Originally Posted by DogHouseMom
I've purchased a few of their fabric (batik and print) and they are OK. Better than most of the fabric I've seen at Joanne's, but not quite as good as most of the fabric I've seen an LQS. I say "most" because there are always exceptions in both directions.
Their thread is another story. I bought I think 10 spools in different colors with the intention to use on a landscape quilt. I used a tiny bit of I think 3 colors and gave up and sold the whole lot here on QB. I HATED that thread. It says it's 50wt but when compared to a 50wt higher quality thread (like Aurifil or Superior to name only two) the CT thread was more than twice as thick. Also, the amount of thread lint was HORRIBLE. I was FMQ'ing little feet (just the outline of the foot!) and I did 4-5 feet that were only 4" long (so total thread used is perhaps a few yards tops??) and when I was done there was so much lint it covered the whole needle shaft about 1/2" all the way around. SERIOUSLY. I was even using a larger needle than I would have ordinarily used with a 50wt thread.
So from me ...
Fabric - thumbs up
Thread - thumbs down
With regard to your experiences with Connecting Threads Essentials thread, I do not believe you are comparing apples to apples, so to speak. Essentials thread is indeed 50 weight, but it is a 3 ply thread, making it thicker than Aurifil's 50 weight 2 ply thread that you and I use for piecing.
When I'm piecing and want to maintain a 1/4" or scant 1/4" seam allowance, especially in a block with a lot of pieces, I will use Aurifil 50/2, a thinner thread, as it takes up less space in the seam allowance. I commonly use CT's Essentials for all of my machine quilting since it shows up nicely. I will also use it in seams where this standard size thread thickness does not matter.
I'm sorry to hear of your troubling experience with this thread and hope you find my info helpful. I have never had problems with it causing much lint at all. I wonder if your lint problems may have had something to do with the size needle you were using? I nearly always use a 80/12 needle when piecing. Or, it may have been caused by your fabric possibly too, as in fleece for example.