I lost my Mother alittle over 3 years ago and was left with lots of mixed thread...LOTS. Not high quality thread, well some are coats & clark. Not sure what to do with it. Been using some in the bobbin. Trying not to gross out my new machine...

You could always donate it to a local group who makes charity stuff? Or I would keep using it in my machine as long as the machine doesn't get mad at you....my machine can be very fussy :-)

I've been using older Coats & Clark thread for years - even some on wooden spools. From some of the postings I have read lately, I think maybe the older thread was better made.

I knew I could count on your quick answers !! Love you guys!

I have thread left to me by my mother who died in 1986...and she had thread left over from her mother, who died in 1964.

The sewing machine shop said to toss it because it isn't any good.

I have put it aside, but I still choose to use it on occasion. For the extra linty stuff, I just clean the machine more frequently.

I am also saving any empty wooden spools....for a project I have yet to discover!

With the prices of everything going up, I would use it as long as it is working well for you. Thread can get pricey! If you're not interested in using it, I like the donating idea. I had a bunch of spools that I bought at a yard sale. I donated them to the community center where they teach kids to sew and quilt.

I don't quite believe the "don't use old thread" rule is valid. I mean, if the thread was stored away from dust and direct sunlight, what's the problem?Maybe not for a show quilt. If the thread sewn into our clothes can endure the stress of wearing, seams getting pulled on when we sit etc, temperature changes from heated indoors to frigid outdoors, and WASHING (with hot and cold water and detergent) and DRYING, then why would thread that's been resting peacefully in box or drawer for years crumble? Most of the time, clothes become unwearable due to stains or wear of the fabric, not the seams. And most of our clothes are hardly couture with the finest thread. I don't think clothes sold at Target have fancy thread in them. So I'm gonna keep using my own thread stash for everything but my finest projects (and those too for appliqué). I suspect some of that "old thread is bad" argument is intended to push us to buy more thread.

Go ahead and keep using it in the bobbin. As long as it's still strong and doesn't break. You're smart to keep it out of your tension discs. Coats and Clark is poorer quality thread, so limit it to the bobbin and you'll use it up that way!

here is an idea for leftover spools my aunt and I did one summer I was visiting. she would go to salvation army or good will or yard sales and pick up costume jewelery then take it apart for the gems...then we would take ribbon and cover the middle of the spools or can paint them. we then would take pieces of the jewelery and glue it onto that to make a design. thread a ribbon through with a bead on the end to keep from pulling through and we would have christmas ornaments.

I have always thought the sewing machine people are in cahoots with the thread people!

Sweet !! I love homemade ornaments. Thanks for the feedback !

I am thinking you are right !!!!

I use all of this sort of thread for basting - hand and otherwise - or on things that aren't really that important.

All of my kitchen and bath towels were fraying badly around the edges. I used a lot of the old thread to secure the edges up.

(Too cheap to buy new towels when these were still good except for the edges and was lucky the colors matched.)

i apply a line of sewer's aid to old threads.

My Mom and I went thru her thread boxes last fall and she gave me loads of Coats and Clark spools that are probably around 20-30 years old. I use them when I turn and hand-stitch the binding. She had quite a variety of colors (some pretty funky), so now I have thread to match pretty much any fabric. I use Aurifil in my machine, but like the Coats and Clark for stitching the binding.

Ha Ha!! I've been using some of my GRANDMOTHERS thread, and she died in 1973 (and probably didn't do ANY sewing for at least the last 2o years of her life)!! My H-Viking isn't fussy about thread, can mix and match no problem, but my Janome is another story. It has to be the "good" stuff and it has to be the SAME stuff top and bottom otherwise it vomits.

Old thread is also great for binding.

Sue

I have a whole bunch of thread that came from one of my husband's Aunts. I bought one of the lamps you can take the bottom off and fill. I filled it full of spools of thread and while I was putting the thread in I wound an old tape measure thru the spools and dropped in a couple of her thimbles. Then I dumped a small tub of craft buttons from Wal-Mart in and shook them thru. It looks really awesome and it's a great keepsake.

If it is poly I will use it for basting

What about making something special for you and siblings if there are any. Have you seen the scarves where you put the threads between two layers of wash away stabilizer and then stitch them down? I did something similar, only I put a piece of contrasting fabric down, then put threads all over that and then put down the layer of washaway. I stitched all over that and then had a piece of fabric to make a bag out of.
Could be a jumping point of something fun to to?

That's different. Haven't thought about those. I've seen them on Nancy Z show and they are very pretty. Thanks for the idea !

I, too, inherited a good bit of old thread from my MIL and have slowly used it as long as it seems to be strong enough for the project. Snap it good to make sure it doesn't break--if it doesn't, it is probably OK to use, at least for hand sewing on bindings and the like. Sometimes even OK for my machine, a Singer. I'm sewing as fast as I can to not leave much old thread left when I'm gone!

