.

The other major bonus of having my thread stand back is it makes great use of the vertical space in my sewing studio. At just 96 square feet, (that’s just a little larger than a king-sized quilt) I have to make use of every inch of space, and that means using the walls as well. I’ll have a few more examples of this as I finish putting the room together, but the thread stand is definitely the prettiest example.

What do you think? Will any of you be headed to the hardware store for a can of spray paint to transform your boring thread stand?

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Comment (3)

  1. I am on my second, husband-made spool rack. Mine is similar to the one pictured but much larger. Only problem is that it’s full. Since we live in a rural area and its 40 miles to the nearest spool of thread, I tend to order “collections” on-line just to have thread handy. Now, instead of putting the old one in the yard sale, it will go back on my wall. The spray paint idea will given it new life.

  2. I love what you did. This is the kind of thing that always makes me miss Paul more. He was so good with figuring out things to make my stitching life easier. He made thread holders and bobbin holders and all kinds of things for me when I had my longarm business. I miss being so organized! That is not much space, is it? Not quite 10 x 10. That’s about the size of my kitchen, so I KNOW it’s small. =)

  3. I am heading out to purchase a small rack for bobbins, a second large rack and a can of spray paint! Thanks for the post.

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