I bought 3 footlockers of thread when I got my LA, and find that Sulky always shreds, regardless of needle size, etc. i think Sulky is more often used for embroidery work and doesn't hold up to fast quilting.

Funny...this same thing just happened to me this week. I changed the needle and voila...everything was fine!

Since I only started quilting about 7 years ago, I don’t think I have any old thread, not to say that some of it couldn’t be inferior.

Did you fix the shredding issue?

Is the thread a dark color? There is more processing with dark colors so they can be prone to shredding.

Good luck!

I haven't used much of Sulky's cotton thread, but their rayon is definitely not good for quilting. It's a weaker thread and doesn't hold up to a lot of washing. I've never had trouble with it shredding if I remember to lower the top tension WAY down on my Bernina.

IF thread is old it will do this. Also the spool could have gotten weakened by something rubbing against it. Or if you can see the weak place, it could be exposure to sunlight which weakened it.

For me, when that happens it is usually either:
1. Needle size (most of the time this is it.)
2. Wrong thread type for what I am doing. Like trying to use cotton to do a satin stitch.
3. Wrong type or speed of stitching for the thread. I can't seem to do free motion with Sulky no matter my needle size, it shreds but straight stitching is beautiful.