TeresaA

Cotton machine quilting thread is typically tex 40. Go with that if you want a "normal" threadiness. Finer threads are great for background fills and microstippling. Tex 40 would be semi-equivalent to 40/3 yarn size/ply measurement (although don't assume a 40 means both tex 40 and 40 yarn size. It just worked out that way this time). Use a 90/14 or at least an 80/12 needle or you could have needle fray breakage just because of the mechanics of sewing with "thicker" thread. And don't be afraid to adjust your tension. Most sewing machines these days appear to come out of the factory tensioned for serger thread! You should get comfortable with changing the tension for different applications. Buying a separate bobbin case so you have one tensioned for sewing and one for quilting isn't a bad idea either.

Coat and Clark's thread is about tex 37, which would be the equivalent of about 48/3, so it's somewhere in there.

American and Efird has made a spreadsheet to convert yarn size/ply to tex. If you go to this link: http://www.amefird.com/technical-tools/thread-size/ and click on "Conversion program" the link takes you to an Excel spreadsheet.

Good luck.

charlottequilts

I do, too. But I really want to use a sulky blendables 30 on this next one, at least part way.

I am not understanding the part about the strength of the thread vs that of the fabric. I keep reading about the merits of quilting with aurifil 50, for example. I love it for satin stitching because it acts like Mettler cotton 60 but comes in better colors. But it is easily broken. That would certainly keep it from cutting through the fabric, I'm thinking, a plus for the finished quilt.

But if that's important, how can we be using 30s, 40s, and 12s? I'll bet someone here can explain it.

Hugs,
Charlotte

TeresaA

I have 20 year old quilts that I pieced with cotton covered polyester, machine washed and dried about every couple of months and used (abused! ;-) ) every day. The thread is not cutting the fabric. That thread cutting fabric idea is, as they say, a wives tale. Bob at Superior Threads will back this up. I've heard about mythical quilts that were cut by old time 50's polyester thread. I have yet to see them. I have to wonder if they're real.

If you take a modern poly core thread and a 50/3 cotton thread and break each, they will require similar effort to break. They are both medium weight threads, and both good. IMHO, a good thread for piecing is one where you have to wrap it once around your hand to break it. If you can hold both ends without wrapping and can break it, that's a bad sign. People say, no, you can't piece with serger thread because it's too weak. But 50/2 threads like Aurifil are weaker. Just try it.

If you piece with a light weight thread (e.g. Aurifil), IMHO you should quilt closely to protect the seams from breaking. I wish I could remember which high end machine quilter agreed with that sentiment, but at least one did.

A 50/3 thread is the same as about a tex 35. It is considered medium weight. I would be inclined not to go any smaller than that for piecing anything larger than a wall-hanging.

But talking about piecing rather than quilting is a slight high-jacking. Sorry about that.

ghostrider

I sometimes use 12wt for machine quilting and other times 30wt, depends on the quilt and the quilting pattern. My machines (Bernina and Viking) have no trouble with either and I match the top thread weight in the bobbin (yes, even with the 12wt). I like heavier threads (I use 40wt for piecing), but use whatever you like. If it goes through the eye of a needle without shredding, you can quilt with it.

Regarding needle size for heavy threads, remember that the channel size is just as important as the eye size. And you might want to increase the stitch length for quilting with heavy threads. It looks more balanced with longer stitches, more proportionate, and straight stitches are much more important when the scale of thread and stitches is increased. Take the time to get everything just right, and you'll love the result. I've used Sulky cotton in both 12wt and 30wt along with DMC perle cotton in 12wt and really want to try perle cotton in 8wt to see just how far I can push the edge of my envelope.

ShirlinAZ

I like King Tut 40wt thread for quilting on my Pfaff dsm. King Tut recommends a Topstitch 90/14 for use on a home machine and that's what I use.

AnnieSue

I always use Isacord, it's a 40 wt and my machine loves it. It looks more shiney on the spool than the quilt.