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Do you have a favorite thread for piecing? Do you use the same thread for everything or do you use different threads for piecing, quilting, hand piecing and applique?

I pretty much use Coats and Clarks in a cream color for piecing. As to hand quilting, the quilt itself sometimes "tells" me what color it wants. I have a large number of Connecting Threads colors for that and I also have about 7 colors of Dual Duty hand quilting thread, also by Coats. I don't go really crazy with different threads. I figure ladies a hundred years ago just had what they had and that was it. :-)

I forgot to mention that I use Sulky for machine applique. My Brother SQ9000 sometimes gets a "headache" when I try to use other kinds.

I use different thread for different things- regular sewing thread for piecing by machine or hand, hand quilting thread for hand quilting, specific thread for machine quilting. Never use hand quilting thread in your machine, it has a coating on it that can mess it up

I use Gutermann Polyester for all piecing, machine and hand quilting, etc. and Gutermann Top Stitch Polyester for top stitching.

Unless I'm using the clear monofilament thread for machine quilting, I only use cotton thread. Lately I've been reading about some of the different threads and weights and plys. The more I read the more unsure of what to use I get. I bought several of the Connecting Threads Essentials thread a while back but it seems to break easily when hand piecing. I've used Mettler Silk Finish 50/2 for piecing over the years but recently read that 3 ply is better for piecing.

I used Mettler Silk Finish cotton thread for years in my machine for piecing. Once I tried Aurifil 50wt 2-ply, though, I never wanted to use the Mettler again. The Aurifil is very smooth, leaves almost no lint in my machine, and I can fit more on the bobbin (because it is finer than most threads). It has been plenty strong enough for machine piecing; probably would not work as well for hand piecing, though.

For hand piecing I prefer using a glace cotton thread (thread has been glazed to make it stronger, smoother, and unlikely to tangle). Glace cotton thread should not be used in a machine because it can gum up the tension.

I also like the Aurifil 50wt 2-ply a lot for quilting on my domestic machine. It isn't strong enough for frame quilting with my midarm (Voyager 17).

My favorite thread for quilting on my midarm is Glide thread, which is a trilobal polyester. I tried cotton threads first (King Tut, Signature) but had some shredding and breakage with them; never have those problems with Glide.

So far I prefer cotton thread for piecing -- especially Aurifil 50 wt 2-ply (gives me flatter, more accurate seams). I experimented for awhile with 60wt polyester in the bobbin, then with both top and bobbin, but find Aurifil top and bottom gives me better results.

The differences might seem slight to some people, but over the years I have come to appreciate the cumulative effect of slight improvements on my quilting results.

I use Presencia 60 weight, 3 ply in Winter White or Amost Grey for almost all my machine piecing. For hand piecing, I use Presencia 50 weight, 3 ply. I pick quilting thread depending on the project, but fr machine quilting, I usually use either YLI monofilament or DMC 50/2 cotton embroidery thread. For hand quilting, I usually use Gutterman hand quilting thread. For applique, I prefer Mettler Silk Finish 50/2 or 60/2 or monofilament. For hand applique, I use YLI silk thread.

I just recently bought some Aurifil 50wt. 2 ply cotton. I had heard so many say what a good thread it was, I thought I would give it a try. Boy am I impressed. So smooth & very little lint. I normally use Mettler cotton in either 40wt or 50wt. and I'm sure I will continue to use it. But, now that I have used the Aurifil, it has won me over. More Aurifil purchases in my future.

I use Aurifil cotton 50 wt/2 for piecing and Aurifil 50 or 40 for most quilting. I also use some polyester for a shinier more decorative look or metallic. My variegated is mainly King Tut. My monofilament is YLI.

I also like the Aurifil 50 ct....I am very impressed with it. I also like the King Tut and YLI thread..

Where's the best place (lowest price) for Aurifil 50wt 2ply cotton thread?

Aurifil for piecing, King Tut for quilting and Bottom Line for hand applique.

Another vote for Aurifil for piecing and King Tut for quilting. I sometimes use YLI for quilting. Before Aurifil I used Gutermann for piecing.

For appliqué (machine) I use Superior Highlights or Rainbow as I like a little definition. Sometimes Madeira or Alcazar for a particular colour.

