I learned to have the thread "grain" to be smooth as you go through material. Take a piece of thread and run it through your fingers both ways, you can feel the rough and smooth of the grain. The smooth should be in the length as you sew. That also goes with the off the spool method, or they say, that the thread is wound that way. My problem is as I work I loos track of what I am doing so the finger method works better for me.