Bree, Thanks for the link. Wow what a eye opener.

I use to only use Mettler Silk wrapped but I enjoy using the 2 ply of Aurifil. I am paying over $8 for 547 yards of Mettler and over $8 on sale for 1422 yard of Aurifil. I find that with Aurifil, my seams lay flatter for better block accuracy.

It is a wonderful thread for sure. I make lots of charity quilts and use Connecting Threads for them. If I am doing a special quilt where accuracy is needed, I will use Aurifil or Masterpiece. I have just a couple of colors---one light and one darker.

I have never tried it on my HQ16. I use CT machine quilting thread on that machine and never have a bit of trouble.

Thank you, Bree123, that was quite an education about Aurifil and the thread under the microscope. Who knew?

That is what I love about this board, it is so helpful and so educational. I can't think of a better place to go for information.

I've used it in my Bernina and have had really good luck with it. I haven't tried it in the 301 yet because I started a piecing project with gutermann. I tried use the aurafil and there really is a difference. My 1/4 inch seams were much smaller and seemed to lay flatter with the aurafil. After this project, I"m trying aurafil in the 301. It will probably be my go to for piecing.

I'm surprised you had problems with it breaking when it worked in my Bernina. My Bernina is usually the machine that thread breaks in if I don't remember to reset the tension. Bernina's seem to come with the default tension settings pretty tight.

Mettler isn't 'silk wrapped' - a common misconception. There's no actual silk in the thread, which is 100% cotton. The 'silk' refers to it's finishing process - which Mettler has chosen to name 'silk finished'.

My kids had a microscope and I did my own test. I looked at all the brand of thread I had. I was shocked at the flubs that all brand name threads have but some a lot more, looked liked barbed wire.

I like Aurifil for piecing. It's doesn't break on me. That's odd that it does for others. Aurifil comes in every color you can think of. It's up to the seller to have those colors to sell.

I buy Aurifil online, the price at the shops are way over priced in my opinion on all thread. I never buy thread at a quilt shop. I stock up on the colors I like when I find a sale. I like Superior thread and most of the other quality brands too. I use Connecting Threads poly a lot, it's thin and strong. I recently tried MSQC brand of thread. I was pleased with it.

It's amazing how many think the thread is wrapped in silk.

I use whatever thread I have on hand, from cotton to cotton poly, whatever. And the thread holds up well no matter what it is. Fabric can be another story as I posted in another message thread. I have an older quilt where I used a very high quality batik which is starting to degrade.

I think people should do what makes them comfortable, but thread isn't a big deal to me. Just my opinion.

A couple years ago I read a message thread (no pun intended ;-)) about how polyester can saw through fabric. I sewed a couple of fabric scraps together and hung a weight to one of the pieces to put a ton of pressure on the seam. Two years later, the test is still on my bulletin board. The poly thread is now a little stretched, but no damage to the fabric.

I'm most worried about good tension and nice small stitches, which my old Pfaff 7550 can provide with pretty much any thread. The thread itself doesn't really make that much difference

And about lint, the lintiest thing we work with is batting, followed closely by fabric. Thread comes in last place in that race. I used beige thread on a green quilt. My lint was green, hardly beige at all.

Is Aurifil the thread on the orange spool? I was using it this morning and it was breaking a lot.