Seriously!! Whether I'm on the long-arm or piecing, THIS has been happening A LOT lately: I'm within inches of being done sewing binding on, piecing or at the end of a pantograph on the long-arm and yes, I run out of bobbin thread! No April Fools joke here! UGH!!! What's even worse,I don't even notice I'm out of bobbin thread until, like 12 inches later! Talk about letting your mind wander!
Anyhooo....I wrapped up my stay-cation with bobbin maintenance! Between the long-arm and my domestic sewing machine, I spent atleast an hour cleaning my bobbin cartridges. I felt like an awesome machanic! And no, I did NOT take a picture! (I thought about it...but was too emabarressed by my collected lint pile!)
Something I'm learning is...that a clean bobbin case makes your machine hum. Second thing I'm learning, is thread makes a BIG difference! I love unsng King Tut and So Fine! on the long-arm. But when it comes to my domestic machine and piecing I haven't bought quality thread. I didn't realize the difference thread makes until I tested a spool of Aurifil thread I had won against the current thread I'm using, I could not believe the difference!!! I even had my hubby "feel" the difference in the stitching! (I know he is such a good sport!)
With that said, I already have a business account with Superior Threads and have always been very pleased with their thread and service. So I'm curious what thread and color would you recommend to use when machine piecing? Superior Threads catelog has a Masterpiece thread they recommend for piecing?? Anyone familiar with it? Thanks so much for your help!
Get some Bottom Line for your bobbins. I just got some and will be using it soon, but the professional longarmers on MQR swear by it.
ReplyDeleteThanks Carole...but I'm also wondering what to use for top thread when machine piecing?
DeleteIt is such a pain to have to adjust the tension when using different brands or types of thread. I only use Superior King Tut on the top and Bottom Line in the bobbin.I like using variegated thread and it also comes in solid colors. Some of the colors are a bit more linty than others.
ReplyDeleteI do the exact same thing...keep on sewing and not notice I ran out of bobbin thread! Thread is another matter! I have been changing over to Aurifil, but still use other thread as well. I like to spread the love around!!
ReplyDeleteI am in love with the Aurifil Mako 50 wt for piecing. I try to use up some of my other threads but.....
ReplyDeleteI clean my machine(s) after each quilting session and after so many hours of pieicng time - needles changed on a 'time' chart too. I use a lot of different threads for what look I want - yes, they all look and feel different. Aurifil does not work in any of my machines (and at their price, I think I am happy with that).
ReplyDeleteI mostly use white Gütermann polyester thread for all my piecing and quilting. Mostly because it is reasonably priced, readily available from my LQS at a discount for members, runs well in my machines and because the polyester thread is stronger and less linty than cotton, which I like. I won some Aurifil and liked using it for the quilting I did on a table runner. But when I want the quilting to be really special, particularly if I am doing any fmq, I use Superior Threads. And their Titanium Topstitch needles. I have used their Magnifico and Fantastico. And just received a shipment of some new threads to try out. King Tut, Poly Quilter, So Fine! and a cone of Omni for in the bobbin.
ReplyDeleteHeh, I cleaned out my machine on Monday - the lint bunnies were almost big enough to climb out by themselves! :o The machine's much happier now though, lol!
ReplyDeleteLike you, I only discovered Aurifil recently, though I've bought it for quilting. Looks very promising, though! For piecing, I'm currently using YLI Soft Touch in a grey colour - it's 60wt and seems to produce really nice seams! I'm using it with a Schmetz 70/10 microtex needle, which works great for both piecing and quilting with thread this fine. I also have some Superior Threads Bottom Line, but I haven't tried it yet so I can't comment on what it's like. I do quite like Superior's King Tut quilting threads, though. (Yes, I'm completely fickle when it comes to my craft materials!)