Don't hand sew - other than binding - for which I use silk.

I've used Coat and Clark cotton covered poly for piecing for the last 25 years. My old quilts that I wash in the washer/dryer all the time are doing GREAT. It's harder to get that thread, so I switched to poly covered poly. It's fine too. The important thing for me is to use 37 weight thread at least. Lots of people use 50 weight and finer, and I just don't think that thread is really strong enough. But that's just me.

For quilting, I used Coat's or Star cotton, but more recently have gotten more creative and have been using Glide and Mettler trilobal polyester and Signature cotton.

I hear lots of talk about linty thread. The lintiest part of quilting is batting, followed closely by fabric. I've found that white on whites tend to be especially linty. Thread falls last in that spectrum. Look at the color of your lint. You'll see why I say fabric is a huge contributor.

most of the time I use aurifil thread for piecing- my machines all seem to like it which is a nice change- some of the other choices I've made have not been as good from one machine to another- I like the smooth, fine stitching I get from aurifil. I also use silk thread, some of the connecting threads thread- YLI threads, -- depends on the project, the color I need, what I have on hand, what kind of stitching i'm doing, what the fabrics are like...but aurifil is generally my first choice.

people tend to 'balk' at the prices of aurifil thread- but they are only looking at 'this spool-compared to that spool price' not how much thread they are actually getting- I can go to joanne's and pay $2.89 for a spool of coats & clark (with 220 yards of thread on the spool) or I can order a spool of aurifil for $10 and get 1100 yards of thread ( I think the aurifil is a much better deal! so, I seldom worry about spending that $10- I know the thread is going to go a long way and it is good quality. all that being said---- I buy a lot of mine from Fabric.com since they have free shipping at $35 I can pick up 4 spools of aurifil and have no shipping charges- a great deal for me.

I use a lot of thread for many different things, including when I'm doing my embroidery. My machine loves it all so I use it all when I find what I like. When it comes to piecing, especially if you are dealing with a block with lots of small pieces I only use Aurifil. It's two ply and my blocks come out the right size. Most threads are 3 ply and you can believe how much one ply extra will make in your quilt size. Plus I only use cotton for piecing on cotton fabric so that it'll have a better chance of lasting as long as my fabric does. Other threads, poly, rayon has a tendancy to cut thru cotton over time so I don't take a chance even though I'll probably not be around in the time it takes to happen but I want my quilts to last way after I'm gone.

When I bought my Bernina over 15 years ago, I was told to use Mettler silk finish cotton thread and I still do. since then, there are many types of new threads that have come out. Maybe someday I will try another. One of my new quilting friends has a Bernina similar to mine and she loves King Tut thread.

I use Aurifil for both piecing and quilting on my DSM. Love that thread! For garment sewing, I use either Mettler or Gutermann.

I love Aurifil for piecing because it's so very thin. Although I bought a huge spool of neutral polyester thread from Connecting Threads and piecing with that is really nice too.

For quilting, I'll use Aurifil if I'm doing stitch in the ditch, but if I'm doing a FMQ design or decorative stitching and I want the thread to show up, I go to my huge stash of Connecting Threads cotton thread and use that - it's thicker and shows up better, plus I have a lot more colors in that thread on hand to choose from. I use same thread in the bobbin as whatever I'm using on top.

Looks like I'm the odd one on this subject. I use Connecting Threads 100% cotton (large cones) for piecing, mostly grey, and then I use Superior's Bottom Line in the bobbin. Usually a cream or grey. I'm mixing a 50 wt & 60 wt thread and it helps make for perfect 1/4" seams. On my longarm I just love Glide Thread, but I'm sure it would work just as well for piecing.

For machine piecing, I use a big cone of Masterpiece light grey. I use mostly Mettler silk finish for other machine sewing. Threads of choice for my Innova are Omni, Permacore and Glide. If I want to try something new, I buy one cone. If I REALLY like it and use it alot, I will keep two on hand: one for the machine and one to wind bobbins. I hate to have to take the cone off the machine to wind a bobbin! I love Love LOVE silk for hand applique. The thread just melts into the background.

