Are you hand piecing or hand quilting? For hand piecing and sewing , I like the Aurifil 50wt (I do very little by hand now) It is strong but thin and my machine loves it too. For hand quilting, I prefer the Guterman hand quilting thread. I will say that you should not use thread pieces that are too long. I usually don't have my hand sewing thread longer than 18 inches. Any longer than that and I get it twisted and knotted.