Great buy or hoarders syndrome?
 

That's a lot of thread. Did you do the tear test to make sure it's still good?

Why not put a rubber band around the cone to keep the thread from unwinding and throw it in the washer, or soak in soapy water and then rinse well. That should get the smell out.

Wow thats a lot of thread. I like using cone thread because it lasts for a long time. Right now Joann Fabrics has it for $1 a cone.

Madquilter..what is the tear test? Never heard of it before.

OMG! I assume it's serger thread?

Wow! I'm totally impressed!

I would just lightly mist with vinegar. Seems to work on most odors for me. Great haul!!!!

I think she means to yank on a thread tail to see if it breaks. That's what I do. Thread likes to be stored at about 50% humidity, I believe, to make it last, with no extremes of hot or cold.

It's cone thread. Is there anymore info on the labels? Tex: measure of strength. I like 40+ for my longarm. 28 is serger thread. How about weight? And fiber content?

I learned something new today - thanks for the tip on testing the thread!

If it passes the break test you got a heck of a deal.

Well the way I look at it is, if you will use even a third of this thread then you should buy it. If you use it all, awesome and you got an deal of the year. If you don't use it and keep it, then you are hoarding. Considering how long thread lasts, and you probably have years and years of sewing ahead of you....its a great deal!

Hoard away! :). I hope it is all perfect amnd works beautifully. I use vinegar too for smells...it really works.

I would think twice about putting it in the washing machine or even washing it by hand. Thread is wrapped so tightly on cones I don't believe it will dry properly and may mildew. Try unwrapping the first layer off the cone, it will probably solve the smell problem.

I think you are right.

Hope it is great thread!

What you could do is tie a small strip of cloth from your scraps around the spool, put it into a knee-hi hose and knot one end then throw into the wash. I do that with thread from estate sales and small pieces of material. Just wash on low then you can let it air dry or toss into dryer on low. I use ARM AND HAMMER to wash (with vinegar). Helps to get rid of odor.

Instead of charcoal, you can use Dr. Scholl's Odoreaters shoe inserts -- the ones made with activated charcoal. Throw a pair or two of these in the garbage bags with the cones of thread and leave for maybe two weeks. These shoe inserts are how I finally got rid of the odor in my featherweight case!

Charcoal and odor eaters seem like good choices. I wouldn't try washing. When our Tupperware gets smelly, we were told to put it into the FREEZER for a week or two. Do you have a really big freezer? LOL Try a few and see how it works. From the weights you listed, looks like you got a real deal.

Sometimes these cones come from clothing manufacturing, which would mean they are not serger threads.

I was looking up about the thread weight and found this info. It explains why our seam aren't always 1/4" if the thread is different.
http://quiltcetera.wordpress.com/201...thread-weight/

Yours is 50 wt
50 wt is a piecing thread http://quiltbug.com/articles/thread-theory.htm

wow that's a LOT of thread

I think the thread test is a good idea also.

I love this board, always a wealth of information !

I believe it's necessary to take ply into account in addition to weight. The aurifil 50wt thread in the first link is 50wt 2-ply. Most regular cotton thread is 50wt 3-ply. The Aurifil 50wt is considerably finer than 50wt 3-ply threads and seems to me to be closer in thickness to a 60wt 3-ply. (Just to confuse the issue a little more! :D )

Holy smoke! It's likely you will never use all that thread so sharing is a good thing. Great buy, if it's still usable and others can benefit, too. Good call.

Oh that's great! I never thought of that. Thanks! my featherweight case smells too! buy stock now in odor-eaters lol
I'm running out to get some :thumbup:

I keep an Odoreater shoe insert inside the featherweight case all the time now, as it also serves to cushion the pedal. Dual-duty odoreaters!

According to Martha Steward you should add balled up newspaper to your bags to get rid of the odor. I have never tried it. But it would be a cheap thing to try.

with old books and magazines (and a few times, cloth) i've used a bag of clay kitty litter. i put the object into an old cotton pillowcase, and put it in a smallish bin, pouring a little underneath, on the bottom of the bin. then, i pour enough litter over and around it to bury it, and leave it for several days. unless you like things "perfumey", use an unscented litter, and don't use a pine or corncob based one. the clay absorbs the smell, but i'm not sure if the other ones will. pine litter can have residual resins in it. good luck!