Thread Wise

This post is about thread choices. I could have called it thread 'whys' as I'll be explaining which threads I used in this last quilt and why I used them.

I pieced the top with MasterPiece thread on top and in the bobbin. Why? Masterpiece is 100% extra-long staple , really grown in Egypt cotton. I like to match the fibre content of the thread and the fabric here in the piecing process. The pieced seams in a quilt are the weight bearing seams. Think about hanging up a completed quilt or shaking the wrinkles out of a quilt. What seams are bearing the most weight? In a house not all walls are load bearing walls. In a quilt not all stitches bear the same stress. Lots of people get their knickers in a twist about various types of quilting thread. But it is the pieced seams that are the stress bearing seams. And if we want to match the thread fibres to the fabric fibres, it is most important to do this for the pieced seams. MasterPiece will bear up well against the various stresses in the life of a quilt. With 75 gorgeous colours it's easy to get a good colour match. MasterPiece is a fine weight thread, not too heavy or bulky so it gives nice flat seams and sharp points. I find MasterPiece an ideal piecing thread.

MasterPiece comes in pre-wounds! I love pre-wounds because I hate winding bobbins. Pre-wounds can hold 3 times as much thread as the bobbins that you wind yourself and they work great in most sewing machines, my Janome Memory Craft 6600 work great with pre-wounds.

Because the cotton fibres are matched in the piecing thread I am free to use whatever threads suit my fancy for the machine quilting. For this project I've used Rainbows, a variegated trilobal polyester from Superior Threads. All the fibres that make up this thread are light reflecting which gives Rainbows a lovely shine to it. This particular thread is #803 Northern Lights.

I've used a pre-wound Bottom Line in the bobbin, a soft blue which disappears into the pieced backing fabric. Rainbows and Bottom Line are a machine quilting marriage made in heaven. They work beautifully together!

Finally, for sewing the binding by machine, I've used Sew Fine on top and a pre-wound Bottom Line in the bobbin. Then to hand sew the final stage of the binding I used a red Bottom Line to match the binding colour. The Bottom Line is just wonderful for hand sewing - it disappears into the fabric and it never knots up. I find it a real pleasure to hand sew with.

In summary, I've used a mixture of cotton and polyester threads in the quilt. The choices have to do with the piecing and quilting process as well as the look and durability of the end product. I'm confident that it will wash and wear well and I'm delighted with how it looks.

Binding Issues

I have a love-hate relationship with binding. I do love the process of holding the fabrics together as I hand sew the binding to the backing, turning the fabric over to peek, inch by inch at the progress on the front. I just hate how long it takes. I quilted the thing in 20 minutes, once it was loaded on the frame. But it took me over two hours to hand sew the last bit of the binding down after it had been machine stitched to the front.

I usually use a double-folded strip for binding. Also called French Binding, the 2 inch strips are cut on the diagonal - it uses lots of fabric but for a special project, I think it's worth it. For this quilt, I cut 2 inch strips from various batiks that I used in the quilt and pieced them together. This carried on the scrappy feel of the project.

I used MasterPiece #117 Smart Alex to hand sew the binding. This thread is so fine that it disappears into the fabric. The people at Superior Threads have taken the trouble to give it a good twist which means that it doesn't knot the way some threads do when you're hand sewing the binding.

In the past I've struggled with a satisfying width for binding. In the early days I tended to go rather wide. But a few years ago I hosted a strippy quilt challenge with British Patchwork & Quilting Magazine - the prize was one of my quilting frames. There were nearly 100 participants who created strippy quilts to donate to Project Linus. When we met with the editors to choose the winning quilts, I was struck with the big difference the binding made. The narrow bindings looked better. So here's a question for any readers. I'd love to know what you think is the ideal binding width. Any comments would be most appreciated.

"Das-a-gulls"

What's in a name? When my daughter Rosie was very little she called these flowers "das-a gulls." It's become one of those family words that re-emerge each spring.

I've chosen a deep purple batik for the thread play - I think it will set off the yellows and oranges beautifully. Today I wanted to have a look at the threads against the fabric. In this photo you can see all the threads. Initially on the right of the photo, they're just draped across the fabric. In real life this is a great way to get a feel for the way the threads will act against the fabric. Context is everything! Threads look very different against different fabrics. So I like to audition threads before I choose what I'll be using.

