ArchaicArcane

What weight of aurifil cotton were you using? The regular 50wt many of us use for piecing is just too thin, and won't take punching through the fabric as many times as needed to make a stitch. It goes in and out of the fabric and travels around the hook assembly a ton of times before it can stop and rest as part of the seam. It's virtually impossible to use on a LA from what I'm told. I have some 40wt here I thought I'd try though. I love their polys for LA quilting though. Almost as much as the Glide.

Additionally, some of the invisible threads are now poly instead of nylon, so night and day difference in behavior. I think Superior also has a video about that too. Talks about the melting and brittleness of the nylon.

When I attended a quilting class in Nov, one of the other ladies attending the class said she'd dome some work or volunteering at one of the local museums. She said that she'd been told that museums were seeing the cotton thread rotting, and they were losing the surface design (the quilting part), and as such, they were recommending that cotton be used for piecing, and poly for the surface design. I don't know what museum it was, so I don't know how easy it would be to verify... I think it was in Calgary.

In general, poly is also a little more forgiving because it's a tiny bit elastic, so it will stretch a tiny bit before it will break. This makes it really friendly for slightly imperfect tension. I think this is part of why at least one LA company recommends using poly for about the first 6 months while you bond with your LA.

I think the way we quilt has changed a lot too. On a LA for instance, we used to run the tension quite tight, and force those layers to do what we wanted. Now, we run our tension incredibly loose. I've started doing the same when I FMQ on a domestic too. It will change what the thread does with the fabrics.

Definitely some of the polys will be stronger than cottons, but a lot of the cottons are also stronger than the polys. It's possibly unsafe to make a blanket statement at all. In fact, it's not even fair to say that polys are mainly lint free. I ran Gutermann poly on my LA once. (Using it up, practice, etc) Never again. It's lintier than some cottons I've used.

I would definitely believe that with the older polys. I've tried the break test on them a few times and actually cut my fingers. The Superior, Glide and Aurifil Polys I have here ALL break significantly easier than that.

I've noticed this too. I won't use it to piece because of that, even by machine. As others have suggested, I like the combination of cotton for piecing and a good poly for quilting.


Some of the new polys have a very low sheen, it's purposely done to appease people who don't like the shine of poly. I wonder if that process is also making the thread less slippery and hold a little better for piecing. Watch your intersections on your piecing for raveling as oksewglad mentioned that her knots don't hold as well. I experienced the same with machine quilting, I tried to do some paper piecing, and the thread didn't hold up to all the fidgeting I do with the block with PP. It didn't break, it unraveled.

There's a post on my site that can help you with some of the costs associated with common quilting threads (all cotton) - www.archaicarcane.com/common-thread-evaluating-the-real-cost-of-thread/

This is how myths pass from generation to generation. We get told by someone to do something or not do something. Just like another one a lot of us were told: "Don't ever touch the tension dial!" I can use any thread I want to with my machines if I am willing to adjust tension.

I say experiment and enjoy the journey.