monofilament
 

Referring to posts I have read I am curious as to why it is stated that nylon or poly monofilament will not wash or wear as well as cotton thread? Just wondering.........can anyone point me to the science of it all as I would like to use it for "all over" quilting on my next quilt which will not be in direct sunlight but in fact spend most of its days on a bed in my little caravan. I believe it was pretty brittle stuff years ago but was under the impression that it was okay these days?:confused:

Visit Superior Threads website & read about theirs. I have used it for all over, edge to edge quilting and it has held up through use & laundering over the years. There are different brands/ qualities. The one from Superior doesn't melt when I iron it or it goes through a regular dryer cycle.

Agree with the recommendation of reading the info given on Superior's website. Personally, I think poly mono technology has come a long way and no longer has the problems it had in the past, but some people have never given it a second chance. Having said that, I've used all kinds of thread and monofilament isn't one of my favorites. I just prefer the look and texture of regular thread, and mono can be kind of tricky to quilt with at times. You have to loosen the tension a lot.

There are 3 very nice Monofiliments on the market. Superior's Monopoly (a polyester), Filtec Essence (a nylon) and YLI Wonder Invisible also a nylon. Nylon monofiliment did have a reputation of turning brittle over time and was also notorious for not being able to handle heat, be it iron (which would commonly melt it), dryer heat (which would turn it brittle) or even heat from direct sunlight or being stored in a vehicle for extended periods of time in hot climates. I honestly don't know if the manufacturers have changed this in some way. I can say it is no longer the stiff "fishing line" we remember from 20 years ago. Today's monos are very fine and flexible and not pokey at all. Some can be picky as far as tensions are concerned but I have had extremely good experiences with monofiliment. I use monofiliment for ditch work and I have also used it to machine blanket stitch fused applique with no issues. But for background quilting and all over designs I prefer a fine thread that "plays" nicely with the colors in the quilt. Invisifil thread by Wonderfil is a lovely 100 wt polyester (fine as silk) that sinks right down in doesn't show much. I have found that grays and golds seem to compliment just about any color as well as a sage green shade.
If you are truly concerned about the longevity of the quilting, you may want to consider going with a light weight thread as opposed to monofiliment.

have used Superior's monopoly and YLI without problems ---one consideration though is that there is sheen to them and that will show depending on the fabric it's used on. My only complaint is they are so darn fine that I have trouble telling if it's one of my gray hairs on the quilt top or a stay thread!

I have used it for years and not had any issues. I have read that some well known quilters use the invisible thread in their quilts, if that helps. Like some others, I use the MonoPoly monofilament thread. It is a very soft and fine thread.

I used it in a scrub top washed hundreds of times so me personally it doesn't make sense. Its made for sewing, items sewn get washed ergo it should be fine for washing

Thankyou everyone....most appreciated.