What thread should I use?

Short answer for occasional users: Steer clear of all cotton threads. Get good quality polyester like Mettlers Metrosene or Guterman available in fabric, quilting and sewing stores. They are high quality and come on standard one ounce spools that will easily fit on your machine thread holding post. I have used both on many projects and they work great. You can also leave in your machine for other sewing.

What I use and why: Most treads are made of many short pieces wound together, including Mettlers Metrosene and Guterman. If you look at them under a magnifying glass you will see that they are fuzzy. As they are pulled through your machine, lint gets pulled off. You’ll find fuzzy lint all over your machine. I tend not to use these so my machine is cleaner and for other reasons discussed below.

Also be warned that the some of the cheaper thread dies are not always color fast and can bleed onto your fabric. You may want to test before using a thread. You don’t want to work hard making a nice banner or kite only to have it get moisture on it and the treads bleeds color on your fabric.

Thread is made of several materials. Cotton is commonly used in cloth sewing. It is inexpensive and easily died. I would not recommend for it is not very strong, can bleed color on your fabric is lints up your machine.

Nylon is also used. I have made many banners and kites with Steve Ferrel’s (http://www.kitebuilder.com/kitestudio.html) #33 nylon bonded thread. It is high quality, very strong, resists wear and is much more durable than natural fiber threads. #33 is the size or diameter of the thread. It is bonded, meaning coated, so it does not lint up your machine. The bonding also helps it go through your needle. It’d be great for any of your kites or banners.

Since I make more banners than anything else, I need a thread that will stand up well to the UV’s of sunlight. Many of my banners are exposed much longer to intense sun than my kites. I've never had a problem with any of my kites but on banners the tread can give out before the fabric. I have done 24/7 tests of identical banners with different threads and found that polyester is more resistant to UV. So now I use Heminway & Bartlett V30 black thread. It is a polyester thread. What is really good about it is that it is made from continuous threads. There are no knots or breaks in the tread. If you look under a magnifying glass, you’ll see no fuzzes; is looks shiny. It is bonded, has high strength and little stretch, resistant to mildew and stable in sunlight. It is a commercial thread and hard to find. Hang-em High Fabrics ( http://ecom.citystar.com/hang-em-high/ushop/index.cgi) does carry.

One of the problems with Kitebuilder and Hang-em High is that the thread is wound on 4 inch high cones which you cannot put in your machine. (Sometimes it is available on one ounce cones that fit in your machine but mostly I’ve seen it available on the larger 4 inch high come. Note: the last time I looked, Hang-em High sells one ounce of thread but it is wound on the larger 4 inch high cones.) The cone has to set beside the machine with the tread feed straight up off the top of the cone and then over to the machine. They make special stands for this. This is how I use on my machine. This can be inconvenient. So what do you do if you’d prefer to have your thread on an ounce cone so you can use enclosed in your machine? You can get Steve's or the V30 thread on cones and rewind onto smaller one ounce cones. I have done this too and it works fine but if you have to do very often it can become a pain. I stuck an empty stool on a dowel and put the down in a electric drill and wound it on the spool.

Durability and the problems of fuzzes in your machine are all relative. We often do not need the best of the best, especially if you are not making a lot of banners or kites. My recommendation would be to steer clear of all cotton threads. Get good quality polyester like Mettlers Metrosene and Guterman. I have used both on many projects and they work great and you can also leave in your machine for other sewing.