Preferred Thread for Hand Quilting

[Lotti D.]

I have been machine quilting for awhile, but I'm also starting to do some hand quilting as well. Since there are so many different kinds of threads that we can use when we machine quilt, I'm wondering what is the best type of thread to use when quilting by hand?

Thank you,

Kathy in CA

[Kathryn S.]

Hi Kathy, I'm Kathy from Ca too.

I have very limited hand quilting experience, but I have used YLI hand quilting thread and it's nice. I think superior threads has something too which is probably a good one to try. I hand quilted one quilt with Mettler 50 weight thread, and it worked okay but it wasn't very strong. The quilt was a smallish wall quilt so it didn't need to be very sturdy thread. Hopefully some of the HQ experts here will chime in.

Kathy

[Anne B.]

I like King Tut thread by Superior. It comes in gorgeous, subtly variegated colours, and it's a top-quality, extra-long-staple Egyptian cotton.

[Anne B.]

I really like Gutterman hand quilting thread. I've also used Mettler's hand quilting thread and it is good, but I prefer Gutterman as it handles well and does not tangle easily.
Cindy

[Margo C.]

If you are using an thread that is designated as "hand quilting" DO NOT USE IT IN YOUR SEWING MACHINE.

It has a waxy coating to prevent tangles, which is great for hand sewing, but it will gum up your tension disks!!

[Deborah W.]

I have used gutterman hand quilting thread and also valdania thread which is very pretty and worked well.

[Deborah W.]

I want to thank each of you for your response. I'm currently using Gutterman, but it seems kind of stiff and at times I really need to tug in order to get it to lie nicely on the quilt top. Maybe when I wash the quilt after quilting, the threads will not be as obvious. I like the subtle variation that King Tut has, and I will have to give that thread a try, as well and Superior's threads. Also, I didn't know that YLI carried hand quilting thread. Hmm.

Question: Can we use regular machine quilting thread (a 40wt or 30wt) for quilting by hand? My hand quilting will be limited to either wall quilts or pillows, due to the time it takes to hand quilt, so it shouldn't be handled too much

Thank you all again,

Kathy in CA

[Kathryn S.]

Question: Can we use regular machine quilting thread (a 40wt or 30wt) for quilting by hand? My hand quilting will be limited to either wall quilts or pillows, due to the time it takes to hand quilt, so it shouldn't be handled too much

Thank you all again,

Kathy in CA

Not much experience here but I know that Alex Anderson says you can quilt with lots of threads. The owner of our local art quilt shop, Quilters' Studio, hand quilts with big stitches on many of her quilts and uses larger threads such as 30 or 40 weight.
Kathy

[Margo C.]

If you use thread that is not labeled specifically for hand quilting you might have trouble with it tangling and knotting. You can reduce this by using wax or Thread Heaven on the thread before you sew with it. I also use Thread Heaven on threads when I am hand appliqueing to help tame them.



http://www.sublimestitching.com/threadheaven.html

[Jo H.]

I've been using Superiors' Treasure thread on my PTTD quilt (http://www.superiorthreads.com/shop/...sure/products/) and at first it was a little hard for me but not all because of the thread though. I haven't hand-quilted in years so I had to get my 'groove' back. The thread is thicker so I also had to locate the perfect needle that worked well. The needle that has worked well for me is Jeana Kimball's quilting/between needles (http://www.jeanakimballquilter.com/s...enneedles.html). I bought the variety pack because I wasn't sure what size I would be able to work with and the number 10 needle won out. It's small but not too small and the thread goes through the eye of the needle. The thread would not go through the 11 or 12 needles and honestly I cannot even see the eyes in those higher sizes.

If you do try this thread, it is a little wiggly when you unwind it from the spool but it stitches well and shows up nicely on the quilt. If you 'do not' want your thread to show, I would not recommend using this thread as it is thicker and I believe designed to show your handwork. I figured if I was going through all this work, I wanted to be able to see my stitches.

Also, I cannot recommend highly enough my TJ's quick quilter -- http://www.tjsquickquilter.com/ -- I have not one prick on my finger that is underneath my quilt, and my stitches are getting more perfect ever day. The longest I have hand-quilted in one sitting is 2 hours and the only reason I stopped is because I needed a potty break not because of fatigue.

Have fun and enjoy the process.

[E.M. T.]

Just a word...the coating on the hand-quilting thread dissolves when washed and generally,hand-quilting thread
is a bit heavier to withstand the wear and tear of needle and thimble. I've used lots of different offerings but
remain partial to YLI and Gutterman.

[E.M. T.]

If you use thread that is not labeled specifically for hand quilting you might have trouble with it tangling and knotting. You can reduce this by using wax or Thread Heaven on the thread before you sew with it. I also use Thread Heaven on threads when I am hand appliqueing to help tame them.



http://www.sublimestitching.com/threadheaven.html

If you are going to wax your thread, after running the thread through the was a couple of times, Iron the thread under a warm iron (between soft paper or spare cloth), this melts the wax into the thread and makes it much nicer to use and far less tangles/knotting when being used.
It would make sense to wax a batch of threads all at one time, to do this I would suggest find a book or piece of card half as long as you require your thread (if thread =18", book length = 9") then wrap the thread around the book for as many times as you need sewing lengths. Next either wriggle the thread off and cut through the hank once or cut through the thread once to remove it from the book & to make your lengths. Then wax the whole bundle from the middle out to both ends several times (maybe half a dozen), then iron the bundle 2-3 times again making sure that the whole length is covered. Finally I would loosely 3 strand plait/braid the threads to keep them tidy when not in use.

[Margo C.]

If you use thread that is not labeled specifically for hand quilting you might have trouble with it tangling and knotting. You can reduce this by using wax or Thread Heaven on the thread before you sew with it. I also use Thread Heaven on threads when I am hand appliqueing to help tame them.



http://www.sublimestitching.com/threadheaven.html

If you are going to wax your thread, after running the thread through the was a couple of times, Iron the thread under a warm iron (between soft paper or spare cloth), this melts the wax into the thread and makes it much nicer to use and far less tangles/knotting when being used.
It would make sense to wax a batch of threads all at one time, to do this I would suggest find a book or piece of card half as long as you require your thread (if thread =18", book length = 9") then wrap the thread around the book for as many times as you need sewing lengths. Next either wriggle the thread off and cut through the hank once or cut through the thread once to remove it from the book & to make your lengths. Then wax the whole bundle from the middle out to both ends several times (maybe half a dozen), then iron the bundle 2-3 times again making sure that the whole length is covered. Finally I would loosely 3 strand plait/braid the threads to keep them tidy when not in use.

This advice is from someone who KNOWS how it should be done!! Thanks Rosemary!

[Marion D.]

Sounds like you need to figure out what you prefer by testing everything out yourself. But now you know where to start!

[Marion D.]

Good morning all, it's hard for me to get online much during the work week, but I just wanted to say "Thank You"!!! to all of you for taking the time to post your responses. Everyone has given me such wonderful ideas. What I have decided to do, is to work a BOM that I have had for awhile, (A Stitchers Garden, which is a really fun quilt with wild colors and cute flowers) and experiment with the different stencils/rulers that I'm getting, as well as the various threads. These blocks will finish at 12", which is quite a bit smaller than the Love Letters block, which finishes at 28" . By the way, I only have about 1/3 left to hand quilt. I'm thinking about adding some hand embroidery to the leaves (vein lines), and maybe something cute for the centers of the 3 large flowers.

Have a great day!

Kathy in Ca