Beginning at the left and working across...first I've got 3 bold and beautiful King Tut threads in variegated colours. Then there's 6 MasterPiece thread colours, a finer version of extra-long staple Egyptian grown cotton but in plain silk like colours. Next there's 2 versions of Rainbows, a shimmering variegated tri-lobal poly. After that there's 3 LAVA threads similar to Rainbows but stronger and more matt. There's an orange So Fine the most trouble free thread ever. Lastly there's 3 colours of Bottom Line an ideal bobbin thread but it can be used on top for detail quilting. Click on the images for a better look at the threads.

Beginning at the left top and working my way down, I used these same threads in the same order using just a straight stitch off the frame with my Janome 6600. Tomorrow I'll do a bit of sketching with pen and paper. Then I'll put the fabric on the frame and have a go machine quilting with my JUKI on the New English Quilting frame. The free-motion quilting will really bring out the differences in the threads.

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

Bobbin threads come in all kinds. Let's take the 'good' first. If you are keen to match fibres for piecing cotton fabrics, MasterPiece is perfect. MasterPiece is 100% extra-long staple Egyptian grown cotton in gorgeous shimmering colours. Being a fine weight it works well in the bobbin. You can wind your own from the spool or enjoy the convenience of pre-wounds in packs of 144, 72 or 12 bobbins.

For machine quilting there are other equally good choices. Bottom Line is a polyester thread designed specially for the bobbin, but it's also great for detail quilting, embroidery, applique and binding. It's a very fine smooth thread that comes in 50 colours. I prefer to use Bottom Line in the bobbin for machine quilting. I found, particularly in a heavily quilted or embroidered project, that cotton in the top and the bobbin made it stiff. But Bottom Line in the bobbin keeps even a very heavily quilted project soft and supple. The slick surface of this filament poly makes it a good choice to pair with specialty threads like metallics or heavy cotton threads because it won't grab or snag the top thread. Again Bottom Line comes in large spools that you can use to wind your own bobbins. It also comes in pre-wounds for ordinary and long-arm machines.

This heavily quilted project from the Superior Threads Seminar would have been stiff with cotton in the bobbin. Bottom Line kept it soft and supple.

Now for the 'bad and the ugly'. The more I learn about thread the less willing I am to run poor quality thread through the thread path on the top of the machine. Linty threads mess up the machine, threads that have coatings on them to get rid of the lint gunk up the machine, and weak threads will break and cause all sorts of tension problems. Since I care about my machine and my quilting projects, I now have a pile of threads that I'm no longer willing to risk running through the top of my machine. But it seems a waste to just throw them away.

The good news is that many of these poor quality threads will work fine in the bobbin. Bobbin thread doesn't have to go through the tension discs or the needle, this means that, as a rule, bobbin threads cause much less trouble than top threads. So for fun, less precious projects, I can use these up in the bobbin. For anything important, I'm sticking to the good stuff.

Down Under

Forget Australia. This one's about bobbins and bobbin threads. Tucked away under the thread plate, bobbins and bobbin threads are sometimes out of sight and out of mind. But the right bobbin thread can make a big difference.

I have a confession to make. I hate winding bobbins. That means I love using pre-wounds. First of all, pre-wounds can hold up to 3 times as much thread as the bobbins that you wind yourself. When I'm in the middle of a machine quilting project, I really hate to have to stop and change the bobbin - it stops the creative flow. So being able to keep going for longer is a big plus for me. And when the bobbin does eventually run out, I have another all ready to slip in. I don't have the aggravation of winding a bobbin myself. It's pure convenience and I'm grateful for it every time.

Precision factory winding means the bobbin thread is wound evenly. And that's the second reason to consider pre-wounds. Even winding is a big issue for many machines. An uneven winding can cause thread breakage and other tension related problems. At the Superior Threads Seminar last week we needed to wind some bobbins for a project. All the gals at my table were laughing at the wonky bobbins that our machines were coming up with. We gave up in the end and used some pre-wounds.The precision factory winding on the Superior Threads pre-wounds is so tight and even that you can take off the cardboard sides and the thread still stays on the bobbin. Hard to believe but true!

