Kelsie

I bought about 50 spools of thread from the estate of one of our quilting group. It is Mettler, mercerised cotton, silk finish. As she was a great quilter I never gave it a thought and now it seems there is a question of whether the thread is any good/strong enough to use. If you twist it around your fingers it is not hard to break. I asked two of the experienced quilters in our group. One said No. The other said Yes and broke a piece of the Aurifil that she was using. My most immediate problem is that I have One spool of the right colour to match the backing of a throw that I am trying to get finished. Someone has also told me that as it is "silk finish" it is meant for hand sewing and will not work in the machine. I bought this to use in my machine. I am frustrated. Can you help? How can I tell if it O.K.? Is there a difference in what I can use for quilting rather than for piecing? Thanks everyone.

pennycandy

Info from the Mettler site about this thread https://www.amann-mettler.com/en/pro...ish-cotton-50/ Mettler recommends it for sewing and quilting.

Some people are thread snobs and would never use thread older than a few years old. I have used thread that I purchased 25- 30 years ago and have had no problems. The one time that I did have a problem was with some old serger thread. Only one spool out of the four of the same age kept breaking. At first I thought something was wrong with the serger. I changed the thread and the serger worked just fine. I'd test some on some scraps.

pocoellie

Silk finish is not hand quilting thread, so it should be safe to use in your machine. I have used old thread(wooden spools), and never had a problem.

donna13350

I use old thread, too. If it stands up to going through your machine, then it's fine....if it constantly breaks, toss it.

quiltedsunshine

Metler Silk-finish is my favorite thread for piecing. It's been "gassed" like Aurifil, which means that the tiny fibers have been singed off to make it a smoother thread. It's 50 wt, so is perfect for piecing.

Onebyone

Mettler is good thread.

Watson

I use Mettler Silk Finish all the time.

Now, it does depend how and for how long it was stored. If it was stored in bright light for a long time that might affect the strength? I'm not sure.

Watson

bearisgray

If it still seems as "strong" as your other thread(s), I would probably use it.

cashs_mom

Silk finish is fine in your machine. I've used it for years and never had a problem.

junegerbracht

I used to use it all the time - switched to Aurifil. Nevertheless Mettler is good quality thread.