Twine. It's all the same, right? Nothing could be more basic then a piece of string. Or at least, that's what I thought when I started to look at buying some of everyone's favorite scrap embellishment of the moment- baker's twine. What I discovered, though, is that all twine is not, in fact, created equal. I compared Doodlebug Designs Doodle Twine, Sew Easy Fancy Floss, and Divine Twine.
The thing that makes baker's floss so darn cute is that fun "candy stripe" effect of the color contrasting with the white. It has a great, vintage look, and it really makes projects pop. Of course, the brighter and truer the colors and the white, the more pop. Hands down, the "poppingest" colors and whitest white were to be found on the Doodle Twine. I compared basic red and white twines, and Doodle Twine's red is the brightest and truest. In second place was the Fancy Floss, and the twine with the drabbest, muddiest colors was the Divine Twine. To be fair to the Divine Twine, it is probably the closest analogue to "real" commercial-grade baker's twine.
Color is only half of the equation, however. In order to really appreciate the candy stripe, the twine needs to be substantial enough to really show up on a project. I don't want twine to be so thick that it is yarn-like (blech- I really HATE yarn- it's one of my weird hang-ups), but it needs to be a little more than heavy thread to really work well for scrapping. Once again, I found the Doodle Twine to be the best of the bunch. Both the red and white strands were thick and full, and the twine has a good presence on the page. It's thicker profile also makes it easier to work with when using adhesives. The only down side of a thicker twine is that it is a bit harder to thread through button holes. The Fancy Floss again was runner-up in thickness, while the Divine Twine was the thinnest. The picture below illustrates the difference:
Have you ever tried to photograph twine? In a word- DON'T! From let to right: divine Twine, Fancy Floss, Doodle Twine.
All of the twines were hard to cut (I'm a lefty, so I struggle to cut a good many things- your experience may be better), and all had a tendency to fray apart at the ends, with the Doodle Twine being the most likely to separate.
Finally, there is the issue of price. At $6.99 for a 60-yard six-color assortment, Doodle Twine averages out to about .12 a yard. At $3.99 a yard for a 26-yard three-color assortment, Fancy Floss is even pricier, as it averages out to about .15 a yard. Divine Twine, sold by the 240-yard single-color spool for $14.99, averages out to .06 a yard. You can find smaller yardages of Divine Twine in assortment packs created by various retailers, but the per yard price increases significantly, often equaling or exceeding the price of the other two twines.
So, my final thoughts on Baker's Twine- if you want a little twine to dress up scrapbook pages or cards, go with the Doodle Twine. It will look great, and while not the cheapest embellishment, it is about the same price as embroidery floss or cheap ribbon. If you want to use a lot of twine on a larger project, aren't as picky about the color "pop" factor, want a more subdued look, or are planning on threading a bunch of small button holes, the single-color spool of Divine Twine is the best value. I would personally leave the Fancy Floss sitting on the shelf unless it came in a color I really loved, and could find in no other product. For my purposes, The Doodle Twine is probably the best fit, as I like the idea of a color assortment, and I don't plan on using industrial quantities on my projects.
Doodle Twine and Fancy Floss are available at retailers such as Archiver's, and online from various vendors. Divine Twine is available online from the company website, or other scrapbooking supply retailers.
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