professional finish of a convertible collar

[mysewingpleasure]

Wow, the thread is lovely, I see all tailors use basting thread, I don't have any, I use the surging thread only. :$. Moveover, I went to B & B to explore, I must say I cannot afford the basting thread. Even they have a 10% discount for the month.

[posaune]

well, that is the cheapest thread around
https://www.ebay.de/b/Heftgarn/28172/bn_7005371030
look here
lg
posaune

[mysewingpleasure]

Posaune, thank you for your information about buying threads, however, there indicated that they may not be shipped to Canada. So I try to find in ebay.ca, there I find some of threads :
https://www.threadart.com/category/5/quilting-thread-single-colors-1000-meters
https://www.threadart.com/product/1703/cotton-thread-white-1000m

Quilting Thread - Single Colors - 1000 Meters
100% cotton thread is perfect for hand and machine quilting. Works well on both home sewing and quilting machines.
1000 meter / 1100 yard spools
Long staple, mercerized 100% cotton
50/3 ply

What is the difference between sewing thread and quilting thread? It was mercerized 100% cotton, why is it mercerized?
Is cotton thread better than polyester? For sewing garments, which one should I choose?
what is the difference between the basting thread and sewing thread?
I love to know more about choosing the right thread, thank you.

[Schneiderfrei]

The poly thread(artificial) is strong and long lasting, but it melts quickly under an iron.

Cotton is ideal for cotton fabrics and is the same heat resistance as the cloth in that case, but it is not as long lasting.

Mercerised cotton is nice and shiny and smooth for sewing, but the mercerising may weaken the thread a little.

Unmercerised is a bit fluffy.

[mysewingpleasure]

Schneiderfrei, thank you so much for the explanation, there are most common threads in the market is polyester, I cannot imagine how they are beneficial if it melts quickly but you described it as strong and long lasting. I would love to know more. Thanks again.

[hutch--]

What I have found with polyester thread is that if you iron it too hot, the thread gets a shiny glaze to it. If strength is the criterion that matters to you then polyester is the right choice but if appearance is the important criterion, other lower strength thread types may be a better choice.

[Hendrick]

Hi all,

Also, there's the shrinkage. Non mercerised cotton has a tendancy to shrink, that will result in puckered seams after washing (desired in jeans!). Mercerised cotton has far less shrinkage and will "de-twist" less easy while being pulled through a machine needle (you know the horror of that...). Jeans, btw these days are top stitched with corespun yarns. These have a strong poluester core and long staple cotton spun around that core. Beware of using cheap cotton handstitching yarn on your machine; it will produce huge amouns of lint and dust in the hook and race area.

Schneiderfrei, I don't know where it coms from but around here we usually call topstitching yarn "cordonnet", which sounds like a musical instrument used for folk dancing...

Cheers, Hendrick

[Schneiderfrei]

That's great Hendrick,

I did not know that about the shrinkage and machine characteristics.

G

[peterle]

Basting thread is a very weak spun cotton yarn, it is a bit fluffy in appearence, made of short fibres and usually offwhite and unglazed. It´s also a bit thicker than sewing thread.
It´s advantage is: it´s cheap and rips easily so you can remove the basting stitches after use. It´s rough surface helps to keep single stitches in the fabric so it´s the ideal thread for thread marking. It can´t be used in the machine.

[mysewingpleasure]

I am so thankfully for all the answers you explained. Each of your answer gives me a great impact of knowledge, and each of you have different experience make a huge difference to a newly tailor in her/his sewing journey. There is a Chinese idiom: " learning from very young until very old, there is no bottom line"  Thanks to all of you.

Do you suggest that I use this thread for over-all sewing? It seems to me that the heavy duty one is having the benefits exactly Hendrick mentioned.

Cotton Quilting Thread - Aqua - 1000 Meters - 50 Wt.
https://www.threadart.com/product/1703/cotton-thread-white-1000m
Long staple, mercerized 100% cotton thread. 50/3ply. 1000M spools are available in 40 different shades.

There is another thread,

Heavy Duty Cotton Quilting Thread - 2500 Meters
https://www.threadart.com/category/6/heavy-duty-cotton-quilting-thread-2500-meters
Our popular cotton thread on large cones is even stronger than our regular cotton thread for use with quilting and sewing machines. Also excellent for serging.
large cones
40 weight/3 ply
Sealed in clear shrink wrap
Long staple, mercerized 100% cotton
Low lint

I wonder what is the 40/3ply  and 50/3ply the Heavy Duty one has 40/3ply, while the first one is 50/3ply. What do these 40 and 50 mean?

[Schneiderfrei]

40 and lower are heavy. My friend uses them for light leather work.

60 is finer and I will use it for shirts but the local industrial store to me recommends 120 for shirts.

Core spun, described above is very strong smooth and durable, costs more.

[Hendrick]

For "general purpose", I use Amann Seralon 60 from Mettler. It is strong, stretches slightly and looks beautiful. I only use 30's for topstitching and really heavy stuff. Personally, I think that very fine threads only look good with very small machine stiches (15 or more per inch). Mettler have a very informative wesite, btw...

[Dunc]

I use Gütermann Mara 100 for most purposes. Can't say I've ever noticed any issues with ironing it...

[Hendrick]

I know Mara is a very good thread, but I only ever find it on big cones here...

[Dunc]

It's available in either 1000m spools or 5000m cones, although if you're looking for a particular shade ( other than the common ones) you usually can't buy a single spool, but have to buy a box of 10. The consumer retail equivalent is the "Sew-All" range, which as far as I can tell is exactly the same stuff, just on different reels, in a more limited range of shades, and at a much higher price per metre. A 100m spool of Sew-All is £1.33 (from William Gee), but a 5km cone of Mara 100 is only £7.64.