Question about Aged Thread
04-08-2025, 05:11 AM
#11
Junior Member
Join Date: Dec 2023
Location: Wisconsin
Posts: 238
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.
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.
In the case of the shopkeeper, I wonder if they were confidently repeating what their thread vendor had told them. It’s possible their product has a discernible drop in tensile strength at about 3 years old, but more likely they just want to sell more thread. It’s a mechanical not a chemical property, it should decline in strength somewhat steadily over time. Or, what if the vendor told the shopkeeper they shouldn’t be selling thread that’s more than 3 years old, to reduce the chance of unhappy customers with thread breakage? I’d believe that too! However a hard shelf life on cotton thread…doesn’t pass my sniff test either.
I bought a huge bucket of old thread at goodwill about 5 years ago. It was a mix of cottons, polys, and rayons. This was a sewers stash, probably someone who passed or gave up sewing. Some are very old- bobbing said West Germany lol. The clearly super old have been used for basting or hand sewing projects that are no-wash, like Christmas ornaments. All the others get used and if they demonstrate unusual breakage I move them to the hand sewing crafts pile or if quite bad I toss them.
I’m not making a legacy quilt for generations. I’m trying to use what’s at hand and prevent landfilling so I don’t have an issue using older thread if it’s giving me every indication it’s doing it’s job.
04-12-2025, 04:35 PM
#12
Super Member
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: Portage, Michigan
Posts: 9,462
FYI, I was using an older thread to attach the binding to the back of a quilt yesterday. After about 24 inches of stitching I tied off my stitching and changed to a newer thread. I then tossed the old spool in the trash. The thread kept breaking, untwisting and shedding little bits of colored fluff. Poor quality of thread? (no label) Old thread? Indeed, but no idea of the age because it was donated to me.
In the end, test the thread BEFORE using it to save yourself the grief of having to re work your stitching.
In the end, test the thread BEFORE using it to save yourself the grief of having to re work your stitching.
