As a long time quilter, I get asked about what kinds of thread I like to use in my quilting and why. Everybody is different, and there is no “right” answer, but I thought I’d share some of my thoughts on thread.

I like to piece with 100% cotton thread. I like how it sews, I like how it behaves in my machine and I like how it responds to pressing. I started out using Silk Finish which is a 50 wt thread from Gutterman. Mostly I used an ecru color, though if sewing on exclusively dark fabric I would use black thread. This meant I could buy in bulk and save a little bit of money. it’s too difficult trying to match the color of thread to the project at hand.

About 12 years ago I was introduced to Presencia 50 wt thread and I like it a lot. I can get it from my wholesale company, which again, lends itself to buying in bulk. I started using Ecru thread until there was a very happy accident. I put in an order for the thread and was in a hurry and didn’t realize I made a typo in the color number of the thread. What arrived in the package was not Ecru but more of a pale celery green. Not a bad color but not at all what I expected to get. I didn’t want to send it back so I started using it for my piecing and found that the color was a chameleon. If I was sewing on cream it looked more Ecru. If I was sewing on darker colors, it was more khaki. No matter what I was doing, it seemed to blend nicely. There’s not too much lint from the thread, so keeping my machine clean has been easy. I can get 12 bobbins wound from a large spool, so I wind a full box of bobbins so that I can easily change bobbins without having to retread the machine.

Hand piecing is a completely different story. I like to use a really fine needle to hand piece – either an 11 or a 12. The thinner the needle, the easier it is to get it to go through the fabric. A larger needle is like trying to jam a toothpick through the layers of fabric and it makes my hands hurt. Because a thinner needle means a smaller eye, it’s more difficult to get the Presencia 50 wt thread through the eye of the needle. To get really into the detail, Presencia 50 wt is a 3 ply thread which means there are 3 strands twisted together. Aurifil 50 wt is a 2 ply thread, so only 2 strands twisted together. It’s still a 50 wt thread, but with only 2 strands instead of 3, it results in a physically thinner thread. Aurifil goes through the eye of a #11 straw needle like a hot knife through butter. It’s still 100% cotton so I use it exclusively for hand piecing. Most of the time I use an ecru or light tan color, but I have been known to get some grey and white into the mix as well. It is very low lint and doesn’t get horribly tangled as I hand piece.

Quilting in my world is a free for all. I’ll use just about anything. I like the quilting stitches to show, so on my long arm, I love to use King Tut thread from Superior thread. King Tut is a 40 wt 3 ply Egyptian Cotton thread. It’s heavier than what I piece with, but is still fairly low lint (for a cotton thread) and I’ve tuned my long arm over the years to sew very nicely with this thread. I do use a larger needle (a 4.5 instead of a 4.0) so that the thread glides smoothly through the eye. (A side note, if you are breaking thread a lot when machine quilting, try going up a size in your needle. If the eye is too small for the thread, the friction on the thread can result in a lot of breaks). That being said, if I have a color on hand that will go with my project and it’s polyester or rayon, I’m still going to use it. This is probably more because when I’m ready to quilt, I’m ready to quilt now so I work with what I have on hand. Not the best approach but at least I’m being honest about it!!

As I said at the beginning, I feel very strongly that there is not ever a single “right” answer in quilting, it is always an “it depends” answer, depending on what you are trying to do, what you have on hand, and what makes you comfortable to work with. I’ve come to these conclusions about thread over about 28 years of quilting and a lifetime of sewing but this is what works for me. Maybe my loose threads in my blog will help with your thread journey too!