Most of the machines on the market (70%) will take pre-wounds. You can follow this link to the Superior Threads education pages to check on the compatibility of your machine. If you're sewing machine savvy, you can also just try one out. If you're in the UK contact me (use this link http://www.machinequilter.co.uk/ to the website and click contact us) and I'll send you a freebie to try out. If you're in the USA Superior Threads offer a 'Try me Special' of 6 pre-wound bobbins in assorted colors for $4.00. I use a Janome 6600 for piecing and a JUKI TL98 P for free-motion machine quilting on my table-top New English Quilter frame. Both machines take pre-wounds without any problems. Next post I'll talk about what type of threads are good to use in the bobbin and why.

Stress Lines

I'm feeling adventurous, so let's tackle a popular thread myth. We've all been warned at one time or another "Never use polyester thread in a quilt because the strength of the poly fibers will eventually cut through the cotton. " I believed this popular myth unquestioningly for years. But recently, I've discovered the error of my ways.

Think about hanging up a completed quilt or shaking the wrinkles out of a quilt. What seams are bearing the most weight? In a house not all walls are load bearing walls. In a quilt not all stitches bear the same stress. Lots of people get their knickers in a twist about various types of quilting thread. But it is the pieced seams that are the stress bearing seams. And if we want to match the thread fibres to the fabric fibres, it is most important to do this in the piecing process.

A good quality cotton piecing thread will bear up well against the various stresses in the life of a quilt. As noted in the previous post, a good colour match is a big bonus too! A fine thread, one that is not too heavy or bulky will give nice flat seams and sharp points. So the ideal piecing thread would be 100% extra-long staple Egyptian grown cotton in a wide range of colours and a fine weight. That's why the people at Superior Threads came up with the MasterPiece range.

Once a top is well pieced and ready to be quilted the thread options open up to a whole new world of possibilities. Many specialty threads are ideal for quilting. It all depends on the look you're trying to achieve and the demands placed on the thread in the quilting process. In some projects I want a variegated thread that will catch and reflect the light, for this I use a tri-lobal polyester called Rainbows. It's a beautiful thread that shimmers like silk. I can use it without any fears - as it is strong enough to glide through the thread path of my JUKI on a table top frame. And it is definitely not going to cut through any fabric in my quilt.

Sometimes I want the sparkle of a metallic thread, or the subtle texture created by using a fine polyester bobbin thread on the top. I use Bottom Line for this detail quilting. Again , it's polyester but it is not going to tear the fabric in my quilt. Professional long armers going at a fast and furious pace may want the trouble free ease of the Lava thread range. It is a variegated thread that is stronger than Rainbows ideal for the pros, but again it is not going to tear the fabric in a quilt.

Quilters love cotton. And since most of our quilting fabric is cotton it makes good sense to use cotton in the piecing process. Cotton piecing thread will ensure that our quilts hold together well and bear up under the inevitable stresses in the life of a quilt. But quilting is different! Many threads made of wild and wonderful fibres are ideal for quilting. If you limit yourself to just cotton you're missing out!

MasterPiece

MasterPiece is also extra-long staple Egyptian cotton and as the name suggests it was created for piecing.

It's a very fine thread in plain glowing colours, ideal for flat seams and sharp points. It also works very well in the bobbin. MasterPiece seems to disappear into the fabric which makes it perfect for applique and other hand sewing such as putting on the binding. But it came as something of a surprise to the manufacturers, when professional long arm quilters started using MasterPiece for machine quilting.

This photo shows MasterPiece used for free-motion machine quilting. Despite its fine weight, it is surprisingly strong enough to cope with the demands of professional quilters. And if its OK for the Pros, it's going to be just great for me. The machine quilting detail in the photo was created using a JUKI on a New English Quilter table top frame. I've used MasterPiece here to create a more subtle texture. Notice how it shows up against the two different fabric backgrounds.

This quilt was designed as a thread sampler. Its a stripy quilt with just two fabrics; a plain shot cotton yarn dye and a contrasting batik. The quilting pattern is an overall free-motion mussel shell design. I've kept the background simple and the quilting pattern constant to show how a variety of threads perform against the contrasting background. I'll be using it for other posts, but for now I wanted to highlight the subtle beauty, strength and versatility of MasterPiece thread.