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Quilting Thread

By: Penny Halgren

 

Diedre:          The finishes are what we want to start looking for in hand quilting.
 
The types of finishes that are available are things like a soft finish, which is literally nothing. They dye the thread, wind it on a spool and sell it to you. That’s the number one most frustrating thread you can possibly buy as a hand quilter because your thread is completely open to your fabric.
 
When you pull an 18-inch length of thread through a quilt, it takes the full abrasion and abuse over its entire length every time you pull it through. It could be 300 times by the time you get to the end of that thread. The thread just can’t take that abuse, so it breaks, frays or knots up. The knotting comes from the fraying.
 
The way to avoid that is to start buying a thread which is what we would call “waxed.” That’s a misnomer, because nobody actually uses wax. I’ve never found any company that literally uses wax to finish their thread.
 
Most companies use a starch, which is actually much better because it washes out 100% the first time the quilt gets washed. It’s on there as a coating to provide an insulation to protect the thread as you pull it through your quilt.
 
It also makes a stronger thread as far as stiffness goes, which means you’ll have much less problem threading your needle. My studies show that 90% of people’s problems threading needles aren’t actually the needles. It’s the thread they’re using.
 
Penny:            Once the quilt is quilted, then it doesn’t matter whether the coating is on the thread.
 
Diedre:           Exactly. The coating is only there to provide much less frustration for the quilter, to keep it from knotting, fraying and falling apart. It’s a lot easier to thread a needle with a stiff little thread than it is with a fat thread that wants to splay apart into its separate constructed units.
 
Penny:            If we find a thread that’s marked “quilting thread,” presumably it would have that finish on it that would make it better for quilting?
 
Diedre:           No. Unfortunately, whenever they mark it “quilting,” it strictly means the thread is either made with fatter yarn that they’re winding and twisting with, or it’s a 3-ply. Basically, it has to do with the strength of the thread. It’s stronger to handle quilting.
 
            Most of the manufacturers will even mark their display cases with “For machine and hand quilting.” My studies are showing that thread is definitely built either for machine or for hand. They don’t cross over. What machine quilters like and use does not work for hand and vice versa. Unfortunately, they want everybody to buy their thread.
 
Penny:            What are quilters to do? Is there a clue on the label? How do you know?
 
Diedre:           No, there really isn’t. Feel the thread. Nine-tenths of the time, what you would instinctively want to stay away from is actually the better thread, because you’ll feel it and it will feel like wire. Never pay attention to weight on thread. Weight is a page-long calculus formula that is unique to every single company.
 
            If you like using a 50 weight Mettler, you can’t use a 50 weight Gutermann because they’re like apples and oranges. They don’t compare. Weights in general are not something people want to pay attention to.
 
            If the manufacturer says it’s quilting thread, then you know it will be strong enough for quilting. But then feel the thread. If it’s nice and stiff or it says “glaced,” “waxed,” “glazed,” or any other fancy term they come up with, more than likely it will be a little better.
 
            I’m not doing any quilting right now because the only thread I would use up until six months ago was YLI’s hand-quilting thread that was on a wooden spool. It was the only thread left on the market that was built with a right twist and heavily glazed. It was just a dream to quilt with.
 
            The company was the only one left in the industry that was still dyeing their threads in the United States. Unfortunately, the new laws with chemicals have really been harsh on them and they’ve had to outsource to another country. A mistake happened in their dyeing process, so their threads are now bleeding into the quilts.
 
Penny:            That’s not good.
 
Diedre:           Even though their construction is amazing for hand quilting, we have that bleeding problem. There is no other thread on the market right now that is constructed in a way that I would like for my personal hand quilting.
 
            When this bleeding problem happened, I went straight to Superior and said, “You guys are the biggest. You actually know what you’re doing with construction.” I have been working with them for a couple of years to try to convince them that there are enough hand quilters out there to make a thread specifically for hand quilting.
 
            They finally listened. As of yesterday, I have a final prototype on my desk to test. Hopefully, we’ll get something out there that is really going to be nice for hand quilting. In the interim, just look for the most heavily glazed quilting thread you can find. Don’t try to use it in your sewing machine because it will really gum up the inside of the machine.
 
Penny:            The finish of the thread wears off when it goes through the machine.
 
Diedre:           Exactly. It wears off or gums up the machine, depending on what they’ve used. They really don’t cross over.
 
Penny:            For beginning quilters, if you’re having trouble with hand quilting, maybe it’s the thread that’s causing the problems and not the fact that you’re a beginning hand quilter.
 
Diedre:           The problem with beginner hand quilters is we don’t want to spend a lot of money on stuff when we know we’re not going to be producing really quality quilts in the beginning. We usually run to Wal-Mart or Jo-Ann’s and just buy something that will get us through while we’re learning. All of us have done it. I did it.
 
           If it were any other industry, it wouldn’t be a problem. But for some reason, quilters never think to blame the product. If this was a drill or bench saw, men would blame the bench saw.
 
            Quilters always blame themselves. They think, “Maybe I’m not cut out to be a hand quilter. I’m not dexterous. I’m not creative. I’m not artistic.” I’ve heard every excuse known to man. They never think the thread alone could be a problem, but it really can.
 
             If the thread is not pulling through the quilts, it’s knotting up or fraying and breaking at the eye of the needle, that’s so frustrating. Everything starts to go wrong because you’re frustrated. Your muscles tighten up and it blows the whole thing.
 
Happy Quilting!
Penny is the author of 9 books for beginner quilters and a self-taught quilter of more than 25 years who seeks to interest new quilters and provide them with the resources necessary to create beautiful quilts.
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©2007, Penny Halgren
Penny Halgren
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