I have come to use Arifil 50 Wt. cotton thread almost exclusively. It is NEVER linty and has a nice sheen to it - unless I need a specific color for piecing (e.g., a gray I recently used), I use Arifil 2000 -a "light sand." If you look it up at Amazon, you will see what a nice sheen it has. It is just wonderful thread! If you check out the reviews of this thread, I think you will understand why so many like it.