Originally Posted by sandpat
Thats one of the first things my Bernina dealer told me when I bought my machine. USE ONLY GOOD QUALITY THREAD!!! I'm following that advice.
naturally the dealers say that. they want you to come back to them for expensive supplies to go with the expensive machines.
i have to give the cotton solids, on 1000 meter spools, from Threadart mixed reviews. The variegated cottons on 1000 meter spools have worked extremely well for me. i haven't tried their larger cones of anything yet, and am waiting for my first purchase of polyester embroidery thread to arrive, so can't comment on either of those. a friend of mine has been pleased by the cotton she got there on the cones.
the Coats & Clarke Dual Purpose has proven to be so-so for piecing, and awful for quilting.
this is what really cracks me up: so far, the most reliable thread i've used has been the polyester i get at WalMart for $1 per spool. it works great for piecing in all my machines.
one thing is definite. prices does NOT guarantee quality. the egyptian cotton i have that sells for $9 per spool performs no better than the least expensive cotton i got from Threadart. neither does the fancy shmancy italien stuff i have that sells for just as much.
i need colors for quilting, though, so the search goes on for a consistently performing, reasonably priced brand of solid cottons.