Thread snob sewing machines
 

I find these posts interesting - the ones that say "My machine will only perform properly if I'm using _______ thread."

From that, I can draw several conclusions:

The finicky machines could be PIDA's and more bother than they are worth to fight with them
or
The user/operator is very finicky and/or doesn't know how to operate the machine properly
or
Some of the unfinicky machines are better choices for some of us.

But if machine, thread, and operator are 'good to go' - life is good on that planet at that moment.


There actually are some threads that I avoid using for anything other than overcasting a raw edge before washing the fabric - and even for that purpose, I try to use a lighter colored thread than whatever color the fabric is.

PS: Some thread(s) probably are better than other threads - I just think that a finicky sewing machine would be frustrating!

I think so, too. A machine uses whatever I put into it, or I'll find out what's "off" and make it work.

Of course, I don't try to use hand-quilting thread or rope in the needle - there are some things that a domestic sewing machine will not do.

But lots of times, I see people saying that their machine won't take anything but "X" brand of thread and I would take that as a challenge. I would want to tinker around and figure out how to make it take the kind of thread they want to use. Usually it's only a matter of changing the needle and/or balancing the tensions.

If I ran across a lot of reviews for a machine that said, "You can only use X brand" in this machine, I just wouldn't buy it.

I see this a LOT with longarm machines - and as much as you pay for a longarm, that machine better sew whatever you give it to sew! :D

when i first purchased my Viking the dealer told me to NEVER try to use Coats & Clark thread in it- NEVER-EVER!!!
told horror stories- said it would mess up the machine, said it simply would not accept it-
for the first year i did not use any c&c thread- then one day came along- i needed to use a c&c thread- it was what i had in the color/weight i needed- and i threaded it- quaking with fear of doing damage to this horribly expensive machine...
it sewed just fine- nothing happened- no alarms went off- the thread did not break, knot, cause any problems...
took me awhile but i finally figured out- they just wanted to sell the expensive thread they were selling- (some of which i find to be garbage!)
so, anyhow-
i no longer think of my machine as (finicky)
that being said- the long arm is a bit more finicky---some threads just do not handle the high-speed action of that machine...so that's a whole different issue.:thumbup:

Most machine owners go by what the dealer tells them. I don't think the brand matters as much as using the right size needle for the wt and ply of the thread. Not many know the ply of the thread they are using so the needle will fight with the thread thus the 'machine' doesn't like that brand of thread.

If a dealer told me that a machine was finiky and had preference for a particular thread ... I would not buy the machine. I have two machines , a Singer 306W and a Viking... Niether would not be in my house if they were fussy. I use everything from cheap serger thread , invisable thread, metalic , you name it I run it threw my machines. None have suffered .
I do have quite an inventory of various needles , as mentioned most issues can be resolved with the right needle or thread path. Keeping a good cleaning schedule ( for lint issues) is important if the thread is linty.

I put pretty much anything I have in my thread collection on my 7700 and haven't had a problem. Except when I tried to FMQ with a Sulky No.12 cotton which kept breaking...I changed to a 30 and it was fine.

I had a singer for 25 yrs and now my daughter owns it, I have a Kenmore/Janome and a Viking Ruby and a Mega quilter. The only thing the Viking dealer told me is that Viking recommends the Aurifil in the mega quilter but I was never discouraged from using any thread. I've used them all and even more so now that I'm into embroidery. I had one issue embroidering w/serger thread and researched until I found a possible problem and that fixed that. For what I was doing I had to double up on the stabilizer and go up in the needle size; no more thread breakage. I've had a spool of thread that I'd used before all of sudden act up; I take if from the top of my machine and put it in a coffee cup and it's very happy. I don't have any threads that my machine doesn't take and take well. I do think some times you might have to figure out a better position or needles or something to make it work but I've never failed but truth be told, I've had very little trouble with any threads in any of my machines. I agree, who would want a machine if you had to only use one thread; what happens is that co goes out of business. Life is too short to have a machine spazing over something as simple as thread.

ckcowl, I was told that C&C would be terrible in my machine too and they recommended Robison-Anton and they gave me a bunch of it to start off with....honestly I can't tell the difference, I think the R-A thread is just as linty as C&C. It just comes on bigger spools. LOL

My machine sews with whatever I put into it. I DO prefer Aurifil (especially for piecing) because it's so thin and low-lint and I can fit so much on a bobbin, but I have loads of C&C and A-R left; I tend to use that for quilting because it's a little thicker and I want the threads to show. I certainly am not about to throw it out, I must have miles of thread!

Connecting Threads brand is my new favorite thread behind Aurifil though. SO inexpensive, and seems just as good (if not better) than C&C or R-A, and tons of colors to pick from. Linty, sure, but it's not that hard to clean out my machine every now and then. I sew a lot of flannel so I have piles of lint no matter what anyway. I'm waiting for another CT thread sale and I'm going to buy a whole rainbow! I just wish they had varigated thread.

