Replies

1. 
   cottonbets | Jul 16, 2002 05:33am | #1

   For piecing a quilt, some people suggest using 100% cotton thread, not quilting thread, but stuff that is the same weight as "regular" sewing thread. It is usually in the same display unit as the other stuff (such as coats and clark cotton wrapped poly), but may be on an upper row, and not available in as many colors. The reasoning is that you don't want your thread to be stronger than your fabric so that if stressed, the thread will rip before your fabric does. I have pieced many, many quilts that I have hand or machine quilted, and I don't think that it matters what thread I've used to piece them, as long as it is a good quality thread.   If you are talking about hand piecing, you could use quilting thread or a good quality "regular" weight thread. I use a fairly new product called thread heaven to coat the thread,  minimizing twisting and knotting. It is fantastic, and inexpensive enough to keep a couple around the house. Back to threads, Mettler has one that is called silky cotton. It is lovely, and I guess I am more particular about the thread I use to hand sew. You especially want to use good quality thread when you are using black. For some reason, the quality of black thread is very inconsistant; you will see thin and thick variation within many brands, serger thread too. Hmm, this is pretty jumbled, I hope it makes sense to you. I just finished piecing a quilt top today, and think it's time to do something mindless. Good luck!