Does it really matter
 

Does it really matter weather you use cotton or poly thread piecing and quilting your quilt? I've been using cotton thread on top and prewound poly bobbins. Is this wrong? And are the quilt police going to show up on my doorstep?

I use whatever I have handy that is the right color at the time. I have been quilting for at least 40 years. Unless you are making quilts to enter is some fancy completion I wouldn't worry about things like that.

I don't use poly thread because of the old days from the 70s. I guess since there are quilters who like the stuff that they must have improved the quality of the thread. I will just stick with my Mettler Silk wrapped thread. It has never given me any problems with using it since the 90s.

The poly will melt if you need to iron. I learned the hard way. Glad it was only on one block.

I use Poly ILY thread all the time for piecing. Thin and strong and I've never had it belt when ironing blocks. Comes in big cones so it is really affordable.

***
*** I use whatever I have.
***

You may be thinking of the "invisble" threads. I use Guterman's 100% polyester for everything and it never, ever melts I'm happy to say!

I prefer poly thread for my bobbins. I keep my iron on med heat and no problem with poly melting although I have never had quality poly melt when pressing seams using a hotter iron. I tried to melt a poly seam and it took much longer then I would ever leave an iron on the seam.
I mostly buy Superior poly threads and pre wound bobbins for piecing. Mettler thread is not silk wrapped, it's silk finished. No silk in the thread at all. Everything you want to know about thread is here: http://www.superiorthreads.com/education/

I don't do show. What I use is what I have on hand. I usually buy double or triple when it comes to the neutrals. I usually have 4-5 bobbins wound at a time of the neutrals. I also have 2 bobbin cases for each machine. I have the cases labeled for each machine.

Even award winning show quilts have been made/ quilted with polyester threads! If poly thread had been available when my grandmother was young she would have used it! It is stronger than cotton and colorfast.

If it's the perfect colour, I use it. I am not afraid of the Quilt Police!:D

I try to use the same on the top and bottom - but I do not know if it really matters or not
.
I also use whatever - but because a lot of the thtead I have is 'older" - I do check it for strength before using it.

the poly thread will not melt now days

poly is fine, people use it all the time. I just used so fine poly to piece a quilt, worked just fine.

What kind of thread I use depends on what I'm doing. The one I'm working on right now had a lot of piecing and quilting.

So I decided to use Maxilock serger thread so I don't go broke just buying thread. If it's on sale I can get two 3K cones for $5. I believe it's cotton. I can iron it at any rate.

What I'm working on now has cream backing so for decorative topstitch I'm using tan Coats & Clarks with white serger thread in the bobbin.

Of course the thread doesn't fit on my Singer 9022. I hung the cone upside down from the chandalier with a rubber band paper clip binder clip affair. It's cheap, it works so I'm happy.

Using a fine cotton thread in both top and bobbin (Aurifil 50wt 2-ply) works best for me. I have tried experimenting using polyester thread for piecing. When using in both top and bobbin, I find that the stitches at the end of a piece are much more likely to loosen. On my machine, if I use poly in the bobbin and cotton on top, I notice that my seams do not lie as smooth. It probably depends on how picky you are and perhaps also on how your machine handles these threads.

Mettler thread is not 'wrapped' in silk. The 'silk' - which is actually 'silk finish' refers to the manufacturing process and is 100% cotton. A common misconception.

I agree - I use Superior's Bottom Line (60 wt poly) for everything and it never, ever melts either. And I use a hot iron.

[QUOTE=Happy Linda;7118599]The poly will melt if you need to iron. I learned the hard way. Glad it was only on one block.[/QUOTEI

I made a beautiful quilt. I sandwiched it and was quilting it and it all was coming apart. When I checked the seams, the thread was really stiff and scratchy. I continued quilting by stitching very very close to the seam on the side the seams were pressed. what happened was when I ironed the top getting it ready, I melted the thread. It held until I was quilting and it was too late to re stitch the seams. did the best I could.

lesson learned, never again.

I have tested both my YLI nylon monofilament thread and my poly thread by placing a strand on my ironing board and ironing with my hottest iron setting (which on my Rowenta is very hot!). Neither melted. In fact, I could not perceive any change in the threads even after leaving my hot iron on them for a minute at a time. I think a problem with melting thread is a rarity these days. Manufacturing advances are probably the reason.

I have always used cotton for piecing but would be willing to give poly thread a chance.

I just use whatever I have handy that is the right color range. Most often it is Coats & Clark all purpose. Sometimes it is whatever is in those little multicolor kits from the $ store (keep those handy for travel use). Occasionally it is the cones (either large or small) that I've picked up wherever I spot one in a color I don't have on hand. I'm sure at least some of this is all poly. I've never had a problem with thread melting, although I've had issues with certain scraps shrinking perceptibly when pressing. I'm guessing those scraps were acrylic or possibly polyester.

I use whatever I have.

JeanK, I'll bet that thread was nylon. I've bought nylon "invisable" a couple of times and hated it. It's wiry. And it melts. I've used all kinds of poly. Good ones are at least as soft as cotton and do not melt at any ironing temperature the fabric can take.

I use whatever I have. Ignore those who tell you you "have to" do/use anything.

