Connecting threads--Thread
 

I ordered several spools of the Essential 100% long staple cotton satin finish Size 50. It seams thick to me. Is the lower the # then thinner? Can I piece and quilt with this? I thing I need to study more about thread. HELP PLEASE!

It's pretty much all I use. I piece and machine quilt (sit down HQ) and have had no issues with it. I also hand piece (EPP) with it and have never had any problems. Just make sure your sewing needle matches to the 50wt. I don't know enough to tell you how they calculate the weight, but can definitely say 50wt is just fine!

I do like thinner/silk for hand applique though!

I have some CT too and their 50 wt seems thicker to me than the regular Gutermann cotton 50wt thread that I normally use. However, I have used the CT thread for both piecing and quilting and had no problems or issues with it, so think you will be just fine using it. And I think the higher the thread weight number the thinner the thread, the lower the number the thicker. Hopefully if I have this backwards someone will correct me. Threads can also be 2 ply or 3 ply and that can affect the thickness too and I think CT thread is 3 ply and that may be why it seems thicker.

I am no thread expert, but what Jeanne says is also what I have learned in my very limited thread education. We use CT exclusively for piecing and quilting and have always had excellent results.

Lower numbers mean a thicker, heavier thread. Higher numbers mean a finer thread.

Superior Threads has an excellent selection of very informative & educational articles and videos, if you'd like to learn more about thread.

http://www.superiorthreads.com/education/

I use CT thread for the vast majority of my quilts. If I am doing something special and want the flattest seams possible, I use Aurifil or Masterpiece. I donate most of my quilts and CT is very economical. I quilt exclusively with essential Pro.

I love CT thread, and its all I use. I recently bought some on clearance for $1.12 a spool. Wow what a deal!!

CT thread for piecing and quilting is all I use. Might be a little on the "linty" side, but can't beat the price.

If not mistaken, the higher the number the thinner the thread. You'd think it would be the other way around but I guess they like to keep us on our toes. You should be able to use it for both piecing and quilting. Heck I use whatever I have in the color I have it. I do stop myself when I find the thread is super old. My mother dumped me with a bunch of thread she had that was actually the 1st wife's thread from probably back in the 50's as some were on wood spools. Those I tossed but the rest of it I'm using for piecing just to get rid of it. If it snaps easy it gets tossed too. I have 10 large spools of medium gray thread to use up so I'm hoping for a darker fabric quilt to work on soon to use it up. Must have been for uniforms back whenever.

I use CT's essentials thread all the time for piecing. Never had any problems.

Don't forget the ply. CT cotton thread is 50wt 3 ply. Aurifil is 50wt 2 ply. Aurifil is thinner. I would use CT Pro (70wt) for my bobbin when using CT 50 wt 3 ply. Top and bottom threads being 50wt 3 ply is a very thick seam.

Agree with Onebyone. You can't go only by the wt to determine size; you must also consider the plys. Aurifil 50wt 2-play is excellent for piecing. I used to piece with Mettler 60wt 3-ply, but Aurifil 50wt 2-ply is actually more fine of a thread.

There is no consistency in the way thread is specified. From what I have heard, Prescencia 60-wt 3-ply is very similar in size to Aurifil 50wt 2-ply, which would make it thinner than Mettler 60wt 3-ply. Go figure.......

Just an idea for remembering the heavier/thinner/higher number/lower:

The way I remember:

It takes 40 pieces side by side of the 40 wt to fill the same area 50 pieces of the 50 wt
The 40 is thicker than the 50

(I sure hope that didn't confuse anyone more, but that's how my brain understands it)

I bought a bunch of spools of their thread and do not like it. I find that it is way too much lint and I also
find it is not consistant. It has lumps which get caught and break the thread when I run the machine fast.

I bought some CT's thread a few years ago to try but I can't even use it in my machine. I have a Brother which I love but the thread spool has to fit inside a thread "canister" and the CT spools are too tall to do so. I do think it is thick just by the feel of it.

