Why Do The Threads In My Quilts Keep Breaking?
 

About a year after I had finished a super large bargello quilt, I noticed that some of the quilting had come loose. No big deal, I would just fix it. Then, I noticed last night that my newest quilt, just finished this past summer had the same problem. The bargello was quilted with cotton variegated thread from Coats & Clark and the newer quilt was quilted with 40w embroidery thread from Coats & Clark and that quilt hasn't even been washed yet.

I've had this problem before with Sulky threads but never C&C. I've tried the break test with both threads and they held up, trust me. My finger's still sore. Just not sure what's going on. I'd blame the washer but the newer one hasn't been washed yet and hardly even used. I just put it on my bed recently. Any ideas what's causing the breakage?

First of all, to clarify .... are you meaning the actual "quilting", or the stitches in the piecing? I'm thinking the actual quilting.

Just a thought ...... Is it breaking? or is it coming loose, where the start/end of the thread has not been secured?
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It's probably the quality of the thread. I don't think C&C is extra long staple Egyptian cotton. The long staple is the key. Long staple means that the individual fibers are longer. Egyptian cotton is a type of cotton, not where it's grown.

If you do the math you'll find Aurifil is as cheap to use as C&C and it's finer, has less lint and doesn't have the slubs like C&C does.

Not sure I understand the problem. Is the thread in the seams actually breaking, or it it coming apart at the start or end of quilting seam.

I typically do not use emboidery thread for the quilting, most types are not a strong as a cotton or poly thread. Look at the fiber content of the emboidery thread. Most rayon thread have great sheen , but lacks strenght. Embroidery thread is intended to be decorative, and most brands will not hold up to the stress on the quilting.
A factor in the breakage can also be how far apart you are quilting. If you quilt a good distance apart , when you are using the quilt and tug on it to repostion the quilt , grabbing the top , you can put alot of stress on that single stitch( quilting) line. Quilting closer together , can distribute that stress over more threads.
I would stress test my threads by pulling from each end before quilting , to ensure the thread can stand up to the use in the quilt.
Another factor is the needle size you are using. If the needle is small , there could be some shreading ( not quite enough to break while quilting) but enough to shorten the life of the thread in the quilt.

Just a guess, but I'd say the thread is too tight

I use C&C hand quilting thread in all my hand quilted quilts. Few are over 8 years old no issues. I hope you find the problem! if so I'd love to know just for info. Thanks and so sorry I know how much work goes into hand quilting...slow process but the end result is priceless!

Another question .... is this hand quilting? or machine quilting?

C & C doesn't have a good reputation for quality thread.

do you sit on your quilt while it's on the bed? that too can put pressure on stitches. take your thread from the spool and try to break it with your hands by pulling. if it breaks, don 't use it. good luck.

My opinion would be its the cotton thread. Most cotton thread is not strong enough by itsself to withstand the stress put on it. Make sure the starts and stops are well secure, and you might want to change to a cotton wrapped poly thread, which gives the look of cotton with the strength of poly.

I agree with Lori S. My first thought was if your needle size (eye size) was just a bit too small for the thread, the eye could have caused 'chaffing' of the thread which weakened it - especially if the thread was not a long staple thread (which I don't believe C&C is).

And again agree with Lori ... could be the length of the stitch if thread was pulled too tight while quilting. We're these quilts FMQ'd or quilted with a walking foot? The tension could also have been a little too tight.

Combination of all of the above - tension, wrong needle size, and stitched too taut.

If I were you, I would start by A) switching to a different thread, either a long staple cotton or a cotton wrapped poly. B) making sure you have the right needle size for the thread you are using and the task you are performing. You can find some GREAT info online about threads and needles - and their correlation to each other, often on the manufacturers web site. Check out superiorthreads.com for lots and lots of "threaducation" including needles. And while you're there - check out the thread they sell too - awesome stuff.

Sorry, I should've clarified:

It's the actual quilting that's breaking, not coming loose.
I quilted pretty close stippling on the newer quilt and on the older one it was no more than 2" apart.
They're both machine quilted.

Hmmm.... I use whatever thread I have at hand for machine quilting so can't clarify what brand... I have only one quilt that the stitches have broken a little on, and it's usually near the beginning or ending or a row of stitching. It is a quilt that we use as a picnic quilt & pull over us when it's cool etc.

I think I solved the mystery!! While lying in bed this morning, my youngest DD's cat jumped up on the bed. He's only 7 months old so we haven't declawed him yet. The vet was hesitant. Anyways, he jumped on the bed, twirled, lied down and then began kneading his claws and I could hear him scratch the fabric in my half awake grogginess!! So, I scooted him off the bed and sure enough, there's a little tear in the thread there, just like the other ones! Eeeeeekkkkkkk!

Good to hear the mystery is solved. My household has a cat who loves to knead --he is almost 14 yrs. So I have him now trained to just lie on a quilt, but to use a piece of fleece to knead. Happy Cat and Happy Quilter.

Sorry, I guess I didn't clarify. It's the actual quilting that was breaking, not the piecing. But, I think I've found the culprit. My DD's kitten was caught kneading my bed quilt early this morning and it snapped a few of the threads. So, he's locked out of the bedrooms at the moment and an appointment is being made for him to lose his claws in a few weeks.

Dear PS150, the cat did it. Your best friend, Fido

Just so you know, when they declaw a cat they cut off the whole last joint of their "finger."

LOL!! Right about now, the dog would blow the whistle on the cat. He keeps teasing the pup. We're crate training and I heard some whining so I went to check on our pup and the cat was lying on top of the kennel. Oh joy, lol.

I know, and I hate to do it, but it was already decided upon before this. We've never declawed before and normally the thought of it makes me shudder. Our oldest cat is a rescue pet and she came to us already declawed but we've never actually wanted to do it. Our youngest DD has a medical condition that affects her hands. When she has a flare-up of her syndrome, she absolutely cannot have any punctures to the skin on her hands or fingers. DH made the decision to declaw after the cat was playing beside our DD, reached up and clawed her hand and later her face. I don't know if he was batting at her hair or anything else but DH made that call and I have to respect him on this. I've always been a firm believer that if there's a disagreement between husband and wife, then the husband's decision supersedes the wife's...I spent the first 8 years of my life living with my grandparents and really find a lot of my beliefs rooted in their "Great Depression Way Of Life," and my own biblical views. The cat belongs to our youngest, the one with the medical condition, and DH won't get rid of him, especially since in all other regards, he's the sweetest cat. But, he's still a kitten and very playful.

If people put their knees into the quilt when they sit down, like a lot of children do, that can cause problems with the thread. I have always heard that CC is supposed to be good thread and have found it much better than a lot I have used.

One of the owners of 'my' lqs told me not to use embroidery thread for quilting as it breaks easily.

Well, I don't know if this is traditional embroidery thread. It's just shiny like that, but it's a 40 weight instead of a 50 weight so it's stronger. I just refer to it as embroidery thread because that's what it looks like. I tried the finger test on it though and it didn't break so that's why I used it.