Newbie Question.

Q: I was wondering how you stretch silk thread/string/cord before you use it.

A: Basically, you get it wet, then let it dry with a weight hanging from it to stretch it. For the silk thread that comes on cards, I just wet the thread, tie a small loop in one end and hang it from a coathook or doorknob, and put a hemostat (self-locking tweezers) on the other end to weight it and stretch it out, and let it dry well before I use it. The weight doesn't have to be very heavy - just enough to pull the thread to its full stretch. I don't wet my silk thread before stretching, but I hang it overnight with weights on the bottom. Seems like everytime I buy a box of buttons at a flea market (I love buttons as well as beads...) there are some of those lead counterweights in it (round with half-moon shaped holes in them.) So, I have a little jar of them that I use for the weight to stretch my silk thread.