I usually Gutterman almost exclusively and I have never had problems and really like it. I have a Gem Janome and a Singer 5522 that I use it it.

Checked the Guttermann thread today in Dublin. Made in 3 different places. 1. Germany. 2. Greece. 3. Italy.

You are all doing such great detective work! Ya gotta admit that once we quilters are on the trail of a juicy piece of info, we are like bloodhounds on a the trail of a jackrabbit (or whatever it is that bloodhounds track :shock: ) ! Keep up the good work.

I think they track blood.

8-) :lol:

Hello again - Guess what I did? I wrote the Gutermann company and have received a couple real nice responses from the American division. Here is what I learned. The thread is named with the country in which it is made follows. Polyester(Germany); Bulky Nylon(Italy); Cotton (Greece); Toldi-Lock(Thailand); Upholstery(Mexico)

Threads for the U.S. are wound onto spools or cones and boxed in either Mexico or Spain. Now if any of the above threads are listed with a different label than designated above, please let me know because Gutermann would be very interested in seeing that spool and I can give you a direct contact to them.

Now if I remember correctly, SewOK a few posts back mentioned her Mexican Gutermann thread fraying and breaking needles. The Gutermann representative told me their thread from Mexico is upholstery thread. Therefore, if SewOK is being used for quilting perhaps, that would make a difference--definitely the type of needle used would be important with upholstery thread.

You are correct, Bev, what a bunch of Sherlock Holmes we are......off I go to quilt. But don't we love our board!

Now let me tell you! I am impressed!!!!

But how are we to know which is which? I don't recall any signs or words on the spools which would tell me. Maybe I just haven't been really noticing. But c'mon, how much could they fit on those little places where the print is. So, would it be up to the store to categorize it for us? Because I know Joann's, at least MINE, doesn't. However for C&C they DO have different categories listed on the shelves where the threads are placed. This is all too much !!! My brain is getting sore from overuse!
OK, back I go to my quilting room to take out ALL my threads and look at labels again. We may have a class action suit going for us here. :lol: :roll:

/quote/ AllThumbs quote/
Now if I remember correctly, SewOK a few posts back mentioned her Mexican Gutermann thread fraying and breaking needles. The Gutermann representative told me their thread from Mexico is upholstery thread. Therefore, if SewOK is being used for quilting perhaps, that would make a difference--definitely the type of needle used would be important with upholstery thread.quote]

OK, I've got my boxes of C&C threads, and Gutermann here by my side. I'm looking at C&C first because we had discussed it some place way back there. C&C tells you what kind of use the thread is for. Mine are mostly All-Purpose 100% Cotton. But others are for special purposes such as carpet/ button, hand quilting, and all that good stuff.
Gutermann's spools say, Gutermann, Germany, 100% polyester, and the amount of thread on the spool. There are some numbers on the top of the spool, but they would mean little to most of us, I'm sure. They mean nothing to me. I also have some Mettler which say, Mettler silk finish 100% cotton merc., Spain made, No. 50. Plus a bunch of numbers also.
I also have some large spools that I picked up in Italy while on a visit there. This thread is what the Italian women swear by, supposedly. They say ... No. 50, Pure cotton mercerized, 1000 yards, RADIX which is the company.

The only thread spools that actually say WHAT the thread is especially made for are Coats & Clark's. Score one for C&C!

We have all probably been using the wrong types of threads for our piecing, not always, but certainly some of the time.
Yet another bit of detective work from a member of the Sherlock Holmes Society quilting board! 8-)

I don't use incorrect thread for piecing. I use Aurifil 50 wt. cotton. Very rarely Guterman. And if I do use Gutterman it's the cotton only as I won't piece with polyester.