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.

By the way folks, here is a link to the Gutermann Company site. The page that comes up gives a bit of info on the different types of thread manufactured. It also tells us that there are just four thread companies in the U.S. Unless I'm reading it incorrectly. My eyes are very tired tonight. I've been quilting today, that is, when I haven't been on the computer (guess where?)

http://www.tomfarrell.org/textiles/sewing/thread.html 8-)

Candace, I am with you; use what works! I use cotton only for piecing. But when it comes to machine quilting, recently I have been using American-Efird poly wrap. Then again, my thread choice depends upon that all important test run on my sandwiched quilt. I quilted one piece that would not take anything but C&C and it was quilted on the same machine as my others.

Another big point to watch is using the proper needle. Sharps are for piecing. For machine quilting I use either a top stitch needle or the regular quilting needle.

Bev, there are lots of things that make a quilt turn out properly; perhaps asking your local Guild membership to help you or going to the library and getting a quilting book might help. While I have sewn for over 55 years, I have been quilting under five year and I have so-o-o-o much to learn! I am thankful for this Board. Good Luck, and I am sure a well-informed sales clerk at your fabric shop can help too.

Way to go, Bev. I will check that link out now!

WOW - that red background on print is hard to read. I control blocked it (highlighted it) and was able to read it in white background. Thanks.

Smart thinking 99, what a sleuth you are, All thumbs now known as Miss Marple? :thumbup:

Oh I'm not having much of a problem with my threads. I use Gutermann and C&C. But I got caught up in learning more about the types of thread we are all using when this thread came up. I have no doubt that we all are using what works best in our machines. What I think I meant to say, but didn't mean to bug anybody about it, was that if some one was having big problems with Gutermann it's most likely that they are using the wrong thread "type", not the brand. But how are we supposed to know what "type" the thread is if they don't have it printed on the label? Now your research shows us that we must look at the country it's produced in, in order to know what we should use it for, ie: piecing, quilting, heavy weights etc. That's not fair to us. How can we remember all that stuff? I'm lucky to remember my own address most of the time. I don't know about y'all. I hope I'm making myself clear. Sometimes when I think I am, it's about as clear as mud to others. :lol: :roll:

It's actually printed on the outside of the reel itself. It should be on the bottom, the one I have in front of me for example says C Ne 50.250m-274yds.100%cotton/coton The number on the label is the color. All the others are the same. The quilting cotton will state: Quilting.200m-220yds100%Cotton/coton etc.
Good luck
:thumbup:

I have tons of Gutterman and love it...use it on all my machines...

You need to watch which way you are putting the spool on the pin. The part with the thread catcher thing that holds the thread when storing should be on the bottom, so that the thread flows freely.
Jovi

I have a MC 7500 that uses the Guitterman fine and the cones fine it will not use the Coats and Clarks cheapy type at all it breaks every few inches. But the cones work great and are cheap to use. I just got a MC 6600 Professional and have not used it enough to know if it works on it but I will stick with my cones and Guitterman. There is another brand that starts with a M and it works fine on my old one too. Yes the cheapy stuff works fine on my 1975 Kenmore but Janome spits it out. :o)

I totally dislike Gutterman thread. Neither of my Janome's like it. My friend uses it all the time in her Janome 6600. Go firgue!

Most amusing Sherlock:). I'm in Australia, and I use Gutermann in preference to other brands...mine all say Made in Greece...Anyway, I primarily sew/quilt on a 1950's Pinnock....it's fussy for an old workhorse and seems to love Gutermanns, not linty and doesn't break easily. I also handquilt using 100% cotton Gutermann Handquilting thread...strong, doesn't tangle and looks pretty good (though my stitches could be smaller:)).