Maxi-Lock has a beautiful series of varigated thread and here's a link to the best pricing I've been able to find
http://www.wawak.com/products/product.cfm?pID=10511
The colors are so much prettier in person. My local quilt shop sells the same item for $14 instead of the $4.85 from WaWak.

I have lots of Robison-Anton poly embroidery thread and it's very linty and has lots of slugs. I have to use a larger needle. If you can look at any brand thread under a microscope you will be very surprised at the thick and thin spots and the slugs in it. You can tell immediately which thread is the best but all have flaws.

Sometimes my Kenmore will skip stitches if I use certain brands. Believe me I'm not picky as I will use anything. If it gives me grief on the top, I just put the thread in the bobbin and it works just fine.

I sew with a lot of metalics -- the only thread that consistently breaks is one of the sulky metalics (not all colors, just one). The first time I had trouble with it was in my Elna Supra, then my Pfaff and both of my Janomes. I avoid the color -- not all of them. I don't like invisible thread so I have not tried it. I sew with the C&C all the time -- it and Superior are my go to piecing threads -- and quilting threads. When I can get RA or Aurifil at 50% off, I buy it. My favorite metalic is madeira -- it has tons of colors that I can use to add a little bling.

My machine like the better thread. My dealer said to avoid Coats and Clark because of the lint it produces. I prefer Metler or Robinson-Anton thread. Gutterman is good too.

I have Pfaff and Janome machines and my issue seems to be - also with my Viking Mega Quilter - that the bobbin and top threads need to be compatable. Anyone else have problems with different threads in bobbin and top? I don't have an issue with any thread in the machines as long as I do this.

You are right that you do see comments from a lot of longarm quilters that their machine prefers certain thread. I'm fairly certain my machine can use any thread, but I have a fear of messing too much with the tension settings. I have a gauge for the bobbin tension and I am just now getting comfortable branching out a bit on different thread. If you're willing to spend some time playing with the tension, I bet any machine could be made to use any thread. (I'm just not willing to spend that time--rather be quilting.)

The Floriani rep said that no matter what brand if you turn the spool of metalics upside down when you sew you won't have any problems with breakage. You could always try.

Sure do, it is recommended to always use the same in top and bottom. I've tried the "bobbin thread" in my Ruby and it messes up every time. So I just don't use it. It's not worth trouble shooting to find out why when I have lots of other thread to use.

My Janome 10000 is over 11 years old now - and uses any thread that is on the market, or is vintage (I thrift store alot).

It is a different story with my 2 year old viking sapphire 875 Q, picky little sucker. The bobbin area is plastic and poorly made and any bit of lint gives me an error message (remove thread from bobbin area or something like that).
Never again will I buy a viking. it has been in the shop 2 times for minor repairs (at $175 a pop). now a tiny blade has fallen off from one of those junky plastic rings that holds the bobbin in, don't know how to put it back. Run away from this machine.

I have a Juki 98TLQ and it's a workhorse. It's very strong so the thread has to be strong. I can not sew with any of the invisible threads - snaps the thread every time. Coats and Clarks works just fine in it as does the cone thread.

My Babylock Espire sews with all the thread I have and I have quite a collection.

Sometimes it's not the machine - it's the fabric you are trying to sew. I found out that when making my husbands t-shirt quilt that the only invisible thread that did not break was the Sulky brand. Trying to sew through t-shirt material with the pellon fusible was difficult.

And then sometimes sewing with the wrong size needle for the fabric you are sewing. I always keep my manual handy and if I have a problem with sewing start checking for the problem.

C&C has started to sponsor many quilt shows and buy the big ads in the magazines. I've noticed more endorsement of C&C thread in the past two years then ever before. The oldest thread and the most profitable thread company can't have bad thread or it wouldn't still be in business. Industry wouldn't use it. That is just plain sense.

I have been piecing all of my quilts with So Fine from Superior Threads, it is a 50 wt, and I love it .....machine doesn't care a bit....just as long as she gets thread....but the So Fine just disapears into the seams so nice it is unbelieveable....

I have an HQ Avante and she loves any threads! The only problems I have run into is with the Mettler silknand even that will stitch if I slow down. I think it is not as strong as a cotton or poly.

I love Connecting Threads brand also. I have a drawer full of their packages of thread and I usually get the soft colors as opposed to the brights - I don't do a heckuva lot of bright stuff - Their brand is Essential and I got the Homestead and it is absolutely gorgeous. I think I would like to get the Woodland next, but I do wait until they go on sale. I use the Natural for sewing squares together and I bought twelve of them on sale last year. I don't mind the $2.49 for a spool since there is 1200 yards of thread on the spool. That can last me quite a while! We are a crazy lot, aren't we? We can sit and look and feel our fabric for hours and look in the drawer at our thread.