It all depends on what you wish for your quilts in the future. Nylon thread will eat cotton. It is not open for debate. Now, do you care? Do you want your quilts to last for five years, ten years, a hundred years? Your call.
1.) Use like thread top and bottom matched to the fabric you use.
2.) Use like thread top and bottom, regardless to the fabric you use.
3.) Use whatever is cheapest.

One gives you most permanence over the long term. Three gives you the least. Second gives you a huge variance depending on use and cleaning of the quilt.

tim in san jose

i have used the invisible poly thread but the last time i used it is the last time i will use it the tread broke and jamed my machine i was forced to take it to a repair shop it cost me 60 dollars to get it fixed

I have had a poly thread melt under the iron as well. It was at a class so the iron was not getting a chance to cool down and maybe it was extra hot but that was the end of the piecing with poly for me.

i also use what I have on hand. And like others, i have lots of thread on hand from almost 50 yrs of sewing. The only thing that I am picky about is my hand quilting thread - YLI glazed cotton.

I use Gutterman Mara 100 for piecing. I buy the thread at Wawak.com when they run it on sale for
1.99 each. I tried it for FMQ but it causes the same problems I have with the Aurifil. It jumps out of the
bobbin case. I need to pick up some of the washers that they sell for the bobbin threads to see if that
helps. It only works if I am FMQ very slowly. Right now I am using the Mettler silk finish cotton for the
FMQ but that stuff is expensive.

I was told to use the same thread in top and bobbin or it will get your machine out of time. My brother will not sew if it's not the same. Also poly thread will cut your 100 percent cotton fabric it is like a razor blade. Your quilt will not last

Can't say about quilts - but I've used quilting cotton for colorblocked shirts and sewn with poly thread. Shirts are still going strong after many washings and wearings. More washing than a quilt gets.

A few weeks ago, one of my quilt customers asked me about cotton verses poly thread, as she had been told not to use poly thread for quilting. Of all the cones of thread that I keep in stock, I have only one 100% cotton cone. I pulled out that cotton cone and asked her to try to break a length off of it. She took the cone and easily snapped a length off it. I then handed her a cotton wrapped poly cone and she could not snap it off. I found out early on that 100% cotton used to machine quilt broke very easily; even more easily if stitched on the bias. For piecing (I only piece my quilts) I use whatever thread I have on hand, but for quilting I use Signatures cotton wrapped poly or poly wrapped poly and figure it will hold the piecing together for years to come. I do use mostly 100% cotton fabric for my quilts and after 14years they are still holding up nicely. My mother used to send her tops out to a longarmer about 25 years ago who used poly thread on her cotton tops and all her quilts are also in great shape.

Please see the superior threads video, or order the free dvd...at least it was free a few weeks ago.....It is not a good idea to use serger thread for regular sewing or piecing. Serger thread, first of all is more linty....can cause more lint build up in your machine....but it is not strong for anything that will be worn or used as a quilt for warmth.... the reason it is not strong is because in serging it needs to be thinner to lessen the bulk on serged seams. It is thin, also because there is a straight stitch, then an overcast to lock the seam. If the stitched thread is broken the overcast will hold the seam together somewhat.....serger thread is a single ply thread that is not strong. Do a test of pulling apart with the serger thread versus cotton or poly....If serger thread was OK for regular piecing, they would not make multiple ply threads. Serger thread is for the serger. It is not strong. If your quilts are not made to last a long time....I suppose you could use it....however, do you really want your beautiful work to fall apart after a lot of washing.....

I use Coats & Clark poly/cotton thread and it has never melted and because I'm using cotton fabric, my iron is set on cotton or "hot". Think about it: could thread manufacturers get by with producing a thread that melts when a hot iron hits it?

I've never used "invisible quilting thread" so can't comment on whether it melts or not.

The $1 spools of poly thread is scrapping the bottom of thread barrel. All poly thread is not the same. There is spun poly, filament poly, tribal poly, the twist of the thread and the finishing all plays a big role in the quality of the thread.

Thanks for the information. I did not know that!

I am 63 yrs old, and have sewn pretty much everything at one time or another. I cannot imagine an iron hot enough to melt thread, poly or not.

I have been told and read in several quilting books that poly, being stronger that cotton, will cut through the cotton fabric after time. So I use cotton for cotton. I wanted some variegated thread one time, and found some beautiful colors at my local quilt fabric shop. I never thought to ask if it was cotton, just assumed it was. When I got it home, I quickly realized the feel was completely different. It felt slick. Checking more closely, found that it was polyester. I still have it but never used it.

For hand quilting, I prefer YLI coated hand quilting cotton.

The information about polyester being stronger than cotton and therefore cutting through cotton fabric is no longer true. When poly thread was first introduced in the marketplace, it was stronger than cotton thread. Nowadays, however, most of it has similar tensile strength to cotton thread.

You can test thread yourself by snapping it between two hands to see how it breaks. When I tried this, I was very surprised to find that the poly thread actually broke easier than the cotton thread.

I do like the stronger tensile properties of some polyester threads for use in my midarm frame setup; it greatly reduces problems with shredding and thread breakage due to high speed sewing. This is why I prefer Glide thread to King Tut when frame quilting. Plus polyester thread creates much less lint than most cotton threads in my machine.