Would you use a dissolveable thread on your quilting machine?
 

Hello, I have this gigantic spool of dissolveable thread a friend gave me eons ago. Where she got it will be a mystery as she died a couple years ago so can't ask her. Anyway, a friend asked me if I could baste some of her smaller quilts so she can try her hand at quilting them on her DSM with some new rulers she picked up. I've always ponder over how folks that baste their quilts before they actually quilt them........how do you get the basting stitches out afterwards? Don't they get caught by the quilting pattern thread? As this is dissolveable thread and I always wash my quilts before I give them out as gifts this would be a great way to baste before I quilt them.

Any pros and/or cons you see with using this thread? Could it damage my machine? Gum it up?

Advice is greatly appreciated from you all. Thanks.

yes, I have used it. and I have use adhesive spray baste. The dissolvable thread does not gum up your machine.

Before I got a longarm, I used Vanish, the water soluble thread from Superior Threads, to baste a large quilt before quilting on my DSM. After I got the Innova, while I was still trying to figure out how to keep a quilt nice and square during quilting, I tried using Vanish before quilting with "real" thread. That experiment did prove that I could quilt on the longarm with Vanish, but I had to go slowly since it's a very fine thread and prone to breakage, and I learned that there are easier ways to keep the quilt square. (The other thing I had to remember was not to wet the thread when threading it through the needle - duh!)

You're right that basting stitches (unless with a thread like Vanish) need to be taken out as the quilting is done, just as basting pins need to be removed.

I love it, do not wet water soluble thread prior to threading a needle. Just won't work, it dissolves. That is something that I would probably try. Wait a minute, I probably have, as I use it occasionally to baste with.

I have used it to baste quilts on my Handiquilter Sweet 16, and I like it. I pinned first and then ran a basting stitch down the middle of all the blocks. It doesn't have to be even, just enough to hold things together. I the. Took out the pins and had much more freedom to quilt. I used it in the top and bobbin so no picking threads out after the fact. For my next big quilt, a friend is going to use it to baste the quilt on her long arm for me. I did loose my top tension some, but nothing else. All it has to do is stay put until I wash it, so the tension doesn't have to perfect.

Pam

I have used it in the past, not for basting, but to further stabilize the quilt when I don't want to SID. Washed right out when I washed the quilt after finishing.

It's often used as the top thread when doing trapunto - not sure if it's used in the bobbin as well. The design is stitched out on the quilt with batting beneath first, which is then cut away. After the whole thing is quilted for real with another layer of batting and proper thread the washaway thread on top is washed away, and the cotton from the bobbin stays in the quilt.

Fancy making a whole-cloth quilt?

Trapunto is exactly how I've used the dissolveable thread! It works really well for this purpose. The bobbin thread (regular thread) stays inside the layers, and the top thread dissolves after first washing. And since it's rather fine as well, it doesn't interfere with any other top-stitching you may do.

If you've had the thread for a long time, try it out first on a test piece. I seem to remember reading that this type of thread has to be stored in a plastic bag to retain its properties. This could mean that if it wasn't stored properly, it won't completely dissolve ...

Have never used it. But not hard to remove basting thread just snip it as you go.