I have used Coats and Clark Dual Duty XP - All purpose variegated thread and it works fine for me. There are many different colors....all of them quite lovely. Check that out! I got mine at JoAnn's (on sale of course or with coupons! Isn't that something? You can't afford thread anymore unless it is on sale or you have coupons!

Sign of the times, I guess.
Edie

My Kenmore/Janome takes whatever I feed it and says "thanks". I say thanks too. If I use like "bottom line" in the bobbin and 50 on top, it might take some tension adjusting, but that only makes sense. Maybe that combination doesn't make sense to some of you, but it has been done and the roof didn't collapse.

Your picture looks familar. We moved away from northern michigan last October. Now in Florida.

thank you for that Maxie Lock site I use lots of that thread and none of my machines have given me any problem with it I do agree with what others said the right and good needles as dull needles causes problems and also keeping the machine clean is a biggy

I bought a new Janome 6600 a year ago. I had always used Gutermann thread and loved it. Over and over again, the thread knotted up under the fabric. I bet I took that machine back to the dealer twenty times to be "adjusted." We tried different needles, different stitch lengths, etc. etc. Nothing worked. The Janome still coughed, sputtered and hissed every time I used Gutermann. I was SO frustrated! I was just sure I had a lemon machine.

Finally, the dealer suggested I try another thread brand. They had searched, adjusted and lubricated everything they knew to do. I was just sure it was the dealer who didn't know what they were doing. (despite having been in busines for over 75 years!) I was NOT going to give up on my Gutermann thread!!!

Finally, I was at a quilting retreat and was fussing about the Janome at home. Several people there told me they had experienced the same thing with one brand of thread or another and suggested I try Aurifil. Doubtful, I bought some when I got home. Ahhh...never a problem since. I've since learned the machine will cooperate with ANY brand BUT Gutermann. I have no idea why. My Featherweights and Bernette both love the Gutermann, so I just use it when sewing with them. Such a relief! I was ready to pitch the Janome out the window because it was supposed to be my dream machine, and finally it is!

I don't know how many of you use "Sewers Aid" on your thread, it helps to stop fraying and breakage a lot, but a couple weeks ago I had a seminar with Sharon Schaumber, and she said sewers aid was mineral oil, but with something else(my brain on vacation) added. She recomended using PURE CLEAR mineral oil, as it will not hurt your machine and does wonders for your thread. She actually dips the whole spool, but you can just use a pastry brush or something and let it seep in on it's own. I just made a Minister's scarf on satin with dense designs using metallics as well as regular 40 wt rayon, and used the mineral oil...it was awesome! I always had trouble with Madiera shredding until I used it. Of course you must make sure the thread comes off the spool properly. The oil will not stain your fabric and eliminates the fuzzies. Sharon's husband created the bobbin genie, too. That's the teflon disk that goes under the bobbin to eliminate friction from the metal on metal. Coming from an industrial background, they have so much more knowledge than just making and teaching beautiful quilts. What an amazing woman- if you ever have the chance to see Sharon, do it!!!

Just wanted to say that if I use two different thread weights/sizes with one size in bobbin and a different size on top of machine, I have problems and this could also be problems for other sewers. A hand quilting thread is not made to be used on a sewing machine. Just my thoughts here.

I was told, when buying my Elna SU back in 1975, to stay away from C&C. Since then, I've only used it when I had to get a perfect color match and I couldn't find it in Gutterman. So for the next 30 years, 90+% of what I used was Gutterman because of it's availability to where I lived.

Then recently, I just heard (on another board) that some sewers have been told to NEVER pull the thread out of their machine from the spool end. The proper way to remove the last of the thread is to cut it at the spool and remove through the needle. (Huh? Never heard that one before!)

I've always had my presser foot up (tension removed) and pulled my thread out by the spool all these years... and I NEVER had a problem. My Elna 62 had been a workhorse and well loved and well used... and it NEVER went in for repairs - much less any tension issues. And my machine didn't fill up with fuzz.

So gotta wonder - is it because I always used better thread?

And this talk of not using C&C - gotta wonder if it has more nubblies that could jack up tension if pulled out backwards.

Oh.. and I did ask my tech about removing the thread in reverse by the spool end. He said that it is better to cut it... to keep the flow of thread lint and whatnot flowing in the same direction so it usually removes itself. If you have lint or crud of some sort in the tension area and you pull the thread out backwards (from the spool end) this is what can lodge something into the tension area and cause problems.

Problems are much less likely to occur if the thread always goes through the tension area in the same direction.

As far as C&C being such a big, profitable company - well.. I guess my take on that is that Walmart is a big, profitable company, too (which sells C&C)... and "big" doesn't equal "quality".

