by Vivien Hall
If you buy some embroidery thread that keeps snapping don’t throw it away. Use it in the bobbin instead. I did this and it’s fine. In future I will always buy good quality machine embroidery thread.
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I have noticed that people speak about bad thread, however, they never say what the brand name is of the bad thread or where it came from. When I first started I purchased poly from Thread Art, because they advertized in my Sew News mag. It was awful, and would not work for me. I contacted them about the problem. My only answer was there was nothing wrong with their thread. I tend to disagree because other brands work just fine. Sally
like the stuff from sicks web site (-: I got the 112 spool set and am finding its only a few colours that have problems the rest all sew out just fine…
This is an excellent idea! SO often people who are having trouble with their embroidery machines keep using the threads which are causing their troubles, hoping to get rid of it so they won’t have it cluttering up their sewing space any more. This is a much better way to make it go!
Bad thread can be treated. Drop a few drops of silicon oil on it, wrap it with a piece of
clear plastic and after a day or two it is strong again.
There is a product called Sewer’s Aid. Just put a stripe down your spool of thread on four sides. It works wonders.
What a great idea especially as you can often by indian produced rayon thread, which looks great, very cheap in lots of colours but it does tend to break under normal ‘top’ usage but ‘good thread’ is expensive and you don’t want to waste it on the bobbin if there is a cheaper but perfectly acceptable alternative for making lace or other ‘double sided’ embroidery.
I also have a lot of bad embroidery thread. It seems to work fine for sewing, though, and I have used it successfully in the bobbin.
A friend with a long arm quilter stores her thread in a plastic bag in the freezer. I think she puts a drop or two of water in the bag for moisture. I like the comment of using it in the bobbin
I talked with a salesman about problem thread. I too used thread art. He said the problem is in the speed of the machine. The “cheaper” thread breaks at a lower speed. I have one machine it works great on but another that breaks everytime.
I asked a texttile person and the bad thread is not a brand issue, all thread brands have a spool that just comes out bad at times. If you get a bad spool , just take it back to the store you bought it at, or use it foe bobbin it that works, (i have not tried it, but i will)
I don’t think of thread as being ‘bad thread’. Some threads work better in some machines. For instance..I have two Brother machines and they are like night and day. The pe150 will sew any thread any time of the day or night. The pc6500 likes certain threads and will get ugly with certain threads. Whatever thread the pc6500 don’t like the pe150 will still sew with no problem. To name a thread brand as ‘bad’ is not fair to the brand or to someone that may sew with it and not have a problem.
I agree with Linda that problematic thread is NOT a brand name issue. I use Thread Art brand often – among others – with no problems at all and it has a lovely finish. Sewer’s Aid is a wonderful product but a chronic thread problem is more often due to a bad needle or to a burr on the strike plate or bobbin case than it is the thread spool itself. If you have ever broken a needle on the machine then the odds are there is a burr on the plate as a result.
Poly thread stretches so it breaks a lot, rayon does better and cotton is always best for quilting or bobbins.
I also purchased Thread Art’s thread and it did nothing but break in both my machines….I have purchased from many different stores and have never had a problem until I got this thread….
I never thought of using it in bobbins, so I will take it out of storage and give it a try.
Thanks for the idea
I use the “bad thread” as bobbin thread when I make my FSL bookmarks. Use a coresponding color, then the bookmark looks great on both sides.
I wouldn’t catagorize poly thread as bad, or rayon thread as good. The quality of the thread is what really makes the difference.
I use poly exclusively as a home-based commercial embroiderer, and don’t have any troube with breaking thread – OK, once in a while only! But I think that is true whatever thread you use, as there are many other things that cause thread breaks, including needles, the digitizing quality and hooping variables. If I have a well-digitized design, proberly hooped blank, and quality thread, either rayon or poly should run just fine.
Rayon thread is popular in the home embroidery world because it has a nice sheen, and a lot of home embroidery is decorative. And, until lately, it has been more common to find it in the stores.
Poly thread can come close to the sheen of rayon in good quality thread. It can also withstand repeated washing and even bleaching, which is not the case with rayon thread, thus the use of poly for logos, athletic wear, etc.
Rayon thread can withstand a higher iron temperature than poly, so for some applications this might be desirable, such as cutting away organza with a stencil cutter.
I would decide which quality is most important to me on a particular piece of embroidery. Then choose a high quality thread, whether it be rayon or polyester.
And remember, whichever thread you use, there is a shelf life to it. Old thread is not worth the time and headache, so rotate your supply, buy in spool sizes according to your usage, and store your thread in a light-free and dust-free environment. When a well-running spool is old and starts to give you trouble, and the normal things are checked – tension, needle, clean bobbin, digitizing, etc. – throw it out, or find some other use for it!