So far I have been pleased with my purchase of CT thread but have only used cotton neutrals for piecing... and I agree that it is more linty than others... but great value on the large spools.

Most definitely. I purchased many spools in various colors a long time ago and I'm still using it today for both piecing and quilting. It is a good thread and you will be very happy with it.

I use it all the time for machine quilting. I believe it is 3 ply.
CT have several videos on y-tube by Dr. Dave...... he talks about thread and needle sizes too.

I agree with your assessment....I find it VERY linty. Unbelievably linty between bobbin changes...but I bought several big spools of varigated, so I will have to suck it up until it's gone. Only using it as top thread.

That's pretty close to the actual way it's figured. For needles, wire, thread, anything with a 'higher number is thinner' measurement, it's based on the number of them it takes to fill a tube of a certain diameter. Not confusing at all when you look at it that way. :)

I purchased CT spools when it was on sale. I liked it so well that I went back and ordered the large spools. I have been happy with the way it performed on my machine. I didn't notice that it was more linty than other threads, but then I have always clean the bobbin area with each new bobbin fill.

I love the price of this thread compared to the fabric store prices! I know it is 100 percent cotton and works great for both piecing and quilting. I think often that people use a quarter inch seam, but really a scant quarter is what we should be using. I also love that it is made in America.

That is how gauge size is determined, anything hardwaring and round. Stainless Steel has a gauge size too, like needles.

I use Connecting Threads all the time for piecing. Have for years. Only thing I notice with it is you need to clean your machine a lot more often because of the lint. Other than that it is good thread for a great price

I've used CT and had NO problems.

In fact, the other day I decided to try my hand at making jeans. (can't believe it took this long, I've been garment sewing for 40-45 years!)
The first pair was just an experiment and I didn't want to go buy more thread, so I used CT and my stitch that doubles on itself instead of 'topstitiching' thread. Looked great!

My machine seems to not be fussy about thread and there is no more lint than there is with other thread

Elaine 433, I am disappointed because I bought several spools and thought i could use in bobbin and top and that is too thick.

I think what i will do is go to a scant 1/4 inch and use the thread in top and bobbin, I realize now that I like 50wt but 2 ply. Live and learn. Price was good so cannot complain about that. I did not notice the lint was more yet. Thanks for all the insight.

I use it all the time and love it....

I really like CT threads!! I don't find it much more linty than anything else out there. Including Aurifil. But the price is so much less! It is a hair thicker than Aurifil, since it is 3 ply, but that also makes it a hair stronger...

I was just on their website and noticed their threads now have a tiny number (the item #) on the top of the spool!! Yipee! Reordering the colors will be so much easier!!

I use it all the time... used to exclusively use Aurifil, but at less than half the cost for CT, I'm a convert. I find it no more linty than Aurifil and use it both top and bobbin.

Over the years, the reviews I've read here and on other boards about CT thread are either love it or hate it, not linty or too linty, no middle ground. It seems to be machine specific as to how it behaves.

I've never tried it and probably never will even though I have an unused CT gift certificate from Christmas 2013. I just don't want to buy thread that might lint up my machine when I'm happy enough with what I use now, nor do I really want to choose thread colors online until after I've had a chance to see them in person. Thread selection shouldn't be this hard and buying locally, it isn't.

How can that be the same? Size 16 needle is much larger that a size 11.

I should have been more explicit. Hand sewing (and hypodermic) needles follow the 'higher number is thinner' system, the standard wire gauge designation. Machine sewing (and American knitting) needles go the other way, 'higher number is fatter'.

I have a hard time with tread too but it really helps to read post to see what I should be buying in the future. It is confusing when it comes to different weights.

I have begun to use CT thread for piecing top thread as well as for bobbin. However, I find that it does not work well for me to hand sew the binding on. Tangles and twists...oh, some words come out.