I piece with good quality thin thread, the brand doesn't matter that much to me. I like 70wt to 50 wt 2ply. I use prewound Superior bobbins for piecing. For machine quilting I use Glide thread and Glide Delight bobbins. I received a gift set of Genziana Cotton Mako (same as Aurifil) and it's great.

I use Aurifil 50wt for piecing and King Tut for machine quilting.

Back before I sold the Brother 2500D, I used C&C cotton machine quilting thread for all my piecing. It's what I started with, and I really didn't know much about different brands of thread. It was readily available and not terribly expensive, particularly when I bought it on sale at Joann's. But when I bought the 8900, it didn't really seem to like C&C so much - I had thread breakage, TONS of lint, and the stitching looked terrible. I started experimenting with various threads, and have pretty much landed on Aurifill 50wt. It doesn't break, there's less lint, and it looks nice.

Now that I have the Brother DreamCreator, I'm using the C&C I had before that I couldn't use in the Janome. No thread breakage, not a lot of lint, and it looks fine. :shock: Machines are weird.

Go figure.

I'm a plain od Coats and Clarks woman. There is a huge variety of colors, the price is right and it is available everywhere. Our guild is having a program on threads and needles soon and I'm looking forward to hearing what she has to say. But I will still be using Coats and Clark. froggyintexas

All thread used in my quilts is 100% cotton because of the damage polyester thread can do to the cotton fibers of a quilt over time.

For piecing: 60-weight, 3-ply, Presencia
For machine quilting: 50-weight, 3-ply, Presencia, 40-weight King Tut, 30-weight Sulky

I use neutrals, solids and variegateds, depending on the look I'm after. Be sure to use a needle correctly sized to the weight of thread you're using so things run smoothly.

Aurifil for sure... I buy it online from Shoppers Rule.

Almost all my piecing is done with Connecting Threads, using Superior Bottom Line threads for the bobbin. About a week ago I got LOTS of threads from ThreadArt.com because of a posting here on the board, there was a sale and I got lots of poly, cotton and rayon threads, alot of them will be used to decorative stitcing / thread painting on fabric postcards. Tho I do have Gutermann, Sulky and others.

You are not the odd one, I also use CT and Bottom Line, but I use lots of light yellow and light green Bottom Line cuz it blends and disappears in so many of the projects that I do. I have big cones of CT in beiges, creams, and grey for piecing.

I use Bottom Line (color champagne) for all my piecing. It pretty much disappears into the fabric.

I use the Aurifil 50 ct and have tried the Masterpiece 50, both on my Janome and my FW. It also worked well on my Pfaff.

For my LA, I have tried Omni, Glide, King Tut, and Aurifil Invisible. I have used Signature when I rented a LA at my old LQS. Signature was their favorite thread. I like the Glide along with the MagnaGlide bobbins.

I have used YLI for making pincushions.

I use Aurifil 50 wt for piecing. I usually use light to medium gray. That seems to work on most any color fabric for piecing. I love how fine it is and it really helps keep a 1/4" seam even after the seam is pressed. I use Gutermann for machine quilting because it is thicker than Aurifil and shows up better. I like it also because it is a consistent quality.

I checked out this site and the price for Aurifil at Fabric.com where I shop is about $3.00 less per spool.

Superior's Masterpiece thread - comes on large cones and has very little lint.

I only use Aurifil 50wt for piecing in any of the neutrals that go best with the fabrics I'm working with at the time. Very little lint, it's very fine and hardly ever breaks in my Bernina 1130. I usually buy it from afquiltsetc on Ebay for quite a bit less than my LQS sells it for, even with shipping. They also combine shipping for more than one spool. Easy, fast and dependable to buy from. I don't quilt myself, but my LAQ uses King Tut and loves it.

Aurifil 50wt 2ply#2600 lt grey I also use some thread from Connecting Threads

I have stuck with Gutermann for just about everything mainly because it is sold at Joann and is on sale quite often. I have tried other threads and do not see enough difference to justify the price. But that is just me. With all of my quilting, I have only gotten one spool that was bad--kept raveling and breaking.

I'm with you, MamaHen! I use Connecting Threads 100% cotton cones, too. Can't beat the price and those cones last forever!