Rodney

It's only in the last few months since I started quilting that I've even payed attention to thread. The quilt I'm making now is being pieced with Coats & Clark Dual Duty. I just looked, it's 100% poly. It looks and acts just like cotton to my untrained eye. It's also nothing like the monofilament thread used in cheap bedspreads. I've had the same experience with that stuff breaking and sticking out and would never use it (maybe the new stuff is better). I've had no problems with pressing the C&C thread I'm using. I guess time will tell about it cutting into the cotton cloth. I'm also wondering how UV resistant it is, that could be another weakness over time. I'll probably switch to cotton for future projects. I'm learning quickly that buying the small spools available in regular stores isn't very cost-effective when quilting. I want to switch to large spools or cones measured in thousands of yards instead.
Rodney

shirleyd

It has been interesting to read all the input and opinions on types of thread. I've usually used cotton thread because that was what I was told I should use. I've wondered if it was really that important. I once used the fishline, invisible thread and that was a nightmare! My machine did not like it. I'll probably continue to use cotton thread but may occasionally make an exception if I want a shinier look. Thanks everyone.

ArchaicArcane

What weight of aurifil cotton were you using? The regular 50wt many of us use for piecing is just too thin, and won't take punching through the fabric as many times as needed to make a stitch. It goes in and out of the fabric and travels around the hook assembly a ton of times before it can stop and rest as part of the seam. It's virtually impossible to use on a LA from what I'm told. I have some 40wt here I thought I'd try though. I love their polys for LA quilting though. Almost as much as the Glide.

Additionally, some of the invisible threads are now poly instead of nylon, so night and day difference in behavior. I think Superior also has a video about that too. Talks about the melting and brittleness of the nylon.

When I attended a quilting class in Nov, one of the other ladies attending the class said she'd dome some work or volunteering at one of the local museums. She said that she'd been told that museums were seeing the cotton thread rotting, and they were losing the surface design (the quilting part), and as such, they were recommending that cotton be used for piecing, and poly for the surface design. I don't know what museum it was, so I don't know how easy it would be to verify... I think it was in Calgary.

In general, poly is also a little more forgiving because it's a tiny bit elastic, so it will stretch a tiny bit before it will break. This makes it really friendly for slightly imperfect tension. I think this is part of why at least one LA company recommends using poly for about the first 6 months while you bond with your LA.

I think the way we quilt has changed a lot too. On a LA for instance, we used to run the tension quite tight, and force those layers to do what we wanted. Now, we run our tension incredibly loose. I've started doing the same when I FMQ on a domestic too. It will change what the thread does with the fabrics.

Definitely some of the polys will be stronger than cottons, but a lot of the cottons are also stronger than the polys. It's possibly unsafe to make a blanket statement at all. In fact, it's not even fair to say that polys are mainly lint free. I ran Gutermann poly on my LA once. (Using it up, practice, etc) Never again. It's lintier than some cottons I've used.

I would definitely believe that with the older polys. I've tried the break test on them a few times and actually cut my fingers. The Superior, Glide and Aurifil Polys I have here ALL break significantly easier than that.

I've noticed this too. I won't use it to piece because of that, even by machine. As others have suggested, I like the combination of cotton for piecing and a good poly for quilting.


Some of the new polys have a very low sheen, it's purposely done to appease people who don't like the shine of poly. I wonder if that process is also making the thread less slippery and hold a little better for piecing. Watch your intersections on your piecing for raveling as oksewglad mentioned that her knots don't hold as well. I experienced the same with machine quilting, I tried to do some paper piecing, and the thread didn't hold up to all the fidgeting I do with the block with PP. It didn't break, it unraveled.

There's a post on my site that can help you with some of the costs associated with common quilting threads (all cotton) - www.archaicarcane.com/common-thread-evaluating-the-real-cost-of-thread/

This is how myths pass from generation to generation. We get told by someone to do something or not do something. Just like another one a lot of us were told: "Don't ever touch the tension dial!" I can use any thread I want to with my machines if I am willing to adjust tension.

I say experiment and enjoy the journey.

Dalronix

I may be totally misunderstanding your point but isn't Dr Bob in the following videos dispelling the myth that cotton is superior to polyester for quilting?

http://www.superiorthreads.com/video...ster-part-one/

http://www.superiorthreads.com/video...ster-part-two/

LynnVT

Wow, so many opinions and some really good logic, too. One topic not mentioned here is that not all cotton is the same. Certain cotton threads are made of Egyptian cotton, long staple fibers. These make a smoother thread with fewer fuzzy bits that can clog up your bobbin area. Recently I was quilting on my Sweet 16 and noticed that I could actually see tiny fuzzies on the thread as it passed down to the needle, and I brushed out little clumps of fluff when I changed the bobbin. It was a sample of Superior Omni, which is "poly wrapped poly." So not all fuzzy thread is cotton. I talked with a local shop owner/professional quilter who said he prefers Superior So Fine#50 for some quilting jobs as it has a smoother texture than the Omni and less clog factor. I bought a cone, so I'll get to try it next. He also explained the difference in fibers of some cottons, such as the Egyptian. He has been experimenting with an Italian made thread, but I don't recall the brand.

Prism99

Wow, ArchaicArcane. Thanks for all the great info and insight!

ArchaicArcane

Superior makes a big deal of the fact that their thread are actual Egyptian grown extra long staple cotton. Dr Bob will tell you that not all Egyptian cotton is Egyptian grown as well. (There's another video somewhere on that. I sat and watched all of the Thread therapy on YouTube one day) So, it may be that the Egyptian angle is polluted, but certainly the XL, vs L, vs whatever the heck some of those dollar store brands are is worth considering.

Yes, one of the lintiest threads I've used was a poly thread. I even shuddered when I loaded a Gutermann poly on my domestic last night to install a binding on a charity quilt. I will have to clean that poor machine out now too.

Aurifil is made in Italy, but he didn't say it was "Genziana" did he? Tristan in BC sells it as pretty much interchangeable with Aurifil, to my understanding.

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My pleasure! If I repeat it here, I can do a search and not have to remember it.

captlynhall

I like cotton thread. It feels and handles well and as I hand quilt that is important.
I decided to do a small place mat sized quilt for my daughter in laws wheel chair table, and thought I would try my hand at machine quilting it. Since it wasn't intended to be heirloom I used some polyester thread I had accidentally purchased. I hated it. It was so crawly I found myself wanting to scream before I finished that project. When it was done, I threw the remainder of the spool in the trash.

I remember once seeing a bumper sticker on a Ford that said "Friends don't let friends drive Chevy's". To each his own. In other words, if it works for you, keep doing it.

Stitchnripper

Does anybody use Madeira cotton thread or YLI thread? Nancy Zieman uses Madeira and our guild had a YLI rep come one time and she said her opinion was to use whatever thread you and your machine liked to get the effect you wanted.

MaggieBB

I know this to be true, I have been quilting for more than 30 years, in some of the earlier writings HH is not so addiment about what to use but over the years her opinions seem to have changed.