A little help here, please!
 

I've finished a pieced top for a baby quilt and have just bought a viking computer machine which I would like to use to machine quilt this baby gift.

I have the walking foot and will be doing mostly stitch in the ditch and some top stitching thru 9 square blocks. Can I use regular sewing thread or do I need to use quilting thread?

I just finished my first free style machine quit and I used polyester thread. It kept fraying and breaking. I think 100% cotton thread is better to use. I'm going to try that on my next one.

I have a Viking Rose & I have used Coats & Clark Dual Duty or YLI Wonder Invisible. I have never had a problem.

I stitched in the ditch with my older Pfaff with a walking foot using general purpose dual duty (cotton covered) Coats * Clark thread with no machine problems.

You don't use quilting thread as that is for hand quilting.

I prefer doing a serpentine stitch over seamlines rather than SID. Serpentine is a very forgiving stitch, so you don't have to eyeball it so closely while sewing. It does take more thread, however, so I like to use a lighter weight thread for it -- usually Aurifil 50wt 2-ply, although any 60wt 2-ply would work great too. I used to use a standard thread (50wt 3-ply) for quilting straight lines, and that works fine -- especially if lines are farther apart. However, I found by quilting a doll quilt that regular thread can add a lot of weight and stiffness to a quilt. I personally like the finer weight threads for quilting now.

The "quilting thread" that you mention is actually meant for hand quilting. It is treated with resins that stiffen the thread so it is less likely to tangle and knot. It is not meant for sewing machines, and will gum up the tension mechanism if you try to use it in a machine.

I too use sepentine stitch--or even a decorative stitch instead of a straight stitch in the ditch--more fun!

There is a line of thread for "machine quilting". i think it's C&C. I've used it for SID. But I don't buy it anymore, as it's a bit heavier than I like to use. But you really can use anything you like -- you'll find some threads do better in your machine than others, but you just have experiment.

your thread fraying/breaking problem is more than likely because of an incorrect size/type of needle.
many machine quilters use polyester threads- aurafil is another nice quilting thread- but really you can use any thread you want- just make sure you use the correct needle for the thread choice.
my viking is quite 'picky' when it comes to threads---it has taken me years to figure out what i can and can not use with it-
if you are unsure about the right needle with the thread choice- visit 'Superior Threads' they have free charts you can print off- explaining the different types/weights of threads- their uses & what needles should be used with what thread- very good resource to have.

/Big thank you to all who responded!!!! I've got some good leads now!! Just need to get r done!