Applique thread

I'd suggest buying one spool of a neutral color silk thread; I use tan, very fine silk thread for all of my hand applique, regardless of the color. Or buy a nice cotton such as Aurifil in the colors to match the applique. Then you can always use it for piecing later.

Julia > In a couple weeks I'll be taking a class from Elizabeth Carlson. She will

You won't get a really representative result, if you don't use matching thread, Alice - that's the only snag. I think silk is wonderful; but there is no point in investing in that, if you don't know you will ever use it again. If you have thread (as fine as you have) in the three colours, use them. I have also used embroidery floss to good effect (I had more colours in that at the time). I split it down to a single thread. . In message , Alice writes

I agree with Julia and Pat's advice- either a fine neutral silk or a thread to match each fabric. I have successfully used matching Coats & Clark thread or cotton thread. With cotton be sure you get a 50 to 60 wt.- or even finer. You don't want to use a heavy cotton thread unless it's for buttonhole appliqué or decorative appliqué stitching. And please don't use rayon. While it's beautiful, it's not strong enough for appliqué or piecing. But it is amazing for machine quilting.

Have fun!

Leslie & The Furbabies in MO.

For hand applique -- I heartily recommend silk thread matching the color of your applique pieces.

A little pricey -- but it sews like a hot knife through butter.

I like silk. And I knot the needle with the thread so it doesn't keep slipping off. I use a double knot and have never had any trouble with the knot going through the fabric.

Silk thread just melts into the fabric and it is practically invisible. I use white, cream or gray for every fabric color.

Cindy

Thank you so much for all the great replies. Tomorrow I'll check out a couple fabric stores, and see what I can come up with!

I would recommend a fine cotton thread. The better quality the better. Either a 50 or 60 weight would work well. (Such as Presencia, Aurifil, or Superior Threads Masterpiece. All are nice quality, tightly twisted, fine threads that you can also use on the machine to piece/quilt with. )

Good luck, and have fun, Pati, > In a couple weeks I'll be taking a class from Elizabeth Carlson. She will

On Mon, 7 Apr 2008 12:10:08 -0500, Alice wrote (in article ):

Silk is wonderful for applique, but I've had good results with fine cotton thread and even plain 'ole Dual Duty. If you're not sure you'll like applique I think you could use whatever you have on hand.

Alice: Cool! I think I'll be at the same event! I'm taking classes from Marsha McCloskey and Norma Campbell. Email me off line and we can compare notes!! Meantime, go to