Empty spools are great for crafts for kids. Remember making animals with them? Spool is the body, with cardboard front and back legs, yarn or string tails, etc. My First Graders at school have loved making horses that way! Lots of good fine-motor workouts for those little hands, and better than video-game-thumbs!

I think I have enough thread to sew all of my stash---and that's plenty of both! I, too, have much from many years ago and keep using it with fine results. I get excited when I empty a spool, but often don't have to shop to replace it as I have many shades of many colors. Frugal quilters that we are, keep unwinding those spools with your sewing machine.

I think the thread people are the ones who came up with the idea of meandering and other close machine quilting, too. Takes a LOT of thread to do a quilt!

I have some thread that I have no idea how old it is. I do keep that separate from what I know about and use the "off" colors to do basting. It serves a purpose before being discarded.

I'm trying to use up all my older thread piecing.

I too have "old" thread, and if it tends to start breaking, this goes for that good machine embroidery thread too, put it in the freezer overnight, in a plastic bag, it brings back the moisture in the thread and it is strong again. Sounds crazy, but it works.

As to the wooden spools left over, I have used mine as pedestals for projects, also, could be used for arms and legs for dolls. Get creative!!!

I love your idea! Can you post a photo of your lamp?

I have donated some of cheap inherited thread to a local high school's theatre department, but have kept some for basting, etc.

Would love to see a picture.

I don't think I have a picture of that lamp and it's still packed away.

I'll try and get that done next week, they are kinda cute

I don't think I would use thread that is on a wooden spool = too old. Thread does deteriorate over time.

free thread is free thread -- just be sure the quality was there in the first place. If it's linting, it's losing parts of the thread. On the subject of thread, the companies are becoming quite clever about how they package the thread. Before you disregard the more expensive threads (I use Superior Masterpiece for piecing and binding), look at the $ per yard or meter. It truly isn't that much more expensive per unit when buying a 3000 yd @ $22 cone. In many brands that's 5 spools at $5 a spool. No savings there. I use mostly pale green or pale gray -- and Masterpiece doesn't lint! When I was doing a project for which I needed to match a thread with a color I didn't have, I was shocked at how little thread comes even on larger spools and small cones. Their packaging is quite deceiving. Buyer beware!

Here is how to test out your thread to see if it has gone rotten. cut an 18 length and twist the ends around your index fingers a couple of times so you can get some tension on the thread. Pull your fingers apart so you can get a taught line of thread between them. Give it a couple good tugs, to "pop" the thread. If it breaks, don't use it, if not then you are probably good to go.

P.S. Coats and Clark is a good cotton wrapped thread and will sew up fine. You don't need specialty thread for everything. This from a woman who has a wall of threads....oye ve!

I bought a wonderful Singer, circa 1950 ish, http://inlinethumb29.webshots.com/45...200x200Q85.jpg at a wonderful price and she will only let me use Sylko, which is the older Coats n Clark's cottons. These were discontinued years ago but fortunately I can still get hold of them via EBay etc; and there is nothing wrong with the thread at all.

IMO, and many other quilters, it was the finest sewing thread ever made, so much so that Coats have bought it back as "Coats cotton" it's expensive and IMO nowhere near as good as the original. So hang on to them and use them on special quilts.

My mother just down sized and gifted me with tons of sewing thread. I am using it to piece my quilts together and then I purchase new cotton thread for the quilting designs. That way I have a part of her in my quilts too.

I have a stash of thread too some from a sister that was an avid quilter,sewer some from a yard sale with boxes of bargains etc. If it is a wooden spool and hundred percent cotton would be afraid of the strength, if it is a plastic spool with some poliester I have used lots on the bobbin I still try to use newer on top spool and have not had a problem with bronken seams. I like the new threads coming out that are marked for hand quilters to use for the hand hem on bindings I find it does not knot as badly and I am sure is much better for the hand quilter also.I also hem with a small between needle just like quilters use.

My sewing machine is a Pfaff about 20 years old.I have found linty thread does make the machine need more cleaning. I treasure my machine and take good care of it. I found a braqnd that is less linty and I use it. Some threads are more pricey but I fiqure this machine will be the last one I buy. Especially since I do not Lottery tickets.

My sewing machine is a Pfaff about 20 years old.I have found linty thread does make the machine need more cleaning. I treasure my machine and take good care of it. I found a brand that is less linty and I use it. Some threads are more pricey but I fiqure this machine will be the last one I buy. Especially since I do not Lottery tickets.

I love old thread because I do a lot of applique work. I can go to my old thread boxes (organized by colors and shades) and find almost any color I want. Who wants to go buy a whole spool just for a tiny part of the quilt applique. Some quilts have been around for countless years and their thread is fine. I love being able to get all the cool effects from using just the right colors.

I read once that you can revive old thread by putting in the freezer for a while. Take it out, and when it "thaws" it will absorb moisture and be OK again. Haven't tried it, so I can't speak from personal experience. Sounds plausible, however.

I would use it. If you have trouble with a particular spool, either toss it or donate it.