Thread Quality Question

another Sharon · 2003-10-30T15:42:15+00:00

Hi Everyone,Have wrapped up a long term temp assignment, come and gone fromvacation, and am trying to catch up on all your posts I've beenmissing. Have tried to lurk whenever I could get some time. Over thesummer I won an eBay auction for a vintage Viking 6570 at a reasonableprice. Great machine, has practically all metal parts and a lower gearratio that is touted to sew through 10 layers of denim withoutstressing the machine or skipping stitches. Haven't tried that yet.Otherwise it works terrifically except for the needle up/down feature,a part that Viking no longer handles. Did a happy dance for a wholemonth when I won it. I like my Babylock Encore pretty much but itdoesn't have a pressure foot adjustment to allow for filmy fabric toheavyweight. Plus the Viking has a beautiful straight stitch that Idon't see on many of the computer machines. (Think it was Kate's lovefor her Lily that put the yen for a Viking in my heart.)Anyway, when I bought the BabyLock back when, I was told to only usegood thread on it, such as Metlers, Guttermanns, etc. (This was new tome as I'd always used Coats and Clarks before on my old Singer Touch &Sew, now scrap.) Using M and G puts a crimp in sewing however, becauseI have to drive at least 10 miles to the north, west, or south to findthese brands. Whereas I can get C&C thread at Rag Shop or Walmartsnearby when I'm in a pinch.So can anyone tell me, what's the skinny with Coats and Clark? Theyalso make buttonhole twist and cotton available. How does C&C brandmeasure up? I'm thinking of using it on the Viking if it isn't toobad. And does anyone have any opinions on Talon thread, which Walmartalso carries for sergers? Would appreciate your input.another Sharon

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Marilyn 22 years ago

Another place to try for silk thread is a bead store. You might try going to one of the larger suppliers since most local stores only have their silks on hand on little cards threaded on a beading needle with about three yards of thread. If you look on

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under "thread, cord & wire", they have Gudebrod silk on spools of 200 yards. Lots of colors. They have several weights in some of the colors. Fire Mountain will let anyone order without a minimum order. They have great customer service too. (Not associated, just a happy customer of theirs.)

Marilyn

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Kay Lancaster 22 years ago

Resurrecting the fine cotton thread question, I just became aware of Finca thread:

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Lots ofcolors of their 50 wt Egyptian cotton thread, white, black and ecru in20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 80 and 100 wt. Haven't tried it, but sounds interesting. Kay Lancaster snipped-for-privacy@fern.com

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Beth Pierce 22 years ago

Now after reading all the posts on this topic, I am sure some of you might think I'm daft, but I'm giving my 2 cents worth anyway.

First, I own a Touch and Sew; used to own two of them. I also have a later model Singer that uses Touch and Sew-type bobbins. (I can't get away from the slant needle and the wind-in-the-machine bobbin.) The only thread I found that would work well on these machines is Gutermann polyester and/or cotton. It's a better quality thread, doesn't break, twist, tangle, knot, or fuzz like Coats and Clarks, nor does it break down, and I have found a source for it online.

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I buy the cotton for my embroidery machine, and the poly for the regular sewing machines. The standard size spools are $1.34 each and I find that VERY reasonable, and they have every color Gutermann makes. The company has gone to great lengths to photograph the spools and post them on their website. They have the larger (200m?) spools as well. If I want even larger spools, I get them from on

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.

After much trial and error, I won't let my "babies" have anything else!

Coats and Clarks and Talon is junk; always was junk and will continue to be junk. My mother had a Necchi, which I grew up using and couldn't figure out that the problem with the machine was because of the thread--Coats and Clarks. Also, my sewing class in high school used Coast and Clarks and the machines, Singer 401, 501 and Touch and Sews, constantly had problems. The cheap price is not worth the hassle.

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Scare Crowe 22 years ago

I have a 1956 Super Nova Necchi sewng machine which has used Coats & Clark, Talon and even the bargain table stuff without complaint. It's still going strong and has been thru thick and thin (fabric, that is). Maybe it's the machine, not the thread.

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sewingbythecea 22 years ago

Re: Thread Quality Question This always puzzles me. I have owned well over a half-dozen machines, (five to date are/have been Singers, usually older model Futuras), and have almost exclusively used Coats & Clark thread, with none of the linting problems you detail, Beth. I have found C&C thread, with the exception of one or two odd spools, to be strong and reliable thread. And this is using C&C for over 20 years of alterations, not just as a Sunday sewer. OTOH, some fabrics are so darned linty that the machine bed needs cleaning after every run of seam. I do agree with Beth re: Talon thread. The few spools of Talon I own were bought for exact match of topstitching on altered garments, when nothing else would match. Cea

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joy beeson 22 years ago

Au contraire; Coats and Clarks ONT six-cord thread was superb -- it spoiled me so much that I sew most of my cottons and linens with #100 crochet cotton, being unwilling to trust construction seams to three-cord thread. I still have a partial spool of ONT that I'm saving for a special occasion.

Dual Duty, on the other hand, has no redeeming social value.

Joy Beeson

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