Good quality thread?

Personally, I like Gutermann ... for the next week, you can get a Gutermann Thread Cabinet (polyester thread, though, not the cotton) at JoAnn's for only $80 (usually $150 US). It's 100 spools in a portable "cabinet."

What *kind* of thread will depend on the model of sewing machine your wife has ... mine was manufactured by Janome and gets cranky if I don't use "cross-wound" thread. Tangles, tangles, tangles!!

This was discussed at some length recently in alt.sewing.

The net outcome seemed to be whatever one was recommending, another found reasons to decry it.

Personally, I've always found Gutermann threads to be very good.

I've also used a variety of 'economy' priced threads, and never had any problems, although some can produce a fair bit of fluff in and around the mechanism on the m/c. Nothing that an occasional brush out didn't sort out.

It depends largely on what she sews: I like to match thread content to fabric fibres as far as possible.

For COTTON threads for garment construction and patchwork piecing and applique work, I particularly like:

Aurifil YLI 100 weight Coats Cotton

For quilting and heavier weight cotton construction:

YLI Quilting cottons Empress Mills 100% cotton

For poly mix fabric like poly/wool and poly/cotton blends I like Empress Mills Polycore in 120's weight for construction and use on the serger/overlocker, and the 75 weight for heavier fabrics and top stitching.

For silk I really like the YLI 50 weight for construction and the 100 weight for hand finishing and buttonholes/eyelets and couching. It's also fantastic for appliqué work.

For poly fabrics I like:

Empress Mills 120's poly Mettler metrosene

For general sewing in the serger/overlocker, I like:

Empress Mills 120's polyester Gutterman overlocking thread

These days I find that Gutterman silk and cotton threads are not as good as they used to be (I've had both bleed colour onto the sewing machine while sewing), and nothing like as good as the others I've mentioned, though they are more readily available. I have preferred Empress Mills poly thread to Gutterman for several years. Their best thread these days is the overlocker thread: it's unfortunate that it comes on small, very expensive cones, and in such a limited range of colours.

Any stocks you see now of Drima (poly thread) and Sylco (cotton)are old stock as these threads have recently been replaced by better ones from Coats. The Sylco will be as good as ever, but I've loathed Drima for over 30 years!

What a thoughtful gift!

For local thread purchases, I usually buy at Hancock Fabrics. Our store carries Metrosene, a polyester made by Mettler; Gutermann in both poly and cotton; Coats & Clark in cotton-wrapped poly in several weights; and Sulky, a rayon that is nice for machine applique. I've never had any problem with any of them.

Duplicates, or larger spools, of some basic colors, such as black, white, cream, navy, and red might be a good idea. For some projects, she may have to shop herself to get the best color match for her fabric.

Don't buy the '5 spools for a dollar' kind of thread for machine sewing. I use it only to baste quilts.

Doreen in Alabama

What's 'cross-wound) thread?

Mary

>

Thread is wound onto the spool in two ways (that I know of): "Cross-wound" and "level-wound" ...

Coats & Clark is "level-wound:" you can tell this by how when you look at the view from the side, the thread's wound level with the top of the spool. Gutermann, Mettler, and Metrosene is "cross-wound:" you can tell that by how when you view the spool from the side, the thread has an "X" pattern.

For whatever reason, my machine gets cranky and the tension gets thrown off when I use level-wound thread ... also, level wound thread has the thread coming off the spool on the "top" of the spool (when you hold it horizontally) and "cross-wound" thread comes off the spool on the "bottom." THAT really sends my machine into a tail-spin!!

Did that make much sense?? We've got my MIL coming for Turkey Day tomorrow and I've been inhaling cleaning liquids ALL day!! LOL!! :)

Hugs!! Connie :)

Sorry to reply again, but here's some good info about threads that you may or may not have known! :)

Hugs!! Connie :)

Ah, I see, thanks. It's the first time I've heard the expression although of course I've been familiar with the different windings for decades.

Oh dear! I don't use he machine, Spouse does and he's never had a problem. Yes he WOULD tell me - whether I wanted to know or not :-)

I don't have that problem any more - that she did come often. When the children were small they used to ask if Grandma (my mother) were coming when I tidied the house. She usually was ... Now I'm the mater familias and I was shocked when I walked in on a daughter in law as she was Hoovering. As if I'd have noticed!

Have a good day and use legal substances rather than cleaning liquids :-)

Mary

Don't apologise, it's splendid!

I realised that I've no idea how Spouse's machine loads thread, I've only ever known the reel to be put on a vertical holder. Perhaps I'll look some time ... or perhaps not :-)

Mary

Message saved -- ever since Coats and Clark discontinued 6-cord O.N.T., I've been using DMC Cordonnet 100/6, which I buy from lacemakers'-supply houses. It will be nice to be able to buy colors other than white and ecru again.

If I can find a store that sells Aurifil etc. Way past time I made the expedition to Columbia City. Trouble is, any shopping trip takes up my entire day, and having never left town -- except to go to the shoe store in North Webster every third year -- I haven't the slightest idea of where I can go that would be worth the trip. There's a good hardware store in North Webster, but no fabric shops. Excellent fabric shop here, but they sell Gueterman cottons, which I buy only when color is overwhelmingly important, and have no silk at all.

Joy Beeson

I buy a lot of thread on line. I have a thread wrapped shade card for Empress Mills, and send fabric swatches to some places for matching. I find that with the YLI silk an EXACT match isn't necessary as that stuff blends into everything beautifully, like cream in a pavlova, or chocolate into truffles... ;)

I wish you hadn't said that!

