Watson

I am looking at purchasing a set of thread so I have a lot of colours to choose from for thread painting.

Is polyester machine embroidery thread OK? There are lots of those sets available and they look lovely.

There are also Polyester Trilobal sets available and they look nice...shinier...but much more expensive.

They both seem to be 40 weight.

Will the polyester embroidery be OK?

I read the Superior Threads page, but still wasn't clear, so am asking here.

Watson

Tish05

I haven't done any thread painting but I've been doing machine embroidery for a few years. I purchased the ThreadArt sets of thread from Amazon because the price was good and I figured it was worth a try. I really like the thread and have since purchased every colour they have in their machine embroidery thread. I've only quilted a couple of quilts now, but used the ThreadArt thread top and bottom and didn't have any problems with it. Their thread is nice and shiny and they have a huge selection of colours. The thread sets on Amazon are spools of 500 m and on the website they sell 1000 m spools. The thread is so affordable, you can have whatever colour you want without spending a small fortune. I figure if it can withstand the rigours of machine embroidery, the sewing machine would be a breeze. I attached a picture of a close up of the back of a jean jacket I embroidered for a friend who loves flowers. I'm hoping it will give you an idea of the colour and sheen on this thread.

feline fanatic

Many threads marketed to quilters actually started as being marketed as embroidery threads, most of which are trilobal polyesters. Among them are Glide and Isacord.

I prefer the shinier finish so I usually opt for a trilobal. If you want a large selection of inexpensive thread for quilting and don't mind the shiny finish, I recommend Metro Embroidery thread.

https://metroemb.com/store/

They have several packages.

https://metroemb.com/store/index.php...ath=72_105_115

Rhonda K

I have used machine embroidery threads without issues on a couple of projects. I am just starting to explore thread options for thread painting but will probably use the emb threads. Some of the brands have the variegated thread colors that are recommended.

This seems to be an endeavor where you can't go wrong. It depends on what you want for the final results. I am going to make a large square sandwich to play with threads/techniques first before the final stitch out.

Good luck!

dunster

Like Feline, I get thread from metroemb for the longarm. These threads are for embroidery, and they are also trilobal poly, so the two are not mutually exclusive. Trilobals are shiny, which I like for quilting, but I don't know if that's what you want for thread painting.

Iceblossom

Interesting discussion, didn't have much luck with my thrift store shopping this weekend but I did look at a set of Madeira embroidery thread. Lovely collection of what looked like full spools, but I don't do embroidery.

I'd like to try glide thread for my bobbins, but I can only find pre-wound bobbins and my machine has a proprietary bobbin that isn't L, M, or 15. I bought some So Fine to try, have a couple of preemie quilts to quilt down and figured it would be a good test.

So in using these threads for quilting, you think they would be fine for bobbins? Is that for both piecing and quilting, or just quilting? I do press with a very hot iron while I'm piecing. They are also very shiny. I guess the only way to check out how I like them on cotton is to try them. After all, $6 for 20 or so spools is a lot less than what I paid for my cone of So Fine.

costumegirl

Watson - I have used Floriani thread for many projects including quilting and thread painting - it is a polyester trilobal thread, many shades of many colours with a nice sheen/luster - comes in regular cones of 1,000m (1,100 yds) and also in larger cones. It is very reasonably priced and can be found at various dealers in Ontario. Just to let you know - I am not affiliated with the brand or any of the quilt shops in my area - Windsor, Ontario.

I first tried the thread at a local quilt shop class - did a project along with thread painting. It was very easy to work with & is very durable. This shop regularly holds classes giving tips on working with this thread using both embroidery machines, quilting machines and domestic machines. They recently had a Master Class weekend with a representative.

I really like using this thread on my domestic - it is easy to work with, has a full rainbow of multiple shades of colours that will suit all projects and it is addictive! There is probably a QS close to you that carries it.

SunQuilts

Gish. The denim jacket is gorgeous! Did you have any problems embroidering over the seams? I have done a couple of jean jackets for my GGD but used designs that fit between the seams. I would love to be able to expand my options.

SunQuilts

Tish. I meant Tish. Blame my fat fingers!

Tish05

Fat fingers - lol! I didn't have a problem going over the seams for the most part. I use a titanium embroidery needle, and always start with a new needle. I find that helps a lot.
The front of the jacket was even worse than the back for seams.
One of the things that I do with jean jackets is I don't try to hoop the jacket. I hoop the stabilizer, then pin the jacket in place to the stabilizer. I find that makes it much easier to work awkward places.