Hi, Kathy!

I had the same problem when my mother passed and I had to go thru all her things. She was quite the sewer, as was her mother, so I couldn't bear to part with her sewing supplies. She had dozens of thread on wood spools. So, I just put them in a couple large decorator glass jars and set them out for decoration in my sewing room. The same with all their buttons!

I haven't had any trouble with old cotton thread but the cotton wrapped polyester or maybe it's polyester wrapped cotton breaks very easily on my machine. Used to get it at fabric stores & K-Mart for 4 or 5 for $1. I just throw it out so I don't try to use it again. I've got a couple of sewing books that warned of problems with it. I just got a Talon 19cent it says on it, orange thread to finish something by hand tonight. I just tried to break it. It didn't break. I'll bet the old spools look good in a jar tho!! Jan

Place all the old spools in a large Mason jar, then make a lamp out of it. I use a zinc lid on the jar (break out the glass piece, drill a hole down through and put in a lamp socket.) They look awesome.

Love the ideas for displaying the spools of thread and buttons. TFS.

if it's on the old styrofoam or plastic spools, maybe remove it from those and twist it around some old wooden thread spools-using your machine- for display. you could cut out lengths of different colors and display like gift filler in a glass jar with some kind of treasure like old sewing goodies or old photos or baby shoes or toys, or pull off big hanks of it like skeins of yarn, lol. Back when I was still machine piecing quilts, I'd have a big basket full every day, and we set it on limbs and in a basket for the birds to take for nests, then in the fall we'd peek at the nests we'd find on our walks to see how far they flew with it and how much and what colors they used.
kudzu

Here is a link that might be useful: Kudzu's blog

I put them into an old canning jar and a vase, and included an old sewing ruler and tape measure. I'll move them from the vase once I've cleaned another jar. I like them. And Kudzu, I love your idea of leaving thread out for the birds. I'll retrieve some I put in the trash basket to use that way in the spring. and maybe I'll thin out some of the other thread too so I can give more to the birds.
kathy

If you have a lot of green and red or fall colors, you could display them in a basket or vase for the appropriate season - same with embroidery floss. Sit a pumpkin in the middle of a basket with the fall colors surrounding it. Also separate them by color, put in glass containers sitting side by side in your craft room.

I am with the others place it outside for our feathered friends.