Being a newbie at this, one question that I have is what basic thread colors do you keep in your inventory and how much so that you are always ready to go when the mood strikes? After all if you maintain a sizable stash of fabric, then you should also have a good stash of thread also, is this not true? What do you recommend as types of thread to keep at the ready? :roll:

I almost always use Masterpiece thread by Superior Threads in a medium gray.

For piecing I keep a lot of cream colored thread on hand (usually buy it 50% off at Joann's). It a good neutral color that even works well with dark fabrics. I probably have 3-4 big spools of this always. I haven't done a whole lot of machine quilting, but when I do I just buy the color I need to match at that time, this has given me a small collection of colors to have handy. But for piecing I really only use the cream, so I make sure to have a lot of it.

Cheers!
Rachel

I always have black, white, ecru, and a light sage green on hand. The light sage green works really well for almost everything. If what I'm working on has a whole lot of white I'll use a white thread and the same for the black. On the pink, orange, and yellow quilt I'm working on I use the ecru. It seems to blend well with all three colors.

I have alot of thread, but i found that i use mostly neutral colors..white,creams,greys. i use a coupon and usually buy Guttermans at JoAnns, or wait for the thread sale..
i love using a verigated thread for quilting..
i did buy a big cone of thread from
http://www.connectingthreads.com/quilting+thread.html

to try out.
all the colors i have, i will never use..
i have "masterpiece",Aurifil,bottom line,and a few others..all of them work well in my machine..

I have all colors and sometimes use them, but in my first and only class, the teacher said to use gray and green for most fabric. Sometimes I do, sometimes I don't.

I always make sure that I have white, off white and gray to piece with. :D

great info

i treated myself to one of each collection at connectingthreads.com, plus one big spool each of white, cornsilk, and black. (i already have enough gray to last a while.)

one big spool = 100 bobbins. so two spools should last at least a year.

will i ever use all of those colors? probably not. but they sure are pretty to look at! :lol:

This is one of the MANY reasons I love this Board -- who else would understand that thread is pretty???? :D :D

I use only threads by superior, there is a lot less lint and it is a finer thread than the "joanns and walmart" type thread. I have white, black and 2 or 3 shades of gray. Gray blends in with eveything, I do a test on my fabric first to see which will blend the best especially if I'm working with stark differences in color.

I buy a big cone of neutral and gray of any name brand thread for piecing. I like Connecting Threads big cones, Superior, YLI, FilTec, Sulky, Guttermann, whatever is on sale for the best value. I like Glide thread for machine quilting I like Bottom Line for my bobbins but recently found InvisaFil thread. It's very thin and strong, perfect for bobbin and works great for machine quilting. It sews like YLI silk thread. There are so many good thread for sewing, it's all a matter of what you and your machine likes.

:-D :-D I bought a whole set of Robison-Anton 130 spools of thread to put on a big thread rack just because the set was so pretty. I consider it art for my sewing room. It's cheaper then good art and useful too.

I have one of each of the collections from Connecting Threads and have invested in a couple extra of the neutrals and the black and white. I really should get some of the cones. Their prices are even better. I just love all those pretty colors. :-D

I started using Aurifil for piecing and i always have white, black, and ecru on hand. I'm in love with the King Tut thread by Superior. I love using their variegated thread for the quilting. It's beautiful and sews like a dream! The only downfall...it's not cheap.

I keep white, black, and a light and medium ecru in big spools handy for piecing. I bought a big lot of varigated on ebay for quilting, as well as some solid colors. I plan on adding to these as I come across sales. One of my LQS had a basket of all kinds of spools for $1 each, I picked up another 15 :D:D:D

I keep plenty of white, gray and ecru on hand but also have a serious collection of colored thread in case I need to use them. When machine quilting. I uusually use a matching thread on the bottom and whatever will hide best on the top which I am surprised sometimes by what will work. I recently used purple on the top and it worked well. Several quilting friends were horrified by my use of purple but I quilt for myself and not to make others happy. :):):)

Good for you. That's why I quilt. That's also why I've never put my quilts in a show to be judged.

Thanks for the support. My nonquilting friends seem to like/love the projects soI do have people for whom I make quilts.

I have all different colors. Love seeing them. For piecing like most everyone else, white, off white, cream, and grey. For hand quilting I have everything I can get my hands on. So inspirational.

Aurifil all the way for piecing and most quilting. The same neutral colors mentioned. Depends on the quilt for the quilting. Occasionally YLI variegated for quilting, great colors.

For hand applique I use YLI silk.

Three colors of thread is all that is necessary for piecing.
I always have a white/cream, a light tan, and a medium gray. with these three you can piece light, medium, and dark fabrics.
Always buy a good quality thread. I usually use Mettler. But a local quilt shop had Masterpiece by Alex Anderson on sale. So I've been using this thread lately. Cheap thread will leave a lot of lint in your machine. If you are going to do Applique,you will need more thread colors to match your fabrics.

I use a good quality thread for piecing in Grey, beige or black. One of these colors will work with almost all fabric colors.

I asked for a "frosted donut" for christmas. For those of you who don't know what it is - it is 36 bobbins filled with a rainbow of Masterpiece thread - great for applique. Most of my family could not begin to understand how I could be so happy over thread!!

I use grey or off white for most piecing.

For most piecing, I use Connecting Threads -- my machines all like it, and you can't beat the price. Also, I use a lot of dark grey or navy blue for piecing (on darks) and a butter/cornsilk color for piecing on lights. If you've ever had to "un"sew on black fabric, you'll appreciate how easy it is to see the navy or grey against the black background.

I've sewn for years and have a large collection of colors. When I am quilting, I typically use a neutral color as it blends well with most. I'm fixing to start a black, red and white quilt and will probably use black for most of it. One thing I try to keep in mind when I am getting ready to piece a project (especially when I am machine quilting) is to have several bobbins already wound. If I'm using my Singer it can't wind a bobbin indepedent of the sewing functions and it is really frustrating to have to unthread the machine to wind a bobbin. :|

AMEN to the frustration opf having to unthread to wind bobbins.

Ditto what you said patrice. I have one of each and many doubles/triples of the large purchase seperate spools (For quilting on thier kits I bought.) Makes it easier to find the right color that way.
I also use Aurifil , King Tut and other Superior threads. It depends on whether or not the piecing is complicated with lots of intersecting lines or not. The quilting thread is dependent on how nice the quilt is. If I have invested a couple hundred dollars or more in a top, I want the best I can get my paws on ...LOL!
Drag around quilts, I use a medium grade thread my machine likes.

I love the thread from Connecting threads. The color collections are great. I use the neutral colors for piecing.

I'm with you....I love to look at the colors!

For those that don't like to unthread to wind bobbins, have you thought about the Sidewinder? I have one and it works great.

I have two of those giant cones of Precensia thread in beige. I have 50 weight for piecing and 60 weight for applique. I use both for bobbins and I use the 50 in the top for piecing as well. I also have the sew art invisible thread in black and white for applique. I had to branch out into colors when it came to quilting.

If you don't mind the look of it you can use the invisible for quilting and keep your thread collection small but I like all the decorative quilting. If you get 60 weight the color doesn't show up as much on the quilt top but you won't get little bird's nests. If you get 50 weight you can get bird's nests and knots if you're not careful but the color looks good on the top. Also, if you don't like using invisible, you'll need all the colors for applique.

I use lots of gray and off white, the gray blends in with most colors.

I like metrozine thread I use a med grey it blends with most fabrics