Quilting Threads Comparison
 

I want to gift various quilting threads (not piecing). I know Aurofil, Glide, and King Tut are supposed to be good, but don't know what the preferred weight etc is for both domestic and longarm quilting. I myself have my quilts sent out. Thanks for any help.

Basically any thread can be used from 100 wt silk to the heavier weights. If it will fit through the needle you can use it. The governing factors are the skill level of the quilter, and their ability to adjust tensions on their machines. With that in mind each machine will have its own idiosyncraticies. So any thread you want to gift would be great. If the person you want to gift likes heirloom quilting give a thread for that type of quilting so keeping that in mind don’t be afraid to gift a variety. I don’t know about other brands but Superior Threads lists on each label suggested needle sizes for both long arm and domestic machines along with the thread weight. Hope this helps.

I'd go with SoFine #50 for either a long arm or domestic. It's fine enough to work in the domestic, can handle more intense quilting and many long arm quilters prefer it if you don't want shine. Plus, it's fine enough to piece with too. It's a Superior thread.

Thank you for your feedback. I will be ordering a variety today.

How exciting for recipient.

I put almost as much thought and consideration into my thread as I do my fabric selections. I do quilt on a longarm but I have also used some of these threads for domestic machine quilting. By far I have much more experience in the LA. And I have also used specialty threads to embellish and do hand work.

If you plan on gifting thread it is best to know what types of quilting your recipient wants to do. If they are adventurous and experiment a lot if they like dense quilting or more open quilting, do they like the thread to show or blend into the background, do they like a bit of bling?

I like invisifil which is a 100 wt polyester that acts like silk for doing heavy background fills with lots of back tracking as thread build up doesn't show. I also like to use it for ditch work (as well as invisible monofiliment threads like Superior Monopoly or Glide Essence). Silk acts much the same way but with a more expensive price tag.

I have used metallic in show quilts and was very pleased with the results. I have also seen metallic used in quilts meant to be used. Wonderfil and Superior both make nice metallics.

I prefer trilobal polyester threads over cotton because they don't make any lint and I also like the look of a shiny thread but some people prefer a matte finish. I use mostly 40 wt because I do want my quilting to show. But more and more longarmers are switching to 60 wt which is finer. My thread of choice for trilobal polyester is Glide. But there are many manufacturers. Superior's Magnifico, Isacord, and Sigma embroidery threads are just a few that are out there.

Some quilters are purists and don't want to use anything but natural fibers in their quilt so will only use cotton thread. Personally I think it is a shame to limit yourself to only one kind of thread. But for those that only like cotton there are almost too many choices to list. I have some 12 wt cotton in my stash from Wonderfil that I am just waiting for the right project to use it. A 12 wt cotton would definitely show a lot and I wouldn't recommend it for any quilting that involves backtracking.

Interesting thread-about thread! You got some interesting comments that are also useful to the rest of us. I especially appreciated feline fanatic's comments. I tried the Invisiline 100 this past weekend to STID. It worked beautifully and I think I will go back and buy some more colors. I liked it in the bobbin also. I like to make samples that reflect thread and batting choices. There are so many combinations and so many results. Thank you for your thread.