Rayon thread??

[Merry]

I haven't had any thread problems up til now, tension has always been great, no breakage, etc. Usually use all cotton or poly core thread.

I have some huge spools of very bright shiny silky thread which is three threads wound together, machine embroidery thread as it works in my Viking. No name/brand on it anywhere - looks like commercial size cones. I decided to try it for quilting yesterday and put it on top and in the bobbin. Go a few stitches and break, few more and break. Always the top thread. The tension is loose enough but the thread just seams to 'fray' rather than snap. Anyone here use this type successfully? I wonder if the thread is quite old as it was given to me from an estate sale.

Mary and Big Girl

[Giftedhands]

#1 Old thread. #2 Rayon is meant for decorative stitching only. The embroidery thread people do offer Poly, which seems to be stronger, and better in situations where the piece is going to be washed or get light exposure. Rayon also fades....

[quiltjunkie]

I find that those 'no name' brands don't work so well, if you want to use beautiful threads, shiny, variegated, etc. try the Superior line, I have NO Problems with these, they look fabulous. Good luck.

[Jess]

Since I do a lot of art-quilts I use rayon quite regularily and actually like it better than the Rainbows from Superior Threads when it comes to breaking.

First thing I need to ask is what brand? There is a tremendous difference in rayons and how they act in the longarm. My favorites are Madiera, YLI, Robinson-Anton - in that order. In my opinion Sulky breaks far too easily, as well as some of the other 'over the counter' rayon threads.

Here are some other tips to get them to work smoothly:

1)Use a rayon bobbin thread also or wind your own bobbin with lingerie thread - Sometimes certain brands of rayon don't preform well with pre-wound bobbins, especially pre-wound poly - nylon works better.

2)Really loosen the bobbin and top tensions, then start snugging them up to gett a good look. My bobbin is quite loose compared to when I am using other top threads. If I hold the thread the bobbin with my hand about a foot below the bobbin case will hit my hand by about the count to 3 - not like a stone, but pretty speedily.

3)Smooth textured rayons work better, which is why the Madiera works great. When you run it through your fingertips it should be almost impossible to feel the twist. If you can significantly feel the twist in a rayon thread you will surely have problems running it in your longarm. I do have some cheap rayon that I bought at a show that I absolutely can not get to run in my longarm, although it also won't run without breaking in my embroidery machine - so there you have it - junkie thread.

4)Old thread or light damaged thread is always a consideration.

5)Try putting a piece of batting in the very back loop above where the thread comes off the spool. Rayon likes to 'whip' up and snag on anything it can. On my machine it particularily likes the eagle emblem on the side of the machine and if I really get going without the batt tucked in, it will surely whip up and catch on that darn bird.

6)Finally, if the thread is on a spool instead of a cone, try turning it upside down from what you have been doing. Rayons will snap right away if you are sewing with the twist going in the wrong direction, which may be either untwist or more twist depending on how much twist is in the thread to begin with - so basically no hard and fast rule on this, it depends on the brand.

7) You do have to slow down a bit more than normal using rayons, but only about the speed that you would with the trilobal polys, not nearly what you would have to do with a metallic.

Overall rayons hold up very well in my opinion , just think how many times you wash an embroidered shirt vs. a quilt. Although, a poly with an embroidery/rayon look is better overall, the rayons have never given me an problems when it comes to wear and tear. I've found that if the thread won't run in both my longarm and embroidery machine that it is probably junk and won't be something I want in my quilt anyway.

I hope this helps out.

Jess

[Merry]

Thanks for the suggestions Jess. I am so glad you responded as it made me rethink them. I just went out and checked all of the spools and found a label on one and I was totally wrong!

They are NYLON and the label and a little research found a second label saying Rheingold - Made in Germany. They are enormous spools, about 8" tall with a black plastic spool/base so no chance of getting them upsidedown. I am going to try these again as the colors are absolutely beautiful and I already own them:-) Hmmm, any suggestions on using nylon? I would guess that the lingerie thread in the bobbin would be a must. I have since changed my needle due to some fraying on cotton thread and decided it had a burr in it so maybe a new needle will help this also.

Mary & Big Girl

[White Rooster]

I use a product called Sewer's Aid. A liquid that comes in a plastic bottle at most fabric stores. I run a couple of beads of the liquid down the sides of my spool of thread before putting it on the machine. Helps to prevent thread breakage and has worked great on my decorative threads in the longarm. I haven't tried it on nylon but it's worth a try. Good luck.

[Audria L. Humphrey]

;)Just read what you all were saying about rayon thread. Strange that topic would come up today because I just bought rayon thread today. I've had trouble useing verigated thread, why would I think I can use rayon? The answer is becuse of all of the info from all of you I'm getting adventursom! I was wondering what size needle you use. Do you use the same size for all threads or different size for differnt thread?