Thread

Thread.

It’s a wee bit of a tetchy subject.

Quilters have some serious opinions about a lot of things.
That dear quilters is an understatement.

I love thread.
That dear quilters is also an understatement.
I love a lot of thread.
There are a couple of things that have become important to me with thread:
1. is it pretty – this is totally subjective. 2. is it functional – does it do what I need?
for piecing – something thin works really well
for quilting – just about anything goes
for machine embroidery – I do tend to stick to embroidery thread
for hand embroidery – I don’t know
for hand quilting – I haven’t hand quilted in so long I’m not entirely sure what I’d choose
3. does my machine like it – hugely important every machine is slightly different
4. here’s where we get a bit tetchier – brands what brands? Oh here’s where quilters get quite finicky and fiercely loyal.
Truthfully if I can balance tension (I play with the tension, oh yes I do); figure out the correct needle; get the stitch length I want; the thread doesn’t shred and isn’t terribly linty in my machine I’m good. I don’t like lint.
PS – if you need to clean out the machine use a the one that comes with the machine or get a silicone one from the kitchen supply place. Canned air can cause trouble. That’s for another day though.

5) old thread is for pretty – not for running through your machine or using in your work.
6) sometimes there are just bad spools of thread. Bad thread. I’ve had it happen. It made me crazy. The quilt is done.
7) there are sometimes bad needles. Been there, done that.
7a) sometimes it’s the batting shocking I know
8) when troubles start happening re-thread the machine.
9) experiment with thread.

Happy Quilting!