Well first let me say she is adorable and I can see she LOVES her new dress. I think clothes sewing is WAYYY easier then quilting. my blocks do NOT come out right but I love the quilting part of it. just not so much the construction part. I use both types of thread basically I think now it is a matter of preference. If I don't have the color to match the material in cotton I ju stgrab my machine embroidery thread which is polyester and use that