What the heck is "threadbare thread"?

[NerissaGoldenrose]

I'm all for naming conventions, but please... make some sense. I've got a recipe in my book for threadbare thread. Um... I guess that's what I use to make threadbare clothes, right? However.... let's look at what the word "threadbare" means for a second.

From dictionary.com:

1. Having the nap worn down so that the filling or warp threads show through; frayed or shabby: threadbare rugs.
2. Wearing old, shabby clothing.
3. Overused to the point of being worn out; hackneyed: threadbare excuses.


So... two questions: (1) How can the thread itself be threadbare? (2) How can something you JUST MADE be threadbare, even if it's super-low quality?

I can deal with #2, really I can -- I can assume I'm re-using old rags or something, but #1 is something I just can't quite figure out a plausible explaination for, no matter how hard I try.

[Dafydd]

...

Um... I guess that's what I use to make threadbare clothes, right? However.... let's look at what the word "threadbare" means for a second.

From dictionary.com:

1. Having the nap worn down so that the filling or warp threads show through; frayed or shabby: threadbare rugs.
2. Wearing old, shabby clothing.
3. Overused to the point of being worn out; hackneyed: threadbare excuses.


So... two questions: (1) How can the thread itself be threadbare? (2) How can something you JUST MADE be threadbare, even if it's super-low quality?

I can deal with #2, really I can -- I can assume I'm re-using old rags or something, but #1 is something I just can't quite figure out a plausible explaination for, no matter how hard I try.

#1 makes perfect sense to me. Look at thread under a microscope and then compare it to a worn out used or poorly made thread and you will see that thread can be threadbare. And considering the trade skill level that this recipie is it makes even more sense.

[Breez]

:) My wife came up behind me as I was making some Threadbare Thread and asked me the exact same question.

I told her it was a brand name as it would have driven both of us nuts trying to reason out.