Kindascrappy

Ive been working on a quilt with 1 1/2” finished half square triangles that make up a 12 1/2” block. It really is a pretty, sparkly block but all those seams were so bulky I just had to press each one open and carefully pin to match seams. Slowing down has helped as well, but my accuracy really improved when I replaced my 50wt cotton thread with 80wt polyester. Now my blocks are turning out almost a perfect 12 1/2”. Of course I’ve heard the horror stories about the abrasive nature of polyester on cotton fibers and I’m sure they are true. Im also sure some of you experts out there have done what I’ve done to get that perfect sparkly look you were after. So do you have any advice as to how I should quilt and treat the resulting finished piece. (It will be about 70” x 80”). Thanks

Onebyone

There are many new threads available now that wasn't around a decade ago. Here is the myth busted about poly and fabric:

https://www.superiorthreads.com/educ...fsNE%3D.wEgjkJ

Everything you need to know about thread, needles, tension, and bobbins is here:
https://www.superiorthreads.com/education

Quiltwoman44

I gave away all my poly threads and regretted it quickly. even all my Christmas colors. sad but true. I mostly still buy only cotton though these days.

Barb in Louisiana

I frequently stitch with a polyester thread and haven't had any problems. I don't wash my quilts any more than I have to.

A lot of quilting with a curving design, will stabilize the blocks with all those seams and will help your quilt last a long time. If the seams can move and the polyester thread can saw at the cotton fabrics, then it is likely that you will eventually have fabric failure. I have had fabric failure with a 40 wt cotton thread. It has been washed 20 or 30 times and the quilting was more sparse than I have learned to do. Do not quilt in the ditch as straight line stitching. Do some type of curving pattern that will support the 3 elements staying better without placing stress on any single parts.

fyi....For my first quilt I did a minimum of quilting as per the batting suggested spacing and did them as straight lines. As I pulled the quilt up the first night of use, I heard seams popping and quickly realized the error of my ways. I added some curvy seams and tried pulling the quilt up again. I didn't hear those angry seams popping and quickly learned a very important lesson. Seams stitched as straight have more stress when pulled than curving seams.

Onebyone

The more I educated myself about fabric, batting, stitching, and thread I have learned many of the quilting truths I have been told are not true or just plain silly.

Doggramma

I use poly thread almost exclusively for piecing as well as a lot of quilting. Recently I started using 100wt poly in the bobbin. I like the Superior brands.

Peckish

Why do you assume they are true? They are not. I figure it was somebody trying to sell cotton thread that started that old wives tale. 🙄

Agree 100%.

Iceblossom

While there are threads I will not use with cottons, the modern threads like So Fine were designed with cotton in mind.

When I started quilting, way back before there were rotary cutters, there were still quilt police. The going adage was "cotton only" but I was very happy with Dual Duty, which was cotton wrapped poly. We weren't all that sure about storing fabric in plastic containers or bags either, but after 50 years I'm no longer so worried about that either...

I can tell you my early quilts from the 70s went through a lot of hard use and machine washing, and the Dual Duty thread was never a problem. The problem was I didn't quilt closely enough and the unquilted areas rotted away, leaving the seams and the in the ditch quilting strongly holding together the threads.

quiltedsunshine

Well.... My 2 wedding quilts from 1984 were both sewn with polyester thread, and it cut through the fabric at the seams, in less than 10 years.

Also, if you're pressing with a cotton setting on your iron, I think it would melt the polyester. Check where the polyester setting is on your iron, compared to where the cotton setting is on your iron. I know if I let my iron tough minky for very long, it will melt it.

I have a couple friends who have used Maxilock serger thread and have pressed it using a cotton setting on their iron, and they lifted up the block and pulled on it, and the thread had indeed melted. The block fell apart.

Sorry, I don't follow what everyone else says, I use my own experience and knowledge. I choose to use cotton thread to piece cotton fabrics.

Fabric Galore

I use polyester thread all the time and my quilts hold up quite nicely for years. The baby quilts get washed a lot and there has been no damage. I use Bottom Line (30 wt.) in my bobbin and So Fine (40 wt.) in the needle when I am piecing and my blocks go together so much better. I also use polyester when I machine quilt.