Zhillslady

Need more feedback than my own. I have always done my fmq with cotton thread and used whatever brand I happened to find in color I wanted. This week I quilted one using Isacord polyester. I purchased $300 starter pack last year when I was thinking of using embroidery machine. Sold machine so thought I'd use thread for fmq as colors were so pretty. A friend who teaches told me this week that you can never fmq with polyester as we have no way on knowing how well it will hold up in your quilt in a hundred years. Anyone else use polyester? Do I really care if 100 years from now the thread breaks?

bearisgray

I used poly-covered dual duty on some of my quilts that are our "couch quilts" that are in use "all" the time.

They are over 15 years old and have held up "fine"
I did stitch in the ditch quilting - the thread did not cut the fabric and it hasn't come out.

And in 100 years - so what?

It might depend on if you are making an heirloom quilt to just look at - or one for the kids that one expects to get used.

irishrose

The landfills are going to be full of polyester long after the natural cotton has returned to the earth. Our descendants are going to look at those polyester pants from a few years ago and wonder what we were thinking. In other words, use the poly if it's what you want. I like Guterman's. Yours is a better brand and should be fine. I used varigated rayon on my last quilt. I wasn't impressed with the thread's strength, but once it was in the quilt, I'm wasn't worried.

Zhillslady

thanks - I expect everyone to use mine. I give a lot to the Lakeland police department for use as they see fit and the others just end up where God tells me to send them once they're done. So far they have all found good homes.

Zhillslady

Thanks for the advice. I just tried gutterman this week and loved it but really hated to just dispose of all those pretty poly's in that box. Maybe I'll just use them till they are gone.

quiltingcandy

I use the thread which matches the quilt. So it may be 100% cotton or blend.

I want my quilts to be used, so I don't care what they look like 100 years later. Let's enjoy them while we are here.

We were celebrating my grandmother's 90th birthday and for dinner I was getting down the good china, my mother said we shouldn't use it, and I said what better reason than reaching the age of 90? And my grandmother said, we always save it for "good". Then she said and there is no one "ggoder" than we are, so let's use it. Have taken that approach to special items every since.

I understand some people use quilts as an art outlet and that is fine, but mine are not, they are to be loved and used.

amma

I use polyester emb thread all of the time, I love the way it looks, and it is sturdier than the cotton thread I have used in the past :D:D:D

Zhillslady

thanks quiltingcandy - I now own and use my mom's good china every day and drives her nuts. Why save somethinbg for special that one day will end up at goodwill in perfectly good condition and we never used while we could enjoy it.

wishfulthinking

Leah Day uses Isacord.

Linda71

I use any thread that works. That being said I have an Elna(1984?) and she insists on using gutterman. She spits out anything else.