Happy Stitching – Pat
I agree with Pat, I have two embroidery machines and three other machines, Old thread breaks, I have had people give me thread that someone has passed on to them and I have found that those are usually the old ones that have gone past their shelf life. I have used thread art threads and usually do not have a problem with them! I also use both poly and rayon threads, with out much difference in the “problems”. I decide which I will use according to the type of use the garment and embroidery will get, for instance on kids items I will usually use poly, because it does withstand bleaching better and the colors will stay “fresh” wash after wash! And if the thread is not old, and I am having problems, then changing needles is usually the solution!
Sorry I didn’t put the brand name in my original comment. It was J P Coats but was from India. I wrote to Coats in Britain and asked for their comments. First of all they said it was a subsidiary of theirs and was suitable for the Indian market. When I told them I thought that bad policy to have inferior threads for developing countries they then said that is wasn’t theirs after all. Now I steer clear of Coats threads. I prefer Madeira or Gutermann.
I have lots of thread from Thread Arts and it breaks on all 3 of my machines. They said it was made by a leading manufacture.
Before you throw that thread out or do not use it, check the spool. I bought some thread that I love the colors and so shiny, but my thread kept breaking. Finally realized there were little spurs on the top and bottom of the spool. I got an emery board and filed the spurs off smooth and now use the thread all the time. Not saying there is not bad thread out there, just giving you another something to check. Happy embroidering every one. I am totally hooked!
I have used ThreadArt polyester since 2004 without problems and recommend it to others.
I have used Thread Art for almost a year and really like it but I am getting ready to try Metro on the advice of some friends from one of my yahoo groups because they say they LOVE it and it is on sale really cheap 2.25 for 5500yd spool. Anothher tip is to wipe down your machine and thread with a fabric softener sheet and put lotion on your hands as breaks are sommetimes caused by static.
Blessings
Terri
I have used ThreadArt thread most of the time and it works fine. When I have had trouble, a new needle seems to stop the problem. I made 355 FSL ornaments and treetop angels for this Christmas using this thread. Have found the longer I used my machine, the less trouble I had with thread breaks etc. Now it is almost unusual to have this occur.
hi i use the ThreadArt thread all time dont have a problem with it i did get some from over sea an it was not good it broke on my embroidery machine all time ill use it for something else i have a friend that had a long arm an she has trouble getting thread that breaks an its differnt companys so i thikn it all company tha some bad thread .norene in missouri
I have had many spools where I could not find the beginnig thread. Needless to say TANGLES.
I used thread between layers of WSS and did freeform stippling to make lacey material.
I use thread art the most, though I do have a couple spools of coats and clark. I rarely have issues with TA on my signer Futura 350. My friend though has all kinds of issues with her happy commercial machine. I love thread art thread (although their metalic silver is causing all kinds of issues with breaks – hoping the new metalic needles from schmetz resolves that issue for me). If anyone one has treadart thread they do not want let me know I would be willing to take it if you want to get rid of it. pipestonegraphics@msn.com
Loved all the comments about the thread. I have a commercial machine TWF. I have bought some of the Thread Art thread and It is driving me crazy.But I will try the thread aid to see if that helps. Nothing more upsetting then trying to get an order out and to keep having the thread break. But I would like to try the Metro thread. Could someone tell me where I can get it. I like to see how it works. I have all ways used Maderia and I like it a lot but the prices have really gone up on it so am trying to find some I really like and stay with it.
Thanks
D.
My sewing repair guy told me that thread made in Germany was what he liked. I love Isifil and Isacord. It never breaks. I bought some cheap thread on Ebay when I first started out. It’s terrible! Breaks constantly and will mess up your machine.
I bought a big assortment of ThreadArt and it kept breaking. I noticed that it unwinds in the opposite direction of most other brands. (Could this be the problem??) I think this unravels the thread and weakens it. I tried a slower speed but that didn’t work either. I loved the colors but rarely use that thread now…what a waste. I now have a huge selection of bobbin thread I guess.
I agree with the “bad and good” thread ! I have
2 brother pr6oo’s and 5 top of the line babylock’s and thread can be an issue, have bought several different brands and all my machines love madeira polyneon. I did buy some thread from a business owner who was going out of business, some half full spools of different colors. It was old and broke often, still have it and will use for bobbins now. Thank you for great tip.
I have two different brands of machine and Sulky breaks on both of them. I use a poly that came from Ken’s Sewing Center and it rarely breaks on either machine.
I am new to embroidery and will be using a Janome 300e for my school’s afterschool program. Using 40wt. threads from Metro Embroidery, I find the white bobbin thread is showing through on the front with the embroidery thread. I tried adjusting the tension with no change. I did not have this problem with 50wt thread. Please help me remedy this problem; they have 200 spools of 40wt thread. Yikes!
I have been using thread from Thread Art along with Floriani and never had a problem with either of them. I’ve had them for 2 1/2 years in my work room. The climate here is very humid in the summertime so maybe that helps. I use an Janome MB4.
Maybe different machines works better with different threads??