It depends on the thickness of your sandwich and the thickness of the thread you are using. I usually use 90/14 topstitch needle and 40 weight thread. However, sometimes it becomes 100/16 and 12 weight thread. You are best advised not to use hand quilting thread in your machine as the coating can interfere with your tension discs. Mettler quilting thread is OK to use in the machine, but the other brands have coatings on them and are good for hand quilting. I use number 9 betweens for hand quilting.