thread help
 

What weight thread do you use on the back of quilt? Do you use the same? Can you use one color on to and another on the bottom?

thanks for help,
Judy

I use Decobob in the bobbin on my quilts. It is an 80 weight, so it is finer. On baby quilts I use regular thread.
You can use different colours front and back, but you have to be careful with that because your tension has to be pretty close to perfect...the threads meeting in between the layers, otherwise you'll get the bottom thread showing on the top or vice a versa. Not a real problem if you have a wild pattern on the back and have a bit showing, but a real problem if you have a white top and end up with your backing thread being dark and showing up on the front.

Watson

I often use the same weight in both top and bobbin, but I've been known to use a slightly heavier weight in the bobbin than in the top. I sometimes match the color of the bobbin thread to the top, but not always. I have been fmq for many years and am comfortable adjusting both my top and bobbin tension as needed.

If you are just starting out to quilt, you will probably have a shorter learning curve if you work with a good quality 40-50 wt. thread in both the top and the bobbin and use the same color in both top and bobbin. Isacord is a good one, it's a 40 or 50 wt. polyester embroidery thread, very strong and excellent for fmq. Lots of folks use Aurifil cotton 40 or 50 for quilting.

Rob

I mostly use the same brand of thread for FMQ on a domestic machine, it's the same thread I use for piecing, Connecting Threads Essential cotton. I use a different color on top and in the bobbin if it's what the quilt calls for.

Cari

thank you all for the help

For my long-term I love King Tut thread. I usually use same color top and bottom when possible or feasible. For piecing I like Superior's Fine Line.
I believe you have to find out what your machine likes best.
We all need to be comfortable with adjusting tensions to alleviate a thread showing on the wrong side. It's trial and error and practice. For me nothing can replace practice.

Long-arm...not long-term. :(

I use whatever color the quilt needs and the quilt I finished last night is the first time I had color show. I think it was something top do with different weights on the top and bottom. Also the top thread became caught several times on something so when it would become taut, it would pull the bottom thread up. My 301 has never cared about thread, but the poly embroidery thread seemed very light for it.