I use Aurifil Light Sand (#2000) for almost everything except black and really dark blue. It blends so well, both in the bobbin and as top thread. In fact, I have about 17 bobbins of it pre-wound and ready to go.(I hate winding bobbins, so I do 30 or so at a time.) For black and navy I generally use Aurifil Khaki (#2900). It's green, but it blends great! Signature Parchment is my go-to for quilting the top. I really love how it looks, though I have some pink and green quilts done in Daisy and they look great. Hope that helps!
ReplyDeleteYou know I paper piece, and that requires 15 sts to the inch or smaller... Well, I find that the thread doesn't show, even after ironing, with the smaller stitch. I've been using white or off white to piece, and even on the dark purple of the butterflies for RSC the white thread is not showing.
ReplyDeleteHugs
I was overwhelmed by the quality of Aurifil and would use it exclusively *except* that it doesn't come on cones. I sew A LOT. I mean A LOT. Small spools of thread simply aren't sufficient.
ReplyDeleteHaving said that, I now use Superior's Masterpiece for my machine sewing (garments, craft, quilt piecing) for both the top and bobbin thread. I buy cones of white (for white fabrics), black (for black fabrics) and then a choice of light-medium gray or light-medium tan for everything else. Some times I splurge and get both the gray and the tan. :-)
The only time I color match fabrics is when I am garment sewing and am top-stitching .. then the Aurifil spools are terrific. :-)
For my embroidery machine, I exclusively use Superior's Bottom Line for the bobbin thread. I have a vast selection of threads I use for the top, depending on what I want to do.
I also use Bottom Line exclusively for my longarm quilting machine .. it works with everything. I used to use Superior's King Tut for the top thread for quilting but have recently switched over to Fil-Tec's Glide. Gosh, Glide thread is FANTASTIC. Yes, it's a totally different look from King Tut, but whoa .. do I love the stuff! The fact that Glide is much less expensive than King Tut is icing on the cake.
I had a class with Edyta Sitar and she had us all use Aurifil 50/2 color 2370. We all saw the difference in the construction because the fabric when pressed did shrink because of thick threads. She said this color blended well with almost all colors. I agreed with her and now do most of my piecing with this color and weight.
ReplyDeleteI used to use Aurifil, and really love it. But one day the light bulb went off and I read that I can use the large cones I use on my longarm for piecing, too. So I bought one of Superior's thread guides and use So Fine 50! for most of my piecing now. Seems to work well, and the seams iron out nice and flat. I also like Glide from Fil-Tec for quilting, but haven't tried it for piecing. Have fun experimenting!
ReplyDeleteBarb thanks for emailing me this informative Superior article: http://www.superiorthreads.com/education/different-thread-applications/
DeleteAtleast now we know maybe we shouldn't use our So Fine 50 for peicing! LOL!
I use just about anything when I'm piecing--lots of times using up odds and ends of old spools of Coats and Clark cotton covered polyester or even polyester covered polyester (whatever that is--I can pick spools up at my grocery store when I'm running low, which is really convenient). Now you've got me wondering why I don't choose higher quality thread, because I'm picky about my quilting thread (King Tut in top and bobbin). I'm seriously thinking I should maybe try Masterpiece. I love Superior's service, especially their reasonable shipping charges. I sew on two different machines--one for piecing and one for quilting, so changing tensions is not a issue for me. I'm right with you there on not noticing when I run out of bobbin thread--even when I'm chain piecing! Too bad my machine doesn't have an alarm.
ReplyDeleteI love using Aurifil 50 wt for piecing. I most frequently use white, cream, tan, gray, and black. In my sit down I have been using the Omni thread from Superior. It took me awhile to get the right settings, but it is really cost effective.
ReplyDeleteFor piecing I like So Fine (50 wt). I also like to use it for quilting but in the bobbin I use The Bottom Line. As for cleaning the machine (especially the bobbin case) I do it every time I sit down to sew. It only takes a couple of minutes but it is well worth the effort (especially if your fabric, thread and/or batting throw off a lot of lint)!
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