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According to recent research, brushing the teeth with a toothbrush is not enough to ensure proper oral hygiene, claiming that only 3 of the 5 surfaces of the teeth are cleaned with this rather conventional method. No wonder it is becoming a common practice for people to use dental floss: thread-like floss silk to clean their teeth after brushing.
However, I am not here to talk about dental floss but to address the highly controversial topic of whether or not dental floss can be used in place of a sewing thread.
Dental floss sure looks like a thread, so we cannot entirely dispose of the possibility, which is why in this article, I will be tending to questions like is dental floss good for sewing to shed more light on this complexity.
Are dental flosses good for sewing?
Yes, dental floss is suitable for sewing. Dental floss is not only beneficial for your teeth, but you can also use them to sew or patch your ripped attire. Dental floss, compared to the traditional sewing thread, is thicker, making them suitable for sewing heavy material clothing or items like leather corduroy, canvas, or fixing buttons on jackets/coats.
Can dental floss be used for stitching?
Yes, you can stitch your fabric with dental floss. When working on a project, some materials can be so thick that you may be worried your sewing tread cannot hold the fabrics together. If you don’t trust the effectiveness of your sewing thread on fabric because of its heaviness, you can stitch such fabrics with dental floss as they are much thicker and would help hold your thick fabric firmly together.
Is dental floss good for sewing pointe shoes?
Yes, you can sew your pointe shoe with dental floss. Pointe shoe is made of leather material which means they are thick to some extent. Hence, in case the ribbon or elastic of the shoe comes off during practice, using dental floss to mend the defect will make a better option than using the regular tiny sewing thread.
Is it safe to use dental floss in sewing?
Yes, it is safe to use dental floss for sewing. Even though dental floss is not originally designed to be used as a sewing tool, you can still safely use them on your cloth without affecting your design or the material you are working with in any way.
However, the only cause for concern is when you intend to use it on your lightweight materials: these materials are not strong, and using a thick thread like dental floss may do more damage than good to the material. Use dental floss for heavy materials only.
Is dental floss stronger than thread?
Yes, dental floss is stronger than thread. Dental floss, whether waxed or unwaxed, is designed to be thick so that it can withstand the intense sliding between the gaps in your teeth. On the other hand, sewing threads are designed to penetrate clothing fabrics and not hard surfaces like the teeth, so they are usually not as thick as dental floss, which is why they are stronger.
How do you gather a skirt with dental floss?
- Set your sewing machine to wide long zig-zag stitches and place the fabric underneath the reverse pattern foot, making sure it is about 3/8 inches away from the cut edge.
- Place a dental gloss line at the middle groove of the reverse foot and leave an extra line of the floss at both the end and the beginning of the fabric and begin the zig-zag stitching so that both sides of the floss can be stitched without piercing it.
- Gather the fabric by pulling it along the floss. To keep the gathering tightly close together, you can make a knot at one of the floss line’s ends.
- Attach the gathering to the fabric you are sewing, but this time around, make use of a straight stitch. And also, make sure the stitch is about 3/8 inch away from the cut edge. Avoid piercing the floss this time too.
- Similarly, you can also attach the gathering to an elastic or knit with a zig-zag stitch inside the floss line.
- Remove the dental floss and if it gets stuck, cut the floss in the middle and pull it out.
Is dental floss better than sewing thread?
No, dental floss is not better than sewing thread. Although you can use dental floss to do some sewing work which is why to some degree, it can be used as an alternative for sewing thread, however, you cannot use dental floss for a large sewing project: for instance, for sewing a complete outfit – they are only suitable for small sewing projects like mending rippled cloth or unraveled stitches.
Also, because dental floss is generally very thick, they are not ideal for lightweight materials, whereas, sewing thread on the other side can be used on all types of fabrics since they vary in thickness.
How strong is dental floss?
An average dental floss is about 10 microns to 25 microns thick, making them a better and stronger alternative to sewing thread for mini sewing projects.
