Quilting myths or preference?
#11
Well I use cotton thread. for piecing and for hand quilting. and yes i do have to clean my machine. But if u use Egyptian cotton thread u get very little lint.I also only use cotton batting.no poly. Poly thread can and does stretch where as cotton does not. And u get puckering at the seams with poly. Just my opinion. I guess I am just an old fashioned quilter. And my quilts are made to be used also. which is why i use cotton. just has a better feel to me.
#12
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Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: Southern USA
Posts: 16,515
I use cotton and poly. Most times I will have poly in the bobbin and cotton on top. The difference in poly and cotton thread is at the bottom of my list to ponder about. The color of the thread is more important to me.
#14
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Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: The Deep South near Cajun Country, USA
Posts: 5,435
I like to use a very hot iron to iron seams when I am piecing, and do prefer the cotton thread. I don't like it being linty, but I just do the cleaning bit more often. When I put the piece on the long arm and quilt it, I do use Polyester. So mine quilts are a mixture.
#15
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Join Date: Apr 2011
Location: Long Island, New York
Posts: 1,063
I think the issues with polyester thread on cotton fabric have more to do with piecing than with the actual quilting. Particularly if there is less than a 1/4" seam. Jan from Be*Mused wrote a post about a quilt that she made in the 80s for her sister. I'll link the article but in essence she shows where the cotton wore away from the poly core and cut through the seam of the patchwork. I think many factors could be at play here but, in my opinion, this is the type of situation most people think of when the question of piecing with polyester thread comes up.
http://bemused.typepad.com/bemused/2...r_caution.html
I think that most people would agree that with the strength of the three layers (and more when quilting over seams) and the improvement in quality of polyester thread there is no danger when quilting with polyester thread.
http://bemused.typepad.com/bemused/2...r_caution.html
I think that most people would agree that with the strength of the three layers (and more when quilting over seams) and the improvement in quality of polyester thread there is no danger when quilting with polyester thread.
#18
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Join Date: Jun 2011
Location: Southern California
Posts: 19,127
I don't think this is a myth. You can compare the quality of invisible thread from the 70s which indeed felt like FISHLINE to the current invisible thread that is being produced in this century. There is a difference with the quality of the thread. I am certain that the quality of polyester thread has improved from the thread that was produced in the 1900s. I have seen older quilts where the cotton fabric in a quilt had been cut by the wear of polyester thread from earlier years. I have also seen bearding from older quilts with seams pressed open. But batting has also evolved as so many things have in quilting. Usually old wise tales do have a legitimate source. We each need to make our own decision of what we think is best for our quilts and our DSM.
#20
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Join Date: May 2009
Location: NY
Posts: 10,590
It is also carried here:
http://www.quiltscomplete.com/Depart...ead/Glide.aspx
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kberry
General Chit-Chat (non-quilting talk)
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08-22-2011 11:51 AM