Pretty much what everyone else said - the only real "rule" is that hand quilting thread is not for machine quilting, and check old thread to see if they break easily before using them in your machine. If you can snap it with your hands - chances are pretty good it can snap in your machine.

Other than that ... choose what you like either by color or weight. Sometimes you'll want a heavier (12, 28 or 30 wt) to stand out more, sometimes you'll want to stick with the usual 40 or 50 wt. Match the bobbin weight similar to the top weight - for example I use 60wt in the bobbin a lot with a 50wt in the top, but using a 60wt in the bobbin with a 30wt in the top will produce poor results.

You also need to make sure that your using the right thread with the right needle to get good results. Don't discount a thread until you've made sure to try it on at least 2 different needle sizes (perhaps even 3 if it's a heavier thread).


Buy thread in different colors and weights and fibre content from different manufacturers - then give them all a try. I recently did a large FMQ project and discovered that there were at least three thread manufacturers in my collection that I didn't like because of the amount of fuzz they produced, and some produced fray's and breakages - and one of them is a *top* name brand - so YOU need to try them with your machine and your style of quilting - then make YOUR decision. And if you have more than one machine - each machine may produce different results.

Of the three that I didn't like - I did a trade for the 10 new or almost new spools of one manufacturer because I also didn't like the "look" of the thread (no sheen to it at all, looked dull and fuzzy while it was still on the spool). The others I kept and I'll use them eventually, even if it's just for sewing on buttons and binding.

The threads I love ... Aurifil, and Superior in the top, and I'll also use Gutterman in the bobbin (not crazy about gutterman in the top though - but it's lovely in the bobbin).

Thread is certainly a voyage of discovery. It's a good idea to keeps notes as you go. I have a steno pad in my sewing room and I'm constantly making different notes in it, and using it as a scratch pad for some quick math.