Quilting with Aurifil 50 Wt. Thread

Today the thread I used in my quilting sample is Aurifil 50 wt. 2 ply 100% cotton thread for the top thread.  The company says it is Mako Egyptian Cotton which is a long staple cotton fiber and the main headquarters for the Aurifil company is in Italy where the thread is manufactured.

Make sure to look at the Aruifil website and especially the page on Tips where I found videos with information and found out that this company uses different colored spool centers/end caps for different weights of their threads and the orange spool denotes the 50 wt.  I can’t stress it enough to check out the different company websites as they have loads of information about their products, free patterns, tips and tricks, etc.  I really like this thread thread for lots of applications – piecing, hand applique and now machine quilting.  It is a low lint thread so doesn’t leave fuzzy stuff on the inside of your machine – that is where this thread made with long staple cotton shines over the threads made with short staple cotton.  The thread comes in 3 sizes of spools, this being the medium size that holds 1422 yards of thread. 

This is a medium weight thread that makes a bold statement if it is a contrasting color from the fabric. There was some deepening of color where I backtracked but not too bad but stitching over the same line was was easy to do.  It stitched out nicely too and the tension didn’t have to be adjusted on this sample.

Here are the other statistics from this sample:  I used Bottom Line by Superior Threads in my bobbin, size 14 Topstitch needle, Fairfield 80/20 cotton batting and 2.0 stitch length and 4.0 tension setting.  Again I used my Bernina sewing machine with the stitch regulator foot (BSR). 

I do want to remind you that these are samples, and samples only, so if I didn’t get my quilting motif quite perfect or had some bobbles (crooked places) I just left them in.  This was practice for me and I was not going to take the time to rip anything out.  There are a couple of places near the edge where I have a little bubble in the top fabric when it came loose from the batting before it was stitched.  If this were a real quilt I would have re-basted it with pins or thread to hold it secure before quilting it down.

Sometime I would  like to try the other weights of Aurifil thread, especially the 40 weight which is a little heavier than this 50 weight that I used.  This is a top quality thread that I would recommend.

Until Later,
Lynn