carolinequilts Posted July 26, 2009 Report Share Posted July 26, 2009 Hi. I'm wondering if anyone has any experience using Valdani or Sulky threads. I know most of you are Superior users, but they have a $400 per year minimum and right now I can't afford that. I've used Sulky Blendables before, but of all the threads I've tried, this one gives me the most problems with breakage. Does anyone else experience that? Is there a workaround? Also, Valdani is having a sale on thread and only requires an $80 minimum (wholesale accounts). Has anyone tried this thread? Pros? Cons? Also, if you have tried it - what type? There is a cotton thread in 35wt that looks interesting. Thank you! (I know I will get lots of wonderful advice from this group) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sparkle Posted July 26, 2009 Report Share Posted July 26, 2009 Caroline, I tried and tried everything I could think of to get Valdani to stitch on my machine. It would break or fray (even with a 20 needle). I gave it to my friend who loves to sit and machine quilt. I bought it on sale at a quilt show. It' beautiful thread--but I don't know about Sulky. You don't need a lot of colors of Superior thread, and SewThankful has some good sales on Superior threads to get you started with their line of threads. My personal favorites are So-Fine and the newer LAVA along with King Tut. If you want to spend less money, look at Perma-Core which is way less expensive and has so many shades of one color (how many colors of blue are there?)---it's hard to choose. My machine also likes Perma Core. Kingsman Quilting Supplies has this thread. You can probably buy it wholesale for even less. I don't quilt as a business, so never have gone the wholesale route. Also, check out eBay for some vendors that sell some of the popular brands of thread. Have fun!( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
merelling Posted July 26, 2009 Report Share Posted July 26, 2009 I have used Sulky thread without problems;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quiltmonkey Posted July 26, 2009 Report Share Posted July 26, 2009 I have used sulky and valdani and with minor tension adjustments I quilt no problems with either type thread. I experiment with any thread I find; jist gotta fine tune top & bottom Also different size needles & I use sewers aid sometimes if necessary Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nadia Wilson Posted July 26, 2009 Report Share Posted July 26, 2009 Hi Caroline, A few more options....Linda Lang of Longarm Supplies here in BC sells Superior threads at wholesale if you have a business licence...look her up... www.longarmsupplies.com great service and very reasonable prices. Also, check out.... www.wonderfil.net I am a dealer for this thread and will have my website updated with stock soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carolinequilts Posted July 27, 2009 Author Report Share Posted July 27, 2009 Hi Shana and Mereilling. I tried a cone of Sulky Blendables (30wt) the other day and it did nothing but break. When I used Signature in its place the breaking stopped. What adjustments do you make? I'm so glad you have no problems - now I'm less likely to throw the spool across the room and give it another try instead. I have a couple spools that give me no problem, but this was a new spool - the colour was natural taupe and it just broke all the time. I'm going to try some Valdani too. I have used the 35wt and it is so pretty. I hope it works. Nadia - thanks for the info re the Canadian site for Superior. I will look into it... Angie - I'm glad you have friend that likes your thread - might be an option for me if I can't get it to work! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gator Posted July 27, 2009 Report Share Posted July 27, 2009 I really haven't used either on my LA. Sulky works fine on my industrial embroidery machine but I'm not thrilled with it. Sue Patton uses Valdani for her art quilts (check out her website). She also tests threads for them. I agree with Nadia also, some of the LQS will sell thread wholesale without required quotas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SandraC Posted July 27, 2009 Report Share Posted July 27, 2009 Caroline.... Do you know about Cansew? It's a Canadian company and when you place your order, you get it within one or two days! There's no fancy threads, it's just for ordinary everyday needs. Right from the start it has been my thread of choice unless I'm needing something special...(variegated, so fine, etc.). It also works great with superbobs from Superior. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quiltmonkey Posted July 27, 2009 Report Share Posted July 27, 2009 From what Bob Purcell says, most often reason for breaking threads is we keep our machines too tight. So, try loosening up (both top and also in bobbin). How tight is your bobbin tension? How are you running your thread on top? When I was starting out I had a lot of trouble with these threads, too, also had trouble with Rainbows. Eventually I began loosening both top and bobbin and things improved. