Sewing Threads

Polyester or cotton?

Polyester is the safe default. It has a little give, so the seam stretches slightly with the fabric instead of snapping. It is strong, it does not rot, and it holds its color through a lot of washing. Use it on knits, synthetics, polycotton school uniforms and anything that lives outdoors.

Cotton has no stretch. It belongs on woven cotton, linen and kitenge, where it shrinks and presses the same way the cloth does, and it takes a hot iron without melting. It is also slightly weaker than the fabric it joins, so under strain the seam gives before the cloth tears. That is why quilters choose it. For hand sewing, cotton knots less than polyester.

Which reel?

• DMC polyester: 120 m reels in color families, or a 500 m spool in 41 shades for big jobs in one color.
• DMC polyester 300 m (Art 334B): black or white, in No. 40 or No. 50. The lower number is the thicker thread. No. 40 is for denim, canvas and topstitching, No. 50 for everyday sewing.
• DMC cotton: 100 m reels, for woven fabrics and hand work.
• DMC Quilting Thread: mercerised long-staple cotton, 200 m, 73 shades. Pulls through wadding without fluffing, for hand or machine quilting.
• King Tut: 40 wt, 3-ply cotton with very little lint, for machine quilting you want to show. Superior recommend a 90/14 topstitch needle.

Thread for jeans

DMC Jeans Thread is a heavier polyester, 30 m to a reel, in 36 shades including the golden topstitching colors. Use a jeans needle, 90/14 or 100/16, and lengthen the stitch a little. On most home machines it goes in the needle only, with ordinary polyester in the bobbin.

Matching the color

Hold the reel against the fabric in daylight. A shade slightly darker than the cloth hides better than one slightly lighter. Browns are the hardest, so unwind a length and lay it across the fabric rather than judging from the reel. On a print, match the background, not the accent. A mid grey blends with more colors than black or white when you cannot find a match. For multicoloured prints and invisible hems, Prym transparent thread comes in a light and a dark tint. Keep the iron cool over it, as it melts.

Put the same thread in the needle and the bobbin. Mismatched threads are a common cause of tension trouble.