I did not have much luck with sulky. I used to use RA (Robinson Anton) rayon thread for most of my embroidery and RA polyester for things that would be washed a lot. There are a number of threads out there that work well. I have also used Mettler metrosene (Poly) which as a matte finish. The RA rayon has a very lustrous finish. Then I have used Aurafil cotton for redwork and even YLI soft touch for free standing lace snowflakes. There are a lot of threads that can be used beside Sulky. Other ones used by a lot of folks are Isacord and Mediera . Also a lot of newer ones. I have not done much emboridery by machine for several years.