Not So Heavy Metal

Threads courtesy of Brother, Presencia, and Sulky

Lots of quilters shy away from stitching with metallic threads. They've heard the stories. The thread breaks every 10 stitches, there's no way to get a nice-looking stitch, they're just not worth the trouble. It's all kind of...heavy. But stitching with metallics doesn't have to be a drag. It can be downright fun, and nothing else can give your quilts so much sparkle and shine so easily.

I'm getting notes together for a tip column on this subject for the February/March 2014 issue of McCall's Quick Quilts, so I've been doing my research. Here are some things that I'm finding out really matter when sewing metallics:

• Type of sewing machine needle 
• Thread lubricants
• The direction the thread is mounted on the machine 
• Thread tension
• Stitch length
• Sewing speed

I've got samples to make this weekend, so if I come up with anything else I'll let you know!