Quilting with thick(er) thread

When teaching Quilting 1 at The Make Den I cover the basics of quilting - regular weight thread, and standard sized sewing machine needles. We usually talk about straight lines, and sometimes get a little wild with free motion. In this blog post however, I'm going to share a few tips on quilting with thicker thread. The suggestions should work for both straight-line and free-motion quilting.

Check out the project I made with our Ferdinand the Fox thimble pattern using a 12 weight variegated Egyptian Cotton thread.

So what equals "thicker" thread? For the majority of quilting I do, I use 50 weight Aurifil thread (available at The Make Den), so anything that is heavier than that equals "heavier weight" thread. Just to clarify, for "thicker thread" you need to go down in the numbers - 40 weight is heavier than 50 and 12 weight is even heavier. 

It's important to note that needles are the opposite, So with 50 weight thread I usually sew with a 75/11 size needle. However with heavier thread I typically sew with at least a 90/14 or often even go with a 100/16. The thicker the thread, the larger the needle you should use.

So, let's start to actually talk about quilting now that we have the thread and needles settled. One more thing to mention however, is that I use "regular weight" thread in the bobbin.

So, thread you needle as you would like usual.

I have an even-feed foot on my machine, but if you don't I strongly recommend using the walking foot. I also strongly recommend testing out the quilting on a sample quilt sandwich and not your finished project, as sometimes the thread gods just don't agree with your project. If the tension is good, I'd say jump into your project, but if it's too tight, or too loose, adjust it and try again on the sample before going to the big game.

Okay, so now you're quilting the real thing... go slowly, be calm, and try not to forget to breathe.

I had a few times that I was going full-speed ahead, I mean fast, and my thread shredded. If that happens you can try a larger needle, or you can try skipping the bottom thread guide (the little metal holder near the needle) as that can minimize wear on the thread.

I can't say that the larger needle, slower speeds and skipping the bottom thread guide will ensure success, but it's worth a try. And, if all else fails... go back to the "regular" stuff.

If you're looking for a bit more on thread, check out the Aurifil website: http://www.aurifil.com/products/how-to-use They've got a nice collection of "how-to" videos.

We'd love to see how your projects turn out, so visit us on Pinterest and share your projects.