I meant to get this post up soon after my KNITERview but life has a funny way of continually getting in the way. A couple of people asked me about the thread I use for sewing with knits so I kind of did a breakdown of the thread I use for all my different sewing projects.
1. polyester sewing thread
2. heavy weight top stitching thread
3. upholstery thread
4. stretch thread
5. woolly nylon
Let's break it down for the application I generally use each thread.
1. For all my general sewing I use a polyester thread. I don't always use Mettler. If I need to buy an unusual color that may only get used once I buy the cheapo thread from my craft store.
2. I love using this thread for hemming jeans. I'm a shorty and I always have to hem jeans. The Gutermann Mara coarse comes in a few shades of golden that closely match ready to wear denim. This black I used on my super duper favorite Hudson skinny jeans and you could never tell that I had to chop off a good four inches from the bottom.
3. I don't do upholstery but I really like the way this thread works with a leather sewing needle when making leather baby booties. There isn't a huge selection of colors, but I always find a good match for the leather I'm working with.
4. I love the Maxi-Lock stretch for sewing with knits. I use it on my serger (three thread option). I also use it in the bobbin of my sewing machine. So far I haven't encountered any problems and I really like the added stretch in my seams.
5. I use woolly nylon in underwear and swimsuit sewing. I've actually only made one swimsuit for Luca and it didn't fit really well so I'm hoping this Summer I can try again with better luck. I have used this thread for hemming store bought active wear (gym pants).
So there it is. The only other thread I keep at home is embroidery floss which I ardently collect yet rarely use.
1. polyester sewing thread
2. heavy weight top stitching thread
3. upholstery thread
4. stretch thread
5. woolly nylon
Let's break it down for the application I generally use each thread.
So there it is. The only other thread I keep at home is embroidery floss which I ardently collect yet rarely use.
6 comments:
I had no clue there were that many kinds to sew with! And they LOOK different too!
OK, I have a question maybe you can answer. When sewing with the stretch thread in the bobbin of your regular machine, how do you wind it? I tried, but it stretched out, and isn't working. I'm very new to sewing with knits, and I got a serger for Christmas. I love it so far, but I'm still experimenting with different finishing options that I can pull off with my ancient Kenmore.
Okay, I can't wait to try stretch thread. I freakin hate hearing that popping sound after all my hard work!
Amelia, I'm trying hard to remember if I wound the bobbins by hand. I know I wind elastic thread for shirring by hand so I'm thinking that's what I did with the woolly nylon too. I may have actually wound the stretch thread with the regular bobbin winder on my machine. My sewing machine definitely was not happy sewing with the stretch thread through the needle. I had a lot of problems when I tried it that way.
Also, I only have the stretch thread in three colors. White, black and cream. I pretty much use the white the most.
I adore this post! I'm getting more interested in technical sewing tips and tricks (but, like, I haven't sewn anything in months now) and it's fun to see what others do. I have only ever used regular polyester thread, Coats & Clark or Guttermann sewn with a slight zig zag for sewing with knits. Now I want to try the stretch! Thanks for showing this to us.
hello!! i wonder about the maxi lock stretch is that also for swimwear???
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