I use ceochet cotton and have about 30 colors on hand as the town quilters use my place to tie their quilts - I f you use yarn, embroidery thread, or thin ribbon, it will come untied over time. I make a sugeons knot then one more tie on top of it and have never had one come undone. I have a few very old hand tied ones from the family that are and were heavily used - and still all in good form. I use a soft, fluffy wool batting from my sheep but wool, cotton and poly work well. I prefer this to machine quilting and the tied ones are warm, cuddly and soft rather than somewhat stiff. Good luck! pm if you need anything specific - could send photo of the frames etc.