Question about Aged Thread
 

I have about 30 full bobbins that are over 40 years old, but look good. They were given to me along with other stuff. I don't trust their strength, so I am reluctant to sew with them. Thoughts?

If they are silk or linen, they might be fine. Cotton thread not so much, especially on the outside of the bobbin where it's exposed to air. Sometimes the thread, even though it's old, will hold together for basting something. Like you, I'm reluctant to use it for stitching anything permanent.

If you can easily break the thread, is time to go whether on spool or on bobbin. If the thread is still strong, well you should be fine.

But life is too short to worry about old bobbin thread - or even old bobbins unless of unusual size.

If the thread is decades old then that is decades off the life of the quilt made with new fabric. If you have fabric about as old as the thread then it would be fine to use it so not wasting good to the bad. Just my thinking anyway.

I bought a lot of old bobbins for my FW and 301 machines. Some of them had thread on them. I didn't use any of it for sewing. I used some for basting but that's it. I don't trust that old thread and don't feel it's worth the few bucks I'd save to use it and having it go bad on me.

I know how and where my thread is stored, but no one else's. anything in bobbins (lots of that with my vintage machines days) or on wood spools, or the $1.00 a spool type stuff, often was on styrofoam spools. anyway, as we say, life is short and all that stuff goes into the round file (trash)

I don't even need the bobbins, so I guess they'll go to the donation station. Thanks for the push!

I was told Very Emphatically by a shop owner that all cotton thread should be thrown out after 3 years.

If that were true, how could there be any old quilts or old clothes?

Many of us have been through the “polyester cuts through cotton fabric” era. Is the 3-year “rule” for cotton now the rationale for using poly thread?

I would not use old thread I had not stored, myself, but beyond that, these sweeping generalizations are very irritating.

You could always test for breaatvkage while you were watching TV. Some colors seem to last longer than others

The quilts I pieced and quilted with coats & Clark cotton coveredcpolyester thread have had no fabric cut by the thread. They are starting to wear out from use, but not along the seams.

I wonder if that could be caused by an imperfect needle or stitches very close together.

Try pulling on the thread. If it breaks easily, I wouldn't use it. If it doesn't break on a good pull, it should be fine to use. Good Luck!