Here's some hints on using the minis (we bought the whole set also, needed to color match so many small jobs...) you definitely want to use those 'coasters'-or the THREAD has a tendency to fall below the spool and wind around the pipe....the coaster prevents that! And Madiera also offers a 'full pack' of their threads-so many more colors to choose from! Thinking about getting it-since their 'store' is only an hour from here-and Melco is 4 days! Roland