I use Mettler mainly in my new machine - and I've got my radar set on trying to find some Aurifil (is that how it's spelled?) since so many people talk about it online.

Oh.. and that brings up one more point... we have "online" now to help us get a good read on things. For 30 years, I just pretty much depended on what I learned from Mom & Grandma when I was a teenager... who only had a few sisters and friends to network out to back in the 60s... and then, after buying my first prized sewing machine in the 70's, I would depend on my dealer for new information on the best way to go about things.

Look how wonderful it is that we can share info like this in a forum such as this. :) Seems its so much easier to resolve problems or learn a better way... or at the very least, think a problem through to get a better guess at why somethin's just not workin'. :)

thanks to all who responding about "finicky"machines/threads. When I first read the initial responses about certain machines only taking certain threads and some threads not accepted at all by all known machines - made me think something was wrong with me. I started sewing on my mom's treadle machine.....now have very computerized machines and have had no real problem with any thread........just have to know how each "special" thread needs to be handled, what needle to use and most important remove all lint........

I have used Sewers Aid occasionally on some specialty threads and find it does make it better.

On my longarm if a thread is being fussy, I have gently sprayed it with water....(cotton/cotton/poly) as these sometimes get "dry" and that resolves the problem.

Remember this is not brain surgery....it is a hobby and these new machines are supposed to make it easier not finicky.

If I were told by a sales rep/repairman that my machine did not take a certain thread, rest assured, I would be on the phone to the mfg to ask "why"....at these prices they should sew with any thread MADE to be used on a sewing machine.......

I have a Bernina Aurora that hates Coats and Clark thread. I have a huge stash of that brand for I have used Singers all my life. I have found that my Bernina Aurora is fussy, I absolutely have to clean the machine every 6 bobbins used and sometimes before. When I say it's fussy, I mean the thread will break over and over again. Or it causes a mess in the bobbin area. So I understand it's Swiss made and I just keep it clean, very clean or it won't sew properly. When I am working on a quilt, I don't like stopping for repairs. I have developed a habit now of cleaning all my machines when I use 6 bobbins. It doesn't take long and I am assured of having a smooth running machine. My Bernina does great with Connecting Threads thread even though it causes a great deal of dust. I also was told to not use C & C by the dealer, but I did it anyway, until I had problems. Each person has to know what works for their machine. I am not mechanically inclined so I take the easy way and just change the thread to what works for me.

I have Janome 11000 and dealer told me to only use a high end brand. I have used everything in it from the very old generic threads that were my mother's to high end thread, they all work. Work in the bobbing to, mix and match. When ever I have a problem with the stitching it is usually because I need to change the needle. And for some reason that is the last thing I think to do. LOL

what I've learned about the different types of threads are -- if I use a cheap thread and I'm doing some heavyduty work (like a tight embroidery design or sewing through a lot of thickness), these cheaper threads don't do this type of work very well. My machine has auto-tension control and that could have something to do with it.

So, in my case, I just prefer to use a better thread (like Gutterman or Mettler) with a lower lint advantage. I haven't tried the pricier threads like Aurifil or Superior simply because the budget doesn't allow it.

I do buy Coats & Clark all-purpose when I can't find the color I want otherwise and my machine is fine.

I have a Babylock Esante.

My machines don't need matching top and bobbin threads, the 301 will sew with anything though the Elna 62C won't sew with serger thread, but it isn't for regular sewing machines so it's okay. The Elna had trouble with one metallic years ago, bur generally does fine. The 15 clone doesn't seem fussy, either. I haven't sewn with the others, but because they are vintage models, I'm not expecting any issues.

Has anyone tried the new C&C? It seems a little stiff but sewed okay on the 301. I do like a finer thread like Guterman on the 301's bobbin so it will hold more. Those skinny bobbins don't hold a lot.

My only picky one is my Janome 10001. It spits out Janome thread. I use it on all of the others, and they like it just fine. Oh well--it takes anything else I give it, so that's fine.

I don't think of it as snobbery as much as convenience and ease of use. For instance, I have a friend who will only use King Tut in her machines. She quilts a TON of charity quilts with her 2 longarms - her average is 30 quilts a month AND she works full-time. She uses King Tut because she has the tension set and balanced perfectly for that thread on both of her machines. She knows when she starts quilting she's not going to have to make any adjustments.

I am so glad that my 30-year-old Kenmore doesn't know anything about thread, because I buy the stuff that's 50 cents a spool in the bin at my local sewing machine shop. Always stock up on white, grey and black, and I have a whole tub of colored thread that I've purchased over the years and it works great too. Just recently I decided to buy some taupe thread at Joann's and couldn't believe the prices. Apparently I've had my head in the sand for years.

I have a brother sewing machine. I super great. My dealer told me that i could you the cheap thread if I use a bigger needle, but they told me i can use any thread