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!

Metallic Thread Research

I've been surfing the web for tips on machine stitching with metallic threads. In an article on the Quilting Daily website, Pokey Bolton lists favorite tips by Liz Kettle that I am definitely going to try out. There's also a lot of information out there about the relation between how the thread is wound onto the spool at the factory and how the thread should come off the spool at your machine. The Presencia thread in this photo is cross-wound, but there are also stacked varieties, and each should be handled differently. I have a lot to learn here...looking forward to time this weekend to experiment.

Pretty, Shiny, Yummy

Finca metallic threads by Presencia

How lucky am I? My next how-to assignment is to come up with photos of tips for stitching with metallic threads. That means I get to play with lots of pretty, shiny, yummy threads, including these from Presencia. I've always loved glittery things, so this is right up my quilting alley. I'll post more once the experiments progress.