Pros/Cons of using Polyester thread to quilt?
 

I have been using cotton thread to quilt with. I started looking at Superior Threads varigated threads and they are polyester. Can anyone give me some information about using polyester vs cotton for quilting?!! :shock: Thanks!

The only con I can think of is that high heat from an iron can melt it and break the stitching. Most people don't iron or press finished quilts, so that's not a problem. But, for piecing that can be an issue.

I've used a hot iron on polyester thread and it has never melted on me. I've also quilted with polyester thread (Glide), washed the quilt in hot water and dried in a hot laundromat dryer without any hint of melting. I do think that, for piecing, you want to test polyester thread with an iron before using it. Lately I have been using a 60wt polyester thread in the bobbin for piecing, but before using it I tried to melt some strands of it with my iron on its hottest setting and was not able to.

Glide is my favorite thread for quilting on my midarm frame setup. Before I got the frame, my thread of preference for quilting on my domestic machine was Aurifil 50wt 2-ply cotton. I think I would like Glide for my domestic machine also, but have had no occasion to try it. (Aurifil in both top and bobbin is still my all-time favorite thread for piecing.)

The biggest advantage I have seen to using polyester thread is that there is ***so*** much less lint than with cotton thread. Aurifil is the only cotton thread I have used that creates very little lint, but it's still a little more than polyester thread produces. Most poly threads have a little bit of shine to them (Glide does, anyway) and I like that; it brightens up the quilt in a very subtle way.

There seem two be two camps in the quilting world - cotton thread only camp, and the rest of us camp. I am in the second one. In my opinion, there are no rules because they impede creativity. Go poly! By the way, I recently discovered Glide and it was love at first stitch.

Thread is a personal quilter's preference. Use the thread you and your machine like and the thread you can afford. You could invest a small fortune in thread and I haven't found it necessary. I save my special threads for special projects and use polyester thread on all of my everyday and frequent wash quilts. I have not had polyester thread melt, break or cut through quilting fabric as some quilting rumours have reported. I had a friend give me a whole bag of polyester thread that she was sure wouldn't work for her quilting and I've been happily using it ever since.

I love love love polyester for quilting...but I learned to quilt from a real cotton purist! :) I generally piece with cotton because of that ironing issue and also because nobody really knows for sure if over time polyester will be harder on your quilt seams...but for quilting, I almost exclusively use polyester. No lint and it comes in very fine or thick weights so you can create different effects and textures. The only real con in my mind is that polyester is a synthetic fiber...so in 80 years your natural cotton will fade but the polyester thread will not. If that is a concern to you, you might want to stick with cotton. I'm not going to be alive in 80 years so I'm quilting my heart out NOW without concern! :)

Here is an excellent article about thread: http://www.superiorthreads.com/newsletters/642/

I have gone to a presentation by a representative of the YSL brand of thread. It was at the quilt guild so she knew we were quilters. Her advice was to test the thread for results in your machine and use whatever strikes your creative fancy without regard to what it is made of.

I use polyster thread a lot - I did have an iron that got super hot and had to watch so I wouldn't melt the thread (which I did a couple times). Got rid of the iron and kept the thread. :)

I use what ever thread strikes my fancy for the project and have good results with both poly and cotton. The only melting problems has been with the clear threads and high heat in commercial dryers. Made my nephew a quilt while he was in St. Jude and the high heat of the dryer melted the clear thread (don't use it anymore) I quilted the finished quilt with.

Wow! This is some really great information! Thanks everyone. I am certainly not affraid to use polyester thread now! Wish I had used poly when I quilted with white cotton, cuz I think the thread shrunk!

I'd never ever considered that poly thread would melt. I've used it a lot and never worried about it.

Now that special clear thread--not sure what that's made out of--that might melt.

I've not had any problems at all with using poly thread. Go for it!

The clear thread is sometimes nylon, which can melt under certain circumstances depending on the brand. I have used YLI nylon monofilament with absolutely no problems, but don't have a sample handy to test with an iron. My experience has been that there are only a couple of good brands of nylon clear thread, and YLI is one of them. Other brands have problems. A lot of people use polyester clear thread now instead of nylon monofilament, but I have found that the polyester is not as invisible as my YLI nylon monofilament.

