Well I use cotton thread. for piecing and for hand quilting. and yes i do have to clean my machine. But if u use Egyptian cotton thread u get very little lint.I also only use cotton batting.no poly. Poly thread can and does stretch where as cotton does not. And u get puckering at the seams with poly. Just my opinion. I guess I am just an old fashioned quilter. And my quilts are made to be used also. which is why i use cotton. just has a better feel to me.

I use cotton and poly. Most times I will have poly in the bobbin and cotton on top. The difference in poly and cotton thread is at the bottom of my list to ponder about. The color of the thread is more important to me.

Count me in for the polyester thread. When I use cotton thread I see considerably more lint. And I've found with FMQ it's good for multicolored blocks as it's not so obvious with my swirling and meandering.

I like to use a very hot iron to iron seams when I am piecing, and do prefer the cotton thread. I don't like it being linty, but I just do the cleaning bit more often. When I put the piece on the long arm and quilt it, I do use Polyester. So mine quilts are a mixture.

I think the issues with polyester thread on cotton fabric have more to do with piecing than with the actual quilting. Particularly if there is less than a 1/4" seam. Jan from Be*Mused wrote a post about a quilt that she made in the 80s for her sister. I'll link the article but in essence she shows where the cotton wore away from the poly core and cut through the seam of the patchwork. I think many factors could be at play here but, in my opinion, this is the type of situation most people think of when the question of piecing with polyester thread comes up.

http://bemused.typepad.com/bemused/2...r_caution.html

I think that most people would agree that with the strength of the three layers (and more when quilting over seams) and the improvement in quality of polyester thread there is no danger when quilting with polyester thread.

I'm going to have to try Glide on my next project. What's the best source to purchase it? My lqs doesn't carry it.

Use what works for you or at midnight, what matches the color you are sewing.

I don't think this is a myth. You can compare the quality of invisible thread from the 70s which indeed felt like FISHLINE to the current invisible thread that is being produced in this century. There is a difference with the quality of the thread. I am certain that the quality of polyester thread has improved from the thread that was produced in the 1900s. I have seen older quilts where the cotton fabric in a quilt had been cut by the wear of polyester thread from earlier years. I have also seen bearding from older quilts with seams pressed open. But batting has also evolved as so many things have in quilting. Usually old wise tales do have a legitimate source. We each need to make our own decision of what we think is best for our quilts and our DSM.

Bob with Superior Threads says it is fine to use polyester thread with cotton fabrics.

You can buy direct from the manufacturer www.bobbincentral.com but I have read they have a minimum purchase? I have yet to find that stated anywhere on their website but then again when I order thread I am dropping at least $50 per order so maybe the minimum purchase appears when you check out.

It is also carried here:
http://www.quiltscomplete.com/Depart...ead/Glide.aspx