question on free motion quilting....

Betsey, I've used Isacord and a bunch of other poly threads. I think that for a long time, it was thought that the thread content should be the same as the fabric content and that poly wasn't good to use in quilts because it would cut the fibers in the cotton fabric. The "experts" have supposedly determined that's not true - and who am I to argue (since I don't have any proof to the contrary!)?

A lot of longarm quilters use poly, including So Fine and others from Superior, Glide from Filtec, and the multitude of colors from Metro Embroidery. Granted, we haven't been able to prove that it will hold up for hundreds of years, but I haven't heard any reports of quilts (or quilting) falling apart. I like Glide, myself - has a really nice sheen to it.

Louise > yes, i know, i have not kept up with the times....and i've recently

Now, Betsey! That's like asking what brand of peanut butter do you buy. We can get Very opinionated. I use Aurifil 50 wt. Because my Bernina *likes* Aurifil. I have been known to use plain old Coats & Clark if I had to have a matching color. You just want a thread that's not going to throw off lots of fuzzies or shred and break if you really get going. Polly

"betsey" yes, i know, i have not kept up with the times....and i've recently

I've never used cotton thread. Don't own any and don't plan to. I have quilts made years ago with Dual Duty by Coats and Clark, and they're still holding. I've even used machine embroidery thread to stitch baby quilts and the don't wear out. Gen

I found some 60wt Mettler today - I am looking forward to that. The 'blurb' says it sews like silk. I bet it does, being that fine; and it's more easily washable than silk (because of bio detergents etc; when your not washing the thing yourself!) . In message , Polly Esther writes

oh dear.....skippy's!

and now, i've got so much catching up to do! thank you everyone for sharing!

betsey

I think it's up to you entirely. I do not believe that poly thread will slice cotton fabric, and *top quality* poly is a lot different than what used to be available. But it will wear a bit differently. Your poly thread may exactly match your cotton top at the beginning, but the cotton might fade a bit while the thread color remains intense. Result: your stitches show more than you wanted them to. And if there is any strain on the seams or the quilting, you definitely want the thread to break before the fabric rips. Much easier to repair!

Lots of wall quilts, for example, are more thread painted than quilted, so you'd want really fine thread. Heavy quilting in general might look better with a finer thread, and that's why lots of quilters use stuff like Isarcord. It was invented for machine embroidery.

So I use cott>yes, i know, i have not kept up with the times....and i've recently