Thread
Well it’s time to write another blog post and this week I don’t have that much to say. I am working on two projects, one which I just finished however I can’t show either of them as yet. I can tell you about one of them on Monday, after the quilt has been presented.
So if you work from home, have not much going on except projects that you can’t share then what do you write about?
So I guess I will talk about THREAD! Now quilters are known to have a good size fabric stash, although there are quilters out there that actually don’t have a stash they actually only buy fabric for one project at a time and they don’t even save the scraps (more scraps for me) however some of us have a stash of wonderful threads as well.
Thread, it comes very thin right up to very thick thread that you have to couch down or use in the bobbin. It comes sparkly, shiny or invisible. For anyone who loves to embellish their quilts, quilt quilts or do fibre art it is another item to collect. So for me as well as having a fabric stash and book stash I have a fairly extensive thread stash as well.
Here is a small sampling of some of my many different types of thread I have in my stash um ‘collection’. I have mentioned in my previous posts I really like to use Superior Threads King Tut thread on quilts that don’t have a really defined block and have lots of different fabrics in them. The King Tut is a thicker thread (40 wt) that is usually variegated so it is a fun thread to use for those types of quilt tops. My ‘collection’ includes one spool of every colour, oh except the newest ones I still have to get those.
When I used to teach Beginner machine quilting I soon realized that although there is a lot of information on the internet regarding thread and thread types, there is still a lot of misunderstandings about thread. Isn’t thread something to sew seams with, isn’t it just all the same? Well, no actually there is a lot of differences in thread.
For instance, I piece my quilts with Aurifil thread in a 50 wt cotton in a neutral colour. Now a lot of quilters use Mettler thread and it says the same thing, 50 wt cotton on the spool. Since it says the same thing you would think it would sew up the same wouldn’t you? Not so, the Aurifil is actually thinner. I tried to get a picture to prove it but couldn’t get a good enough one so you will have to compare it for yourself. When you are trying to get that perfect 1/4 inch seam the Aurifil thread is better suited for that as it takes up less space in the seam allowance.
This applies to threads for the actual quilting, not all threads are created equal. Wonderfil has some luscious looking threads however I find that their metallic thread can be prone to twisting up on itself. This means the thread breaks every few inches and on a longarm it can be frustrating and disastrous. On the other hand I have used Superior Threads Metallic threads for quilting on both my domestic and longarm machines with no issues whatsoever. Once I had a spool of metallic thread from Superior that was wound on the spool incorrectly and it wouldn’t come off properly. I sent a picture of the issue to Superior Threads in Utah and they sent me a brand new spool free of charge and an apology. I have to say I love Superior Threads for the thread, customer service and education (value) they provide on their website, but that is another story.
Regarding the above Wonderfil threads has a thread called Silco which is a 35 wt cotton thread in variegated colours. I do own several spools of this thread however, I find the tension slips on it. I find this when I quilt on both my domestic machine and on the longarm. You can be quilting along fine and then suddenly you have these loops. I simply don’t find that happening on other brands of threads I use.
That all said I have used Wonderfil DecoBob a 80 wt polyester (very thin thread) and the 100 wt polyester Invisafil thread on all my machines without any issues whatsoever.
As you may have noticed by now I am partial to Superior Threads and own a lot of their thread but I do have another favourite which I absolutely love to quilt with and that is Fil-Tec Glide thread! It really does ‘glide’ through the machine and is simply a beautiful thread to work with. Unfortunately it is another thread I have to mail order so I only have a few colours of it.
When I want the quilting to be more subtle and play more of a background role I chose either the Aurifil 50 wt cotton or the Superior Threads Sew Fine 50 wt Polyester thread in a colour that blends. I have a spool in every colour of the Sew Fine 50. Got to love the thread of the month clubs especially as when I joined there was free shipping to Canada. Not sure if that deal is still going on as I don’t belong to the clubs anymore.
Well it turns out I had more to say about thread than I thought and I haven’t really even touched the surface so I guess now I will have something to write about next week while I continue working on the project I can’t show.
My soul is fed by needle and thread.
Happy Quilting