thread & weight
 

Hello Quilters, can you tell me what weight of thread do you usually use to quilt? I recently purchased a 'new to me' sit down and was wondering what is most commonly used. I have some cones I had for years, but still strong. I can't break it when I try. It was leftover from factory work. Some cones say polyester wrap polyester, others the label is gone from the cone. Do you use polyester or cotton threads? Just wondering. Also, what is most commonly used color when you have multicolors in your quilt. For instance I just quilted a tan colored backing, but my pieced top was multicolored browns and tans. I used a khaki tan thread. It looks great in the center panel, but the brown bricks around show all my quilting. On the bed you don't notice but when you study it, you do. Please don't tell me invisible thread.:thumbdown: I bought a spool and could never find the end and ended up with a tangled mess. I think I threw it and I paid around $8 for a spool, not a cone, some time back. If I had to fool with another one, I'd probably hang myself with it. Thanks in advance for your comments-Toogie

I discovered Glide 100% polyester thread by mistake. It is an embroidery thread but it is so pretty once it is quilted up. It has just a bit of a sheen and pretty much zero lint. I have used it on my sit down and my domestic and both machines love it. I have not been able to find varigated Glide thread but a varigated type thread looks nice on multicolored fabrics.

I also like Glide and Isacord for quilting. I am just starting to experiment with Bottom Line in the bobbin.

I LA with mostly SoFine #50--no lint, no shine, sinks into the fabric (which means boo-boos not as obvious!), I also like Permacore and will sometimes use Glide if I'm wanting some shine (but I always seem to struggle with a good wind on bobbin with Glide?) and recently used Superior Magnifico, much like Glide but seems a little finer. With SoFine #50 I use a #16 needle, with the others a #18. I hear you on finding the end of the invisible thread--I do use Superior MonoPoly with netting. with both the Magnifico and MonoPoly I do loosen the top tension some. I personally don't like to quilt with all cotton thread--so very linty and it's "thicker" (#18 needle) so more obvious and seems to shred more often. Was glad to see that Superior is starting to make some of their poly threads as varigated.

There is a variegated thread called Afinity in Glide's color card. I just used it to quilt the body of an OBW, and when I changed to Glide for the border I didn't have to make any adjustment in bobbin tension, so if they aren't the same thing they are very close.

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Daffy

Thread and the quilting done with it, can often be as much of a design element as the piecing and in some cases it is the only design element (wholecloth). I have stated here often that my thread addiction is almost as bad as my fabric addiction. There are so many options available to us and we should take advantage of them. And they all have their advantages for different situations.

I would say that the vast majority of my quilting is done with 40 wt poly. My thread of choice is usually Glide trilobal polyester thread (I love the subtle shine of it) but I do not use it exclusively. Factors that impact what type of thread I am going to use include what type of quilting I am doing (custom with lots of backtracking, a panto E2E, SITD etc), the ultimate use of the quilt (utility, show quilt, wallhanging), and of course, color.

I will often use several different threads on the same quilt. For SITD I prefer a super fine 100wt thread like Wonderfil Invisifil or monofilament, either Superior Monopoly, a polyester or Filtec (The maker of Glide) Essence, a nylon. I will also use 100 wt when I just want texture but don't want the thread to show at all. And then there are all those yummy specialty threads like metallics and holographics. Here is a link to a quilt I did that used a lot of different threads, each one suited to the look I was trying to achieve. https://www.quiltingboard.com/pictures-f5/quan-yin-show-quilt-t297585.html

Variegated threads I will only use in designs that involve no backtracking as it tends to not be very pretty when extensive backtracking is done, the build up is very obvious and the overlay of the variegation changes the look IMHO. Pantos look great in varigated. I have used King Tut mostly when I use variegated but have also used the Glide version which is a much more subtle variegation of color than King Tut. Here are links to two examples. One I did all in Affinity and the other in King Tut.
https://www.quiltingboard.com/pictures-f5/retirement-quilt-coworker-t293700.html
https://www.quiltingboard.com/pictures-f5/super-bright-colorful-kids-quilt-sunglasses-warning-t297993.html

Color is all preference. I will audition threads by pooling several feet of it over the surface of the quilt, trying to get on all the different colors to see what I like best. Yes you will have areas where the thread will show much more than others but I think that is just fine. In fact, most of the time I try to choose something that shows a bit on all the colors so the eye doesn't perceive the quilting as stopping and starting again, I go for a bit of contrast and sometimes a go for a lot of contrast. Here are two examples of quilting with high contrast thread where the quilting became a design element just as much as the piecing.
https://www.quiltingboard.com/pictures-f5/peony-fantasy-asian-panel-quilt-massively-quilted-t302441.html
https://www.quiltingboard.com/pictures-f5/agave-garden-big-reveal-t270708.html


I have found that the two most neutral colors that seem to play nice with everything are goldy beiges and sage greens. A neutral color, combined with a super fine thread will show only texture from a normal viewing distance of a couple of feet and you will only see the actual thread on close inspection.

There is no reason you can't use those cones you have, even if you don't know the weight or fiber content. If the thread is still strong and behave nicely in you machine use it! The best way to know if you like a certain weight, color or type of thread is to experiment and have fun.

I read about Glide on this forum and was at a show earlier this winter where they were a vendor. I purchased some and love it. I also learned by reading on this forum about poly thread vs. cotton and less lint. When I first found this forum and was a learker, I at that time was using all cotton thread. This forum has converted me to poly thread and I can see a big difference in my piecing machine. I bought a new to me midarm quilting machine this winter and have used nothing but poly thread in it, and most recently Glide. I have not had to play with the tension and no broken threads.

My reading on here and taught me that the machine will let you know when it finds the thread it likes, your stitching will flow and the process will be enjoyable.

Enjoy your new to you machine and enjoy the experience.

I use Glide and buy the prewound Glide bobbins to match the top color. Not every color has the bobbin but there is a bobbin thread color that is close. My favorite go to Glide quilting thread color is Cleopatra. It looks very different on the quilt then it does on the spool. It goes great with multi color quilts.

I am another Glide polyester lover. It's a 40 weight. The price is usually very reasonable. I couldn't justify paying $30+ for King Tut when I could buy Glide for $10~12 and for the same amount of thread. Pooling the thread is my only way to figure out which thread I want to use. Laying the cone on the quilt and seeing the thread spread out is like day and night. fyi....If you iron after quilting, which I never do, you do have to turn your iron temp down a bit. Too hot of an iron can melt the polyester.

I do wind my own bobbins. A badly wound bobbin can play havoc with the quilting. If one winds poorly, I will just rewind the thread to another bobbin, paying attention that the thread stays snug on the bobbin. My older Nolting like the Glide and it doesn't always like other brands, so I stick with what my old man likes.

Edited to add:
I looked up the cost of the threads....they have went up since I last bought them. King Tut is running about $25 for 2000 yards....Glide is running about $20 for 5000 yard cones. Still a significant savings.

I was dumb and bought a dozen cones of Glide for $7 a cone when I came upon a sale years ago, and didn't know that my machine might not like it. At that time, I didn't know that some machines had a preference. "smile" I felt so fortunate when I tried quilting with it and it worked quite well.

I too love glide. Well worth the extra money!