Different threads in same quilt ?
 

I generally use the same color throughout a quilt but on the quilt I am making right now I find that I'm not going to have enough thread to complete the quilt. I have other spools of very similar colors and I am going to use up what I have for this quilt. Have any of you ever done that or do you always use the same color/brand/type of thread for the whole quilt? I will be mainly quilt it with stitch in the ditch (except for the border). I'm going to use a Quilting Made Easy motif for the border. I love the fact that there are not "rules" in the quilting world. :)

I use different thread colours often, both in piecing and quilting.

Rarely do I use the same thread throughout the quilt. To piece one, I tend to "use up" those bits of spools that only have a little left (constant state of cleaning stuff out) :o As for quilting, I've used more than one color thread to achieve a certain look. Example: a wall hanging I made a while back has stars quilted in blue and red.

I use different colours, different threads plenty. If I were to make a quilt I intended to exhibit at shows and perhaps submit it for awards I'd use the same throughout, but if it's just me for I don't really care. I'd rather enjoy the finished product than worry that it's been made with shades of similar threads.

I very seldom use the same thread when quilting a quilt. I prefer having the thread blend in so that my pieced top is what people look at.

I do like HillCountryGal. Particularly in scrap quilts where the fabric is all different colors, so why should the thread be the same?

For piecing I use what I have as I'm trying to use up some threads I received from my mother when she moved here. As for threads for quilting I have a nice selection to choose from so its dependent on what I want to use. I've used up to 3 different colors throughout the quilting process changing the bobbin thread to match. Painstaking but oh so worth it to me.

I've done it both ways, but more often I plan to use different weights & colors of thread throughout the quilt. I do use all 100% cotton threads but that's the only thing I keep consistent. I try to switch thread color by quilting motif/area. So I may switch at the border -- or if I am doing feathered wreaths, curves & circles, I might do all the wreaths in a different thread. Generally, though, I only buy quilting thread in neutral colors. If I switch to something else, it's because I already have that color for my applique work. I piece with only 3 colors: grey, cream/light beige & if working with bleach white fabric, white. I quilt with those 3 colors plus black so I never feel bad about buying more thread in one of those 4 colors. But sometimes it's nice to add a pop of color in my quilting and fortunately, I have around 25 colors to choose from due to my applique threads.

I usually use one color on quilting.

I use different colors both for piecing and for quilting. How many different colors I use in a particular quilt depends on the effect I want to achieve-- for example, if I want the quilting to be mainly a texture I'll use threads that blend in with the fabrics being used, so I might need to use multiple colors to match fabrics if the quilt is scrappy. Or, I might want the quilting to stand out, so I might use multiple colors chosen to show up against the fabrics.

Rob

When piecing, I may use up left over bobbins. When quilting I will either match the background of the fabric or use a contrasting thread, but I rarely use the same thread in the entire quilt.

I promise you that the quilt police will not visit! You will probably be the only one that ever knows you used different thread.

When I piece, I use everything, because it never shows in the end. When I quilt...I often use different colors...If I am quilting over dark green leaves and want them highlighted, I will use a green, same with sky, etc....if you are asking about running out of thread, and quilting with the same color for most of it, been there, too...you can get a color close to what you're using and no one will be the wiser.

I'm of the school of "use it up", and use whatever is handy. Yesterday I went through the shoe boxes of thread at my church quilting group and brought home a dozen almost empty spools to put on bobbins for a scrappy top.

It depends on the look I am looking for. I have used one color sometimes if I want a real traditional look. Presently, today as a matter of fact, I am quilting a quilt for a grandson's graduation. I plan to use three different threads. For the major motifs I want to emphasize the fabric pattern I will use a matching thread. For borders I will use contrasting threads to show up the quilting motifs. The quilt has a pieced border and I will do SID to allow the piecing to show up-it took more time to make the border than all the rest of the quilt and I want it to show.

I generally piece with whatever I feel like. I love using up bits and pieces on bobbins. I generally quilt with the same color on the whole quilt, but that would definitely depend on what I was doing. There are no rules about it for sure!

I use whatever I need to use up when piecing but use the same or close to the same when quilting.

I see lots of answers about using different colours to match different areas of the quilt. But I think you are asking differently - substituting a similar colour in an all-over quilting design when you run out? I have done that - I had a bunch of half-full bobbins in various shades of brown for my longarm. I had a quilt with a really busy back, so I just used up all those odds and ends in the bobbin on that quilt. Looked fine. I would only do it if I was sure the changes would not show, or I could place them to look intentional, however. If the backing was plain, I would not have switched colours on that quilt.

Unless it is going in a show to be critiqued I would do as everyone has said use up what I have. I'm more concerned in quilting to keep same colour in same area.

The quilt I am working on now has 3 colors of quilting thread. There is a variegated blue/green/cream in the main body of the quilt, a dark red in a large inner border, and a cream in the outer border. It just seems right for this quilt.