Two days at the International Quilt festival is never enough time to see everything, but I had my short list of priorities. One of my priorities was to make it to the Wonderfil booth. A textile artist can never have too much thread in my opinion. Wonderfil is a thread company based in Canada, and do they have some gorgeous thread. The stuff that caught my eye was this 40 wt rayon thread called Accent and D-twist. It is a slightly heavier weight and has a lovely sheen. If you wanted to draw attention to some stitching in your work, this would be the thread to use. I especially love the subtle variegation in the greens.
Thursday, November 15, 2007
Wonderfil thread
Two days at the International Quilt festival is never enough time to see everything, but I had my short list of priorities. One of my priorities was to make it to the Wonderfil booth. A textile artist can never have too much thread in my opinion. Wonderfil is a thread company based in Canada, and do they have some gorgeous thread. The stuff that caught my eye was this 40 wt rayon thread called Accent and D-twist. It is a slightly heavier weight and has a lovely sheen. If you wanted to draw attention to some stitching in your work, this would be the thread to use. I especially love the subtle variegation in the greens.
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I've been working with the Wonderfil threads for a while now, love their rayon line in both 30wt and 40wt.
ReplyDeleteEither it's my machine or it's me, but fun, shiny thread gets frayed and breaks. I even tried a new needle thinking the eye was rough. Then I gave up. Does it always work for you Judy?
ReplyDeleteVicky, it is probably your machine. I have a Bernina 1630 (12 years old now) that has never liked fancy thread. Always frays and breaks. I have friends with other Bernina models that have never had this problem. I also have a Pfaff 1475 (that I bought used 6 or 7 years ago) It handled fancy threads much better, up until the last year or so, now I have been having problems. It probably needs servicing pretty badly.
ReplyDeleteGenerally with metallics or heavy weight threads you want to use a needle with a very large eye, like a top stitch needle. I also like to use the Organ Titanium needles. Titanium evidently does not get as hot and so there is less stress on the thread. The best thing i like about the titanium is they do not snap off if you hit the stitch plate, they just bend into a hook shape. Much easier on the nerves.
This last weekend at the Quilt show in Chicago I bit the bullet and bought a new machine, a Janome 6600. I finally had a chance to sew on it last night, what a dream! I tried several problematic threads without changing the needle to a top stitch and they sewed beautifully. I am amazed at how easily it handled these threads. I can imagine putting in a better needle would really make it fly.
Ok, I will try a bigger eye thread. I know the needles are Shumtez [or whatever ;)] ,so they aren't the cheap-o's. I will also put the Janome on my someday list. I have a Phaff that was a school model, had it serviced again and it works better, but am still not sold on it. [to late to exchange w/o big cost]
ReplyDeleteI have a Husky and I'm experimenting with the Invisafil. I love the look it is giving, but the top thread keeps skipping stitches and shredding. Any suggestions?? I'd really like to use this on my current quilt but I'm getting frustrated.
ReplyDeletethanks for any help
First I would try using a large top stitch needle and lower the tension to a smaller number.
ReplyDeleteI have found that different machines can be very finicky with thread though. Some require that a matching thread be in the bobbin before working well. If the thread weight is different it can cause lots of problems, other machines do just fine. So you might try that next.
My Bernina has always been picky about threads, shredding metallics, my Pfaff is great with a variety of threads and my Janome has to have matching weights of threads in top and bottom.
good luck!