Does your sewing machine like/dislike certain threads?
11-12-2020, 08:20 AM
#31
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Join Date: Jun 2012
Location: Southern California
Posts: 1,037
I started to use Glide thread on my longarm and it made a great difference. Then I used it on my Janome Horizon, also with good results. It's strong, thin, nearly lintless and comes in a wonderful array of colors. I'm completely happy with it. People used to avoid polyester thread, thinking it would damage cotton fabrics if seams were stressed by pulling. I don't think it matters and I've had only good results with Glide.
11-12-2020, 03:31 PM
#32
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Join Date: Mar 2016
Posts: 1,348
I use either poly or cotton, whichever has the right colors. And I'm another who likes Maxi-lok.
I don't think poly thread will hurt the cotton cloth. It is possible, however that using poly in the bobbin and cotton on top (or the reverse) the poly might in time saw through the cotton thread.
I don't think poly thread will hurt the cotton cloth. It is possible, however that using poly in the bobbin and cotton on top (or the reverse) the poly might in time saw through the cotton thread.
11-13-2020, 08:10 AM
#33
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Join Date: Jun 2012
Location: Southern California
Posts: 1,037
A note about IceLeopard's last post: Your machine will work best if you use the same thread top and bobbin. An exception is when embroidering and a finer thread is used in the bobbin because the stitches are so compacted.
11-26-2020, 07:18 PM
#35
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Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: Southern California
Posts: 6,254
My Bernina rarely cares what thread I use. If I use Sulky Sliver, I have to loosen the upper thread tension. Otherwise I can use anything without adjustment. My Juki on the other hand can the fussy about some threads. I have found that I have to do some tension adjustments with it to get it to stitch correctly with some thread.
Just for your information, I was having problems doing FMQ on my Juki with Aurafil which I'd never had problems with. The machine had just been serviced and I was stumped. I'd done all the usual, changed needle, re-threaded, wound a new bobbin and nothing seemed to help. I was talking to my friend at quilt guild and telling her how frustrated I was. She told me that she had had that same problem with her machine and finally discovered that it was the spool of thread! It sounded unlikely to me, but I had tried everything else so I got a new spool of thread. I wound a new bobbin, threaded it up and it sewed just fine! No more breaking thread or any problems. I never would have thought that the spool of thread could be defective.
Just for your information, I was having problems doing FMQ on my Juki with Aurafil which I'd never had problems with. The machine had just been serviced and I was stumped. I'd done all the usual, changed needle, re-threaded, wound a new bobbin and nothing seemed to help. I was talking to my friend at quilt guild and telling her how frustrated I was. She told me that she had had that same problem with her machine and finally discovered that it was the spool of thread! It sounded unlikely to me, but I had tried everything else so I got a new spool of thread. I wound a new bobbin, threaded it up and it sewed just fine! No more breaking thread or any problems. I never would have thought that the spool of thread could be defective.
11-27-2020, 07:09 PM
#37
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Thread Starter
Join Date: Oct 2020
Location: Virginia
Posts: 231
Well, I just started FMQ on a baby quilt today, again using the King Tut that I had such trouble with on the last quilt. This has gone flawlessly. Same machine, same thread as last time, but with a thinner batt of a different brand. I'm perplexed as to whether the batt is actually the thing that's making the difference. The first two quilts I made with King Tut had no problems whatsoever but used heavier batts than the one I'm using today. The third quilt -- same batt as the first two -- was a nightmare. This one is fine. One of life's mysteries, I guess.
11-27-2020, 11:18 PM
#38
Member
Join Date: Nov 2018
Posts: 3
If you were using a cone, did you have it on a cone stand a little ways away from the machine and then threaded through all the guides on the machine? I ask because you said you used a spool next and the spool worked, so it could be that it was the fact that the thread was on a cone that was the problem.
Both my Singer-branded Janome and my BabyLock Tiara will take any combination of anything, so long as I make sure to give cone thread and invisible thread enough space to unravel (un-kink?) itself before it gets to the guides.
Watson
Both my Singer-branded Janome and my BabyLock Tiara will take any combination of anything, so long as I make sure to give cone thread and invisible thread enough space to unravel (un-kink?) itself before it gets to the guides.
Watson
Same here!
I have two Viking Diamonds and a Viking Jade 35 and use mostly cone threads for sewing and embroidery...I use mini cones (600 meters) and the large cones (5000 meters) ...and place all of them on an external two-level 20 spool thread stand so the thread travels up to the thread guide on the stand, over to the eyelet thread guide I installed on the flip up lid on my Diamond, and then the thread gets threaded through the machine...and I use any thread brand, whether sewing or embroidery, polyester, polyester blend, rayon, etc.
The only thing I could possibly guess might be happening with certain threads appearing not to work well is if the thread doesn't get 'clicked into' the thread guides/disks in the upper portion of the machine. This will happen if the presser foot is in the lowered position when threading or rethreading the machine, but I could see it happening if the weight of the thread is different from what a person usually uses. One would just need to make sure the thread clicks into the thread disks by keeping a little resistance on the thread with the right hand as you thread the machine with the left.