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carolinequilts Posted July 27, 2009 Author Report Share Posted July 27, 2009 Hi Sandra. I've used CANSEW cotton thread for years for my piecing, but I thought it wouldn't be strong enough for the high speed of the machine. I also have some CANSEW PolyPlus that I've been using in the bobbin. It's a 65/2 weight so I thought it would be too thin for the top. Which of these threads do you use and where? I did send away to CANSEW for some information and they gave me this fabulous colour chart. They also said they have somthing called 'blindstich' thread (poly) which they indicated was supposed to be like Bottom Line. They gave me a small sample and it is like Bottom Line, but just a tad bit rougher on feel. Have you tried that as well? Shana - thanks for this great advice. I'm not going to give up on the Sulky. The last quilt was a rush job so I didn't want to be fiddling with the thread, but the next quilt that I do I will retry the Sulky and see if I can make the necessary adjustments to get it to work. I did have it quite loose as well as the bobbin thread, but I probably just need to give it a bit more time and patience. I also contacted the WonderFil place for some information. I haven't tried that yet but I do have one spool that I bought at a show about a year ago.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quiltmonkey Posted July 27, 2009 Report Share Posted July 27, 2009 Caroline, I just thought of something else, too... Sometimes speed of machine, and speed of needle can cause thread breaking. If you are zooming too fast then yes,... you can get breakage. So also (while you are loosening tension) also try slowing down your speed....especially if you are in SR mode ... if you go too fast in SR you can break thread easy. You might find that if you try quilting without SR mode you WILL NOT get so much thread breakage. Another thing to consider... I've been successful quilting with these threads with or without SR but I find without SR the machine runs smoother and the thread does, too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carolinequilts Posted July 27, 2009 Author Report Share Posted July 27, 2009 When I was having the problem I wasn't even getting as far as the quilting. I was just tryiing to sew the top on (I float the top and sew a straight line across the top. It was causing me grief right away, every couple of inches. I tried the usual adjustments and was going slowly. I did have a magic bobbin washer in though. Could that have been the problem? It was a new needle and the replacement thread (Signature) worked right away so I just attributed it to bad thread. I've had it happen before with Sulky, but as I said, I'm not giving up on it (over $200 investment so I can't!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quiltmonkey Posted July 27, 2009 Report Share Posted July 27, 2009 Is your Sulky Blendable in the spool or in the cone? Where is it breaking...At the needle or further back? Could it be catching on something? If it's on a spool, how is it rolling off? Is it easily rolling off the spindle or hanging up? Sometimes thread on the spool is a little more tricky getting it to roll off evenly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carolinequilts Posted July 27, 2009 Author Report Share Posted July 27, 2009 It is one of the huge cones (3,200 yards). It was unused. Someone suggested one time to put it on updside down. Does that make sense? Could it just be a bad cone of thread? It's not too old - bought about 2 years ago and kept in a plastic drawer (no dust). I'm not sure, but I think it was breaking at the needle. As I said when I switched thread (same needle) there was no problem. It was a 4.0 size needle. Maybe I should try a 4.5? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quilting Heidi Posted July 28, 2009 Report Share Posted July 28, 2009 Caroline, I would loosen the tension on the upper thread. If that means you have to loosen the bobbin then that is what you need to do. You might want to try going through only 2 holes of the pigtail before the tension disk too. I have used this on my quilts and never had a problem. I don't use it often though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RitaR Posted July 28, 2009 Report Share Posted July 28, 2009 I can't run the sulky RAYON on Penny, at all, no matter how I adjust the tension. I have found out I can use the Sulky polyester, with just a little tension adjustings. I also found, the embroidery threads will fade in the laundry.. it's from the laundry powder or liquid, that has bleach or whitener or lightener in it. The poly holds it color forever... Gotta get me to bed... so tired. ritaR Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quiltmonkey Posted July 28, 2009 Report Share Posted July 28, 2009 Rita, the Sulky Blendables are 100% cotton. I don't use Rayon to quilt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SandraC Posted July 28, 2009 Report Share Posted July 28, 2009 Caroline.... Cansew 65/2 polyplus is the one I use for the longarm. I ordered some yesterday and I think it was only $5.88 per cone. I also order a box of spools for my DSM. Which one do you use for your piecing? Here is the link to their site... http://www.cansew.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RitaR Posted July 28, 2009 Report Share Posted July 28, 2009 Shana, with no quilt shops close by big enough to carry a wide variety of threads, I didn't know about the blendables by Sulky. the rayons I use for embroidery and seldom do that since really getting into quilting.. I tried them and almost immediately decided they just were not for long arming. I don't have any other rayon. thanks for the info.. I'll have to try to find bigger shops and see if they have any blendables to try. RitaR Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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