AFQSinc

In the past few quilt shows that I have been to I have noticed that one of the big things has been a sparkly thread. It is just a hint of sparkle nothing crazy but it is definitely picked up in the light and it appears to be more than just metallic. I've looked at a few online YLI silk and Superior Glitter but I'm not sure if these are the ones. The Superior Glitter seemed really chunky (?) in the picture so I'm not sure. One quilt I'm thinking of in particular is Sherry Reynolds' America Let It Shine. She did have crystals on the quilt but she also had some kind of sparkly thread. There were quite a few at the AQS show in Lancaster as well that utilized this type of thread.

Does anyone use these threads and/or know which ones are not too crazy to work with and give that little hint of sparkle?

Thanks!

Nammie to 7

I saw that quilt in Houston - it was beautiful. It would be great if you could ask her what thread she used.

snipforfun

Superior Metallic is the best. Just loosen tension a bit and maybe skip the last thread guide before the needle, and definitely a topstitch needle. Topstitch and metallic needles are the same, just different colored packaging. Ive never had a failure with this thread. I used gold metallic

quiltstringz

I haven't seen the quilts but am wondering if it is embroidery thread (like Isacord)? I know a lot of people are now quilting with it, it's not metallic but does have a shine to it

lfletcher

I use Glide thread when I want a sheen. It works well in my Gammill long arm.

feline fanatic

I have not seen "America, Let it Shine" in person but I have viewed some exceptional close up pictures of it. Looks to me like she used gold metallic for parts of it and and a shiny finish thread in other portions. Three threads I know have a finish like that are Filtec Glide from http://www.bobbincentral.com/ Superior Highlights thread and Isacord embroidery thread. All are tirlobal polyester threads which reflect light and they all have a beautiful silk look finish. In my Innova LA, my favorite thread to work with is Glide, followed by Isacord. Highlights is a bit fussy when it comes to tension when compared to the other two (it breaks quite easily if you have the tension too high, this thread likes very light tension) but once you have the tension set it is also a wonderful thread to work with.

AFQSinc

Thanks, Feline Fanatic. I will check into those. The ones that I have seen have all been on white and create just a spark that really catches the eye. I'm going to try it on a dark fabric and see how it works. I was trying to get around buying a bunch of thread and testing but I think that might be the only way to make sure that I get the effect that I am looking for.