Thread & Floss

A Few Thoughts on Thread
My thread preference for piecing and machine quilting is cotton. Cotton thread is soft and flexible and glides easily through the tension disks. It can also handle the heat of a hot iron when pressing block seams. I took a class on machine quilting in 1995 from Harriet Hargrave. (a renowned quilter that introduced free motion quilting at the 1984 Houston Quilt Market) She convinced me that I should always use cotton thread with my cotton quilting fabrics.

Suppose you use a thread that is stronger than your fabric. After years of use and many washings, the thread can tear the fabric. Harriett says you can repair a quilting line where a thread has broken but you cannot repair fabric that has been torn by stronger thread.

Thread weight: The smaller the number, the heavier the thread. One of the advantages quilters find with a lighter weight thread (50 or 60wt) is that your pieced blocks will tend to be more accurate in size. This is because the thread is creating less bulk at the seams. Another plus is you will be able to put more thread on that bobbin and not be running out of bobbin thread so often.

Staple: With cotton thread, Staple refers to the various lengths of fiber making up the thread. Short staple thread is not as strong and appears fuzzy. Quilters know the longer the staple, the better the thread because it is smoother, stronger and the best choice for the least lint. Long staple thread is much less likely to break.

Mercerized: Ever wonder what mercerized means? If your cotton thread is mercerized it means that it has been treated in a caustic solution that causes the fibers to swell. This allows dye to better penetrate the fibers. The process also increases the strength and luster of the thread.