dumb question about thread
 

I have always used cotton thread for piecing and quilting. One time my LQS had some prewound bobbins that were polyester. I did try them and I really like them because there is sooo much thread on them I don't have to stop for bobbin changing very often.

She has not been able to get them back in stock since. So I went looking on my own and I found some - yay! BUT I also found cotton prewound bobbins. The cotton don't have quite as many yards on a bobbin as the polyester, but it is still much much better than when I wind my own bobbins.

My question is.. does it matter if I have polyester or cotton thread in my bobbin? Is one better than the other? I will continue to use cotton up top

Thanks

I do it all the time to no ill effect. I'll prewind a bunch of bobbins in the neutrals that I use, and just grab one. Might be cotton, might be poly.

I use polyester often, along with cotton, cotton along with silk, silk along with wool... In other words-- I use many different Threads, without problems. No one knows except me. I also use many different fabrics. I've made quilts with batiks and flannels together that are great, velvets, wools, silks with cottons... Sometimes I think people stress over little things that really don't need to be stressed over. As long as your thread is good, strong and the color& weight you want to use, use it. No one is going to say your quilt isn't good because you have polyester thread in the bobbin-- no one is going to know.

You should never limit yourself to only cotton thread for piecing or quilting! My normal piecing combo is Aurifil 2 ply 50 weight cotton on top and Superior Bottom line 60 wt polyester in the bobbin. BTW Superior does sell bottom line in prewounds but I wind my own. I use neutral colors in both, usually a grayish green color that seems to blend with everything. If I am piecing dark, I switch over to my dark neutral which is a charcoal gray. If piecing light to dark or bright to dark, I stick with my grayish green neutral.

For quilting I prefer poly. I love glide which is a 40 wt trilobal polyester with lovely shine. For longarm quilting I definitely prefer the prewound magnaglide bobbins. I also use super fine poly called Invisifil which is 100wt and looks and acts like silk without the expensive silk price tag. I save my real silk for applique.

Wow, this is a revelation. I always thought the top and bottom threads had to be the same material. Cotton/cotton or poly/poly.

Thanks everyone! I just wanted to check to be sure that I didn't do something stupid :)

Is this just for piecing?? If you were quilting with it, it would be a matter if it matched your top thread. I have never used prewound bobbins. I only use original Bernina bobbin in my machine. it is not a problem for me to wind my bobbins.

Wow this is interesting. I've always been told and read that if you're using cotton fabric you should always use cotton thread and bobbin. Reason being if you use poly thread it will outlast the cotton and would wear the fabric at the seams.

Some have good luck with the prewound and some don't. Doesn't take long and with my 2 machines often I wind 2 at a time. So goes quickly. I bought some extra bobbins for my 2662 the other day and filled them up.

I use prewound bobbins with the paper sides. I take the paper off and use the bobbin naked in my Bernina, Singer, Brother and Janome. I use Glide bobbins when machine quilting and thin poly or cotton when machine piecing. Why bother winding bobbins when you can buy them already wound in about every color you want?

Old wives tale now. Maybe once upon a time it was true but with changes in manufacturing processes and and thread makers wanting to please quilters, the times they are a changing! I encourage you to visit Superior Threads education site. Loads of info there and also some myth debunking. Here is the old "poly thread will cut through cotton fabric" myth explained

https://www.superiorthreads.com/educ...ar-the-fabric/

Edited to add, everything I have learned about thread I learned from other members here linking to different resources. Then going to shows and speaking with thread manufacturers I have learned so much. Now my thread addiction is almost as bad as my fabric addiction. So many choices and so many things we can do with the thread once the piecing is done. Fancy metallics, heavy embroidery, cotton, silk, synthetics our choices are endless and we should take advantage of that.

Good to know feline fanatic! I have a rainbow of colors of poly threads for embroidering and sometimes if I don't have the right color for something I'm quilting I'll be like "oh that's the perfect color if only it were cotton." May have to dip my toes in these new waters.

Going back to the OP, I have bought tons of prewound poly bobbins off ebay for my embroidery and have yet to be disappointed. Having said that, I bought only black and whites in bulk .

the prewound bobbins have much more thread then I can wind on myself.

This is for piecing. I use cone of gray for the top and when I have the prewound bobbins in gray I can sew and sew and sew before I run out of bobbin.

I have not tried prewound bobbins ... I usually wind 3 or 4 at a time for the project I'm working on.

Any idea how many yards of 50wt thread a typical Bernina DSM bobbin holds? The Bottom line bobbins have 118 yards per the Superior website....

First - the only dumb question is the one that is never asked! Then, I think the only time the thread (or fabric) is an issue is if you were submitting your quilt to a super fancy quilting judge! I believe that whatever you choose to use to make your quilt is ok. Maybe the fabrics are different, maybe the thread is different, maybe the colors aren't everyone's cup of tea - but it is your choice. There is nothing harder and more of a drudge than working on something you don't like.

There is a difference over time, but that doesn't kick in until the cotton fibers start to break down at around 20 years. For the first 15 years, other than possibly a difference in the rate the color fades, it won't make any difference. After that, the poly fibers, which are stronger, will rub/pull on the cotton fibers and cause them to break more quickly than if it were all cotton. The other issue is that poly thread fades much slower than cotton so after a good number of years, threads that started the same color will be 2 different shades of that color.

I use pre-wound Janome bobbins on my Janomes -- the thread is a poly bobbin thread and lasts a very long time. If I don't want my quilt to draw up, I use poly on top and bottom when I quilt. Actually, I grab anything that is the color I want be it cotton or poly.

I think, for the purposes of the original poster's question, the real issue is not whether you use cotton or poly, but is more about the weight of the thread. You can get a lot more 60 wt thread on a bobbin vs a 40 wt thread.

I have been sewing and quilting for a very long time. I don't worry about cotton, poly or anything else. If it stitches I will use it.
Use whatever works for you.

Im wondering will the ploy melt when you iron your blocks?
I must have grab some ploy when making a quilt and when I ironed my blocks the thread melted.

I'm of the same mind set.

I never thought about poly thread so definitely not dumb question. Will have to try it.

Your iron would have to be quite hot, but yes, poly thread can melt, just as poly fabric can melt. (And cotton fibers if they get too hot will scorch)

Thank you so much for posting this question! I have always thought no question is a dumb question.

I longarm quilt as a business and I use Superior Threads 100% cotton, 100% poly, and metallic threads on top and I always use Superior Threads Bottom Line in my bobbin - it is poly and never a problem.

Check out the information here from Superior Threads - http://www.superiorthreads.com/educa...ar-the-fabric/

If you will look, your cotton underwear is sewn with poly threads...how often does the thread cut the fabric? Heck, I think most of our store-bought clothing, regardless of material types, are sewn with poly threads since poly can take the higher speeds of the sewing machines used to make the clothing.

I use prewound and haven't had a problem

The poly thread cutting the cotton fabric has been dismissed many times by thread experts. This is on Superior's website: The traditions, myths, and rumors that polyester thread will tear the quilt are not true. There are many different kinds of poly to choose from.
1 Spun polyester thread
2 Multi-filament polyester thread
3 Trilobal polyester thread
4 Texturized polyester thread
5 Poly-Wrapped Poly-Core thread

Facts about poly thread: http://www.superiorthreads.com/education/will-polyester-tear-the-fabric/