Superiorthreads.com has tons of info about anything thread!

I use it all the time for piecing and hand quilting.
No problems.
I also use whatever it laying around the machine.

I piece and quilt with Gutermann Poly thread and never a problem here. Was actually recommended to me by my Janome dealer.

I use cotton wrapped polyester thread. No problems with ironing.

I use Poly thread to quilt and cotton to piced with just because I have some bubt when my cotton thread runs out going to all poly thread.

The special clear thread..yep, it does melt. At least the stuff I used. We used to call it "invisible thread." Yep, it sure was, especially after it met a hot iron! :hunf:

I have struggled with cotton thread breaking when FMQ with my Bernina 820 on my Bernina frame. With the information I have read here about Superior threads and a long arm quilting friend, I bought Omni thread which is poly thread. I have done one quilt with it. I had only one break and hardly any lint. I'm sold!

I use polyester to piece and Connecting Threads cotton thread to quilt. My machine loves cotton thread!

I use Coats & Clark all purpose, it's 100% polyester covered polyester, never had any issues with it.

Here is the specific article re: the polyester thread myth.
http://www.superiorthreads.com/educa...dition-or-myth

Personally, I use what matches or enhances my fabric. I just finished quilting w/cotton serger thread.

Uh oh, I hear the sirens for the quilt police LOL. I'm with you, I use what I like.

You are thinking of the old nylon thread. Polyester thread should not melt.
It is also a myth that poly thread tears the cotton fabric.

If your machine likes it, there is no reason not to use it (imho).

I have just discovered Glide threads for quilting and it was love at first stitch and my HQ Avante happily agrees!

the nylon clear threads will melt long before poly... in my experience, I have never melted poly

I agree - do what suits you. However I do want to mention that the King Tut varigated from Superior is cotton.

I read this article, which stated that the US government had banned domestic production of rayon many years ago. That may be true, but I could find no evidence of such a ban in any of the literature I read to try to confirm that statement. Instead, there are dozens of articles about the uses of rayon as thread and as fabric. Perhaps all that rayon is being produced somewhere else, but I would like confirmation that it is no longer produced in the US because the production process causes so much pollution. If it is being produced exclusively somewhere else, the decision to suspend domestic production probably involves lower production costs. However, if you find cofirmation that rayon is not produced in the United States because its production caused so much pollution, please let me know because it will be a signal to prepare for the end of the world. froggyintexas

Rayon can be produced in a variety of ways and in a variety of forms. Regular rayon (viscose rayon) is produced in the U.S. Cupranomium rayon, which is similar to viscose rayon, is not produced in the U.S. because of its effects on the environment but it is still produced in Italy.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rayon
http://www.museumtextiles.com/1/category/rayon/1.html

I know that Leah Day uses Isacord polyester thread for FMQ. Anyone know if she uses it for piecing, too?

I've found that my machine can be quite finicky about thread. My favorite thread is clear nylon sold by Long creek thread in Gastonia, NC. I know of other folks who also have a Grace frame and a Juki 98 machine who also love this same thread. They have a web site and the price is great.

IMHO piecing with a great cotton or polyester thread creates a very strong quilt, then quilting it with the clear nylon thread makes a great finish.

Happy Quilting,

Steve

I understand that true polyester thread is ok with sewing, ironing, washing and in the clothes dryer. With clear thread, some labled 'poly' are actually nylon. These will break and melt easily,as does rayon thread, and I have heard of 5-10 yr old quilts sewn with these are now falling to pieces. I guess it comes down to reading the labels and making sure we do get 'polyester'.

..... I just love thread.... Sewing with it, quilting with it, shopping for it, contemplating it.... Thread, it's a good thing.

Steve

If the thread says polyester then that is what it is. If the label says polyamide, then that is nylon. Polyamide is the chemical name for nylon. Nylon will get brittle and yellow over time. Polyester will not.
Im not smart, i just read alot! LOL

http://www.superiorthreads.com/educa...nt-recommended

I've appliqued with poly embroidery thread that has melted when touched with the iron.