Misty's Mom

Have any of you ever quilted with the top thread being monofilament thread? I'm thinking ahead to quilting my bargello and since there are 24 different colors, I thought this might be the way to go. I still have quite a while to go before quilting. I just started sewing the strips together yesterday, but my mind jumped ahead to the finishing, so I decided to ask y'all. Thanks

Stashelf

I have. I had my Hoop Sisters feathered star done with a wide stipple using monofilament thread. The quilt has lots of different threads and material in it and you really don't notice the quilting which would take away from the quilt.[ATTACH=CONFIG]471721[/ATTACH]

Misty's Mom

Beautiful quilt.

CorgiNole

I've done it for a signature quilt where I didn't want the quilting to interfere with reading the signatures - it was a double sided quilt, so I ended up using monofiliment on both sides. Not my favorite thread combination, but I made it work.

Cheers, K

Lori S

I quilt quite a bit with monofilament thread, especially when it comes to bargello. A few things I have found help. Use a poly instead of nylon... poly takes heat much better. Create a test sandwich.. to get your tension correct... its takes a bit of playing with the top tension. I use more of the smoke color than clear... less shine and is more invisible on dark colors. I have the best success using a smaller needle size.
On some bargello quilts, I will use a variegated thread, if I can find one with the colors of the quilt...it helps the bargello colors travel through the quilt.

franc36

I almost always (unless the quilt is for a baby or someone in a nursing home) use monofilament thread as my top thread. I do this because I am still not the best at free motion quilting. I use Aurifil thread. It is so great to use that I did not realize, until recently, that it is nylon. I have never had the thread break while sewing. I have never had to adjust the tension. Maybe my Bernina does that for me. At any rate, I am very happy with the Aurifil monofilament thread. I haven't melted it with my iron either. When I am better at FMQ, I'll probably quit using it.

AnnieSue

Thanks for the encouraging info everyone. I've been afraid to try, but I'm going to give myself a chance to learn.

CorgiNole

I was really worried about using monofiliment - so did a lot of research on it. Here is my blog post for what I learned from the process: http://quiltingcorgis.blogspot.com/2...-fear-but.html

Cheers, K

Jackie Spencer

I have also. I use what Harriett Hargrave sells on her web-site.

ManiacQuilter2

I have but I stopped using it even tho it was a better quality than a fishing line. I stitch my bargello with the best color match I can find so that it will last a very long time. I always follow the pattern which I feel enhances the piecing which should be the star of the show.