Friday, December 14, 2012

Thread Matters

It should be very simple.  Any thread should work, right?  When you start learning to quilt you choose a spool of thread and get going.  How hard can it be?  Well, always buy the best quality you can afford because you get what you pay for.  Then over time you will get to know what works for you.
Sewing machines work differently.  I want to say they have personalities and sometimes we actually give our sewing machine a name.  So, the same thread can work on one machine and not on another.  I can recommend the best quality thread and it will work in one machine but not in another of the same make.  Learn what brand of thread works for your machine by trying all different brands.
When we sew by hand, we are different in the way we work.  For example, some people can hand quilt with King Tut thread by Superior.  Others can not use it because it breaks.  I think it is because some people pull harder naturally.  I use King Tut, a 40 weight thread, for binding because Masterpiece, a 50 weight Superior thread, breaks and I do not like to sew something twice. 
As your skills develop you will try more challenging quilt blocks.  Then I use Masterpiece because it takes up less space in the seam.  If you are sewing points together and have many layers of seam allowances meeting, a finer thread makes a difference. 
I have been machine quilting with 100 weight silk thread.  You hardly see the thread. 


So thread is a topic you can spend hours discussing.  Today, I will stop here because it is time for breakfast and to open the store (and strange things are happening as I try to type).  Have a great day!









 

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