Hi! My name is Pamala from St. Louis, MO and I am a new quilter "very new". I have a question for my new quilting family; do you always use quilting thread? I am a lap quilter and I am sort of confused about what thread to use. Do you ever use an all purpose thread when hand quilting the top?

Hello Pamala, I'm in Illinois about at hour or so from you. I'm too lazy to hand quilt, so I can't answer your question, but I'm certain many of the expert hand quilters on the board will help you out.

No, I would only use hand quilting thread as it stronger and will hold up to all the in and out motion of the quilting process. I think (could be wrong) that all purpose would start to shred and break during the process of quilting. JMHO :)

Hi and Welcome from Oklahoma.

Hi and welcome from the sunny state of Florida!! I always use hand quilting thread.

Welcome to the board from southern California.

hi pamela, welcome from central new jersey. are you hiding from us here?

If you are hand quilting I use only hand quilting thread as it has a wax finish to it and prevents the thread from breaking or twisting. But do not use it in your machine. It will mess up the tension big time.

[img]http://www.freesmileys.org/smileys/s...um/welcome.gif[/img]
So Happy that you joined us :D:D:D

I think that you would be happier using hand quilting thread, not having it twist is a BIG plus, and it will show off your quilting nicer too :wink:

I use only YLI quilting thread for hand quilting. It does not knot up and I do not have to use wax. I really like the natural color and/or the white.

Hi! I am from the Arkansas Ozark Mountains. I, like you, am a beginner and I was confused by the same question. I was told at one LQS to use this waxed quilting thread. I told the lady that I was hand piecing it and she said that many of her ladies use that. So I bought it. Then when I went to another quilt shop to buy a dark color of thread, you should have seen the look on the lady's face! She said, "Oh, no, no! You don't use that to piece. You use cotton thread!" I shrugged and said ok I would take a spool. It was $7.00 and it breaks so easy it drives me crazy. If you find a better answer than what I got, let me know, would you?

Marilyn
Paintbrushbrown

I use good quality thread when piecing. You don't want to use the hand quilting thread for that because it is thicker and doesn't allow the fabric to lay down as well at the seams. I use hand quilting thread when actually doing the quilting process, joining the 3 layers, only when quilting by hand, not in the machine. Really messes up the tension. It is possible to use other thread, good quality, but if I have to use it I run it thru beeswax first. It lessens tangling and helps to make it stronger. Good luck and welcome to the board. Everyone is so very helpful.
Wendy B

Welcome Pamela! I use all purpose thread for piecing - both machine and applique by hand. For quilting I generally use hand quilting thread. But there are times I cannot find a certain color and will use cotton thread, coated in beeswax. I coat each thread before I quilting. As long as the threads are not too long, it will not fray and break. Good luck!

WELCOME YOU ARE ABOUT 4 HOURS FROM ME I LIVE IN RICHMOND MISSOURI ABOUT 45 MINUTES FROM K.C. GLAD TO HAVE YOU JOIN