Mary who's lost thirteen pounds since August ... :-)

Oh, well done you!

Actually, after the initial hump (!) I've found getting the half stone off to get back to goal has been harder, and the recent attempts to go gluten free (to help with the fibro pain and IBS collywobles) have meant that I really crave a decent slice of bread! Alan keeps bringing bagels home, too! Gluten free bread tries hard, but it just ain't the same! Rather like comparing tofu to fillet steak... :(

Having just waddled home from dinner with thirty people, most of whom brought something that had to be at least sampled, I didn't react to the simile at all.

On topic: somewhere around here I've got a red silk shirt sewn together with purple size A "machine twist" silk -- doesn't show at all. It was probably Belding-Corticelli.

I bought some #100 Tire silk thread not too long ago, two spools each of black and white. My sewing machine doesn't like it much, and I find it hard to hand-sew with thread I can't see. The second hand sewing went better, though. And the machine might manage better if I went to our excellent local fabric shop and asked the nice mechanic for a package of *really* fine needles.

(Alas, I don't remember where I got the Tire -- perhaps Things Japanese? Belding-Corticelli, of course is Not Available Anywhere. Google says the company still exists, and has one employee.)

Joy Beeson

You have two experiences over me :-)

I realised this morning that the more I lose the more I have to reduce the intake because I shan't be carrying as much weight. You can't just give up :-(

Up to now there are no downsides to anyhing I eat - except weight gain of course!

I aim to be 147lbs in 21- when we'll have our Golden Wedding anniversary. I want to be able to get into my wedding dress, sprayed gold. His suit went to the moth decades ago ... but he has to buy one for an Arctic cruise we're going to enjoy next year.

All my period clohes won't matter - except that my C18th corset might need some adjustment.

Mary

>

I shed mine with the help of Weight Watchers. Like any weight control plan, it won't suit everybody, but it was flexible enough to work for me. And one of the neat things is that each time you drop a weight bracket, it automatically drops the allowance you get, and it does it in small stages so it really isn't a problem.

I had a severe case of gall bladder disease as well as the fibro and the IBS and various other ills to contend with, and dropping the weight has helped enormously. Getting rid of the gall bladder killed for good my ability to process fats at all well, so I'm very careful about my consumption of fatty foods: NOT hard as I hate highly processed things, deep fried stuff, and fatty meat anyway! But if I poor cream on puddings or eat too much chocolate or cake, I beat the land speed record to the po!

I was about that when I got to my silver wedding this summer. My wedding dress is now TOO BIG (Yay!), and I had to make a Tarty Party Frock for the do, as I look like little Orphan Annie in my wedding dress (which was a Burda equivalent of a UK size 14 when I made it!)

Did you make it so you can skim some off the sides, or will it need more than that? It might be quicker to start again...

I didn't know they did that. I tried it many years ago - about thirty - but all those other women irritated me :-) Perhaps it's different now.

How awful :-(

:-)

I can't remember the last time I had any of those things - oh yes I can, it was at a lavishly hospitable friend's in August in Aberdeen. It was when I got home and stood on the scales I realised that I Had To Take Myself In Hand!

Show off!

Since mine was hand made there's no size label. And the maker had to keep - ahem - letting out the waist ...

I didn't make it. A friend who's a professional (film and tv) costumier made it for me - without my asking. She said I needed it for the Line with my half coat. I could ask her advice when/if I need it again. Georgian isn't what we normally do.

Mary

They do two different programs now, and if meetings don't suit, you can do either ON LINE Yay! But I do like my meetings: they are a giggle. So much depends on the leader...

Yeah, well... Be sensible or be in MORE pain? easier to be sensible! But boring for others at times! Luckily I'm an inventive cook!

My moment of truth was looking at myself in a friend's wedding photos! And then going home and realizing that I actually weighed MORE than Alan! Ooer!

Hehehehe! But it kinda spoiled my plan to dance the night away in it at the party!

And baby makes three? ;)

I lost a couple of inches over night the night before: mum fitted my Going Away skirt and I sewed on the hooks and hand worked loops just where she pinned it, and by the time I put it on 24 hours later, it was too big!

My sister lost a bit in the 3 weeks between me finishing her wedding dress and the wedding, on the bust! She had to dance with her chest stuck out as we didn't have time to fix it, only finding out on the morning when she put it on! AND I'd made it a bit tight!

She'll know! If it can't be altered, the corset Pattern generator for Elizabethan on Drea Leed's site works well and can be adapted for 18th C fairly easily.

It was the leaders I couldn't do with! Since my own regime is workiing I'll stick to that. This time I'm being very strict with myself. Even Spouse has noticed that my belly is smaller - I can't stick it out and look pregnant any more :-)

Same here. Good, innit!

Yes, photoes and reflective windows ought to be banned.

That should have been 2010!

Not sure I'll be able to dance anyway - the hips ... the knees ... :-(

Ssshhhhhhhhhhhhhh ........ Aunt Sara pursed her lips when we said we were keeping the top layer of the wedding cake for the Christening ... It was

1960 ...

I wish you'd stop boasting!

Oh Magot will know! But my bosom has diminished since she made it anyway, I was still swollen from radiotherapy. Serves me right for saying all I wanted was two equally sized withered dugs ... my wish came half true, one's got a big dent in it :-)

Mary