Watson

Or is there a different thread I don't know about?

Watson

dunster

So-called invisible thread can be made of nylon or poly. It's usually called monofilament. I've had better luck with the poly than with the nylon.

quiltingshorttimer

Watson--there's also a brand called Invisthread (think that's right) that is very fine but not colorless. I use Superior's monopoly for when I don't want the thread to show--works on long arm and DSW both (may need to adjust tension a little less although I haven't had to with either--just be sure to use the netting cover that comes with it so it doesn't come off the spool/cone too fast). The Superior monopoly comes in clear for light fabrics and a smoke for darker fabrics. It's very fine thread and doesn't feel stiff at all. This for your horse?? Can't wait to see that!

Patricia Drew

Sometimes your machine will decide for you! For example, my Juki TL2010Q definitely does not like the polyester invisible thread, but I'm able to FMQ with the nylon invisible. Today's nylon invisible is much softer and finer than it was say 10 years ago. I've had great success with Essence nylon invisible thread, that I order from 3 Dogs Quilting in Ottawa.

My other machines, a Juki DX7 and an old Singer, will handle both polyester and nylon successfully.

Patricia Drew

I think you mean Invisafil. It's very fine, 100 wt, but as you mention, it's not colorless. I use it regularly, and love it. A bobbin of 100 wt thread goes a long way ...

ube quilting

Give all these videos a look see and learn about lost of stuff.

http://www.quiltingboard.com/links-r...d-t215131.html

Great help here.
peace

Prism99

I have used different types of "invisible" thread. Nylon monofilament is one type; polyester monofilament is another. With these two types of thread, brand name is *very* important.

For nylon monofilament (available in both clear and smoke), my favorite brand is YLI. This type of monofilament thread is fine, like baby hair, and about .003mm in diameter. SewArt is another good brand for nylon monofilament, but I was never able to find it and it seems to me they discontinued making it some time ago. I would not use any other brand. Many of the complaints about nylon monofilament come from years ago, when it more closely resembled fishing line than baby hair, and off-brands.

For polyester monofilament, a good brand is Superior. When I compared Superior's poly to my YLI nylon, I found that the polyester was more visible. Although polyester is supposed to be able to stand higher temperatures than nylon, when I used my Rowenta to iron over YLI nylon thread over and over with the iron on its highest setting, I could find no changes at all in the thread. It is said that polyester monofilament stands the test of time better in that it is not subject to degradation from light, does not become brittle with time, etc.; however, it is my suspicion that these old reported problems with nylon thread were probably related to older brands. So far I have never seen YLI nylon monofilament thread being charged with brittleness over time or any of the other problems it is supposed to have.

Invisafil isn't what I would call invisible, although it is very fine. Superior has a new thread called MicroQuilter that is 100wt polyester and I assume it is similar to Invisafil, but I haven't checked it out yet.

A lot depends on what you want to use the thread for, and what kind of trade-offs you want. I loved YLI nylon monofilament for years for my invisible machine applique, but I didn't particularly like the feel of the thread on the applique. I experimented with polyester monofilament, but it was only slightly softer than nylon and it was more visible. I also tried Invisafil, which provided softness; however, the color in the thread made it much more visible to my eyes.

I used nylon monofilament for only one small quilt and, although the quilting thread was indeed very invisible, again I didn't like the feel of the finished quilt. Nowadays, if I want "invisible" quilting, I go with a very fine polyester thread such as Bottom Line. It sinks into the quilt enough to be virtually invisible, and I am willing to trade some invisibility for softness and feel.

Bree123

Dunster & Prism both gave excellent information! The only thing I could add is that I do like Aurifil's nylon monofilament (invisible) thread, as far as invisible threads go. I have almost no experience with it, though, because mono is generally the most finicky thread on the market -- and nylon mono is even more finicky than poly mono (though, if you are willing to put in the time, I feel nylon gives a better result). If this is your first time working with mono, I would definitely recommend starting with a poly mono. Superior's MonoPoly is a pretty good mono if you're shopping online or at LQS; Sulky Premium Invisible Thread from JAF is something I've used in the past. To be honest, the Sulky mono did not hold up well to repeated washings over time. I made a table runner with it (SID) & after maybe 15-20 washes, the stitches started snapping. I re-quilted it with matching cotton threads.

Watson

Thanks, all....this is a wallhanging, so it won't be washed and the feel isn't important. I've done the sample with a nylon and it seems to be working out ok. My local fabric store didn't have a poly and when I looked on Amazon Canada, they were asking a ridiculous amount per spool, plus shipping, so that's not going to happen. Looks like I may be staying with the nylon unless I get a chance to go to the States before I'm ready to start.
Now, the problem is that the needle holes are showing in the light coloured fabrics on the sample. I've gone to an 80/12 "sharp" needle, but you can still see them if you get close. Since I won't be washing this, I guess I'm stuck, (ha, ha), with them. Any ideas out there on how to get rid of needle holes? I can't wet it, because I didn't pre-wash and one of the fabrics runs. (Thought I'd try misting it and then drying it with a hair dryer to see if the needle holes would tighten up...didn't work.)

Going to try the tulle/organza idea to see if that covers the holes.

Watson

Bree123

You might try tossing it in the clothes dryer with a damp towel for 20 minutes on medium heat... depending on the weave of the cotton & weight of the cotton yarn, the fabric might shrink up just a touch -- enough to close the holes. But honestly, even with regular washing & drying, I've never found that the holes closed up like they did with cotton thread. The reason it works with cotton thread is that the cotton fibers become slightly damaged by the agitation & heat and swell & shrink such that they marry together nicely. The same thing is true with wool & silk, and to a lesser degree, rayon fabrics/threads. With 2/3-ply synthetics threads, the thread can ever so slightly fray/become less tightly wound to help fill in the holes. With mono, there's only the one ply and its only response to heat is to eventually melt. Synthetics do not react to water. So unless the cotton fabric itself slightly shrinks, I don't have any ideas about how to close up those holes.

In the future, you might try making a practice sandwich with size 70/10 sharp/Microtex needle to quilt to see how that does. It's what I use with 50/2 cotton for quilting, as it makes a smaller hole. Sorry, I know that doesn't help this time. Hopefully others will have better ideas.