Good morning! I was wondering if I could get some opinions on what brand of thread everyone likes? Currently I am using Sulky as it is the only thing offered at my local retail store. But I was thinking switching to Madeira. I would have to purchase online since it's not available anywhere near me, but it seems like there are some good deals available this way.

I have mostly Robison-Anton, which I love, Floriani, which is the shiniest, and Isacord, plus about six other brands. Most brands consort well with each other, except that I find the Floriani too shiny to fit in with the others and the Isacord seems a scoshe thinner. Sometimes, I don't like the way it covers because of this. Hemingworth is an outstanding brand, if it is available to you, with many exceptional colors, particularly in the yellows and greens. I basically bought out my dealer's stock of it when she put it on 45% off sale to clear it out.

I love Robison Anton rayon and Metro poly. Madeira is a really good thread. But when I first started emb over 8 years ago I started with the Robison Anton rayon and now have about 225 of their colors. I started using the Metro poly about 2 years ago and have their whole line of colors. So, it really is not feasible for me to switch. I have the Horizon 12000 and it is not fussy. I did try Isacord once but really didn't care for it so am using it up on fsl. Hugs..Carol

I have had nothing but wonderful results using poly from ThreadArt. I am true fan of a bargain without the loss of quality.

1 comment

by FLKat 04 Aug 2014

I saw that website and their prices seem really good. Thanks!

Welcome to Cute. !!

I love Madeira because the colors are so wonderful. Also Robinson Anton threads have beautiful colors too. The main difference between polyester thread and rayon thread is that poly can be bleached. Rayon can fade. I don't worry too much about that unless sewing for children or linens that would be washed a lot. I have a lot of rayon projects that have held up well. It is ok to use both poly and rayon threads in the same project too.

I agree that you should not invest heavily in any thread line until you have tested it out on your machine. My machine hates Florini threads. It shreds horrifically on my machine. Isacord sews best on my machine, a Bernina. However, Bernina owns Isacord and the machines are engineered to work with Isacord. But I really love rayon threads. Also, sometimes a machine will hate just one color in a thread line too. So when testing a line of thread, if the thread is giving you a problem and you've tried all the usual things (i.e., rethreaded the machine, checked your tension, replaced the needle, clean lint out of the bobbin area) try a different color in that line before you rule it out totally.

Buying from a color chart online is convenient, but until you actually have the spool in hand, it's hard to really know what the color is. I keep a list of thread colors/brands that I want and on my birthday my husband buys me all the thread on my list.

I use Metro thread at a fraction of the cost of others. They just had a sale on for 75 cents a spool, and the colors are amazing!!! So bright and pretty. I have used Madeira, Sulky, Coates, and RobinsonAnt... and Metro sews out best!!! All 3 machines I have & had, sewed out great with it. Not sew with some others. I love Metro, can you tell??? hahaha! Welcome to Cute and Embroidery!!! Hugs, Judy

I use MetroEmb.com threads. Both of my Brother machines like it. But I have a whole box of another kind that I can only use in the bobbin because neither machine will use it so it is best to try a few spools of someting different before you get stuck with someting you can't use.

I have no doubts about you liking machine embroidery. I love watching designs stitch out! Another addiction will be collecting designs! Many of which you will not ever use. BUT-- you can never have too many designs. You may one day use it! Your taste and interest areas will change through the years. Welcome!

Welcome to Cute. Machines can be very fussy about thread. If your machine likes Sulky and it is the only one available close by I would stick with it. I have quite a few different brands and my machine certainly likes some better than others.

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I use MetroEmb.com threads. Both of my machines like it just fine. As others have suggested it would be a good idea to try a few spools of a brand before buying a bunch of it. Some machines like some threads and not others.

You may want to do a large test area (your most dense design) with another brand before you branch off. Madeira is a well know brand, but my machine doesn't like some brands. It simply refuses to stitch them out properly. I have done the same design in Sulky and it was perfect, then tried one or two other brands and they made an awful mess. My machine will also stitch Mettler well, but that doesn't mean yours will. Give it a try, you will only be out a few dollars if you do small tests.

WElcome here. I am a total Madeira fan, it works perfect for me, lovely colours and it stays great after washing.I also buy on line. but was fortunate to be given the full range of colours by my husband so I just replace the ones I run out of. I also think their metallic thread is great and breaks less frequently than other makes I have tried.

I use Brildor, it came with my Janome MC 11000SE, 276 colors, I have no problems with this.

I'm a Madiera fan. It works wonderfully in my BabyLock Ellisimo. My dealer "Vacuum Center & Sewing Room" in St Cloud MN offers good prices and might be willing to ship to you. They are Awesome folks - couldn't ask for better people. If you're in the USA for sure try calling them at 320-252-8740. And tell 'em Deb Fischer sent'ya ;)

My dealer only sold Madiera thread when I bought my machines back in 2006. I now buy it from Allstitch which is located in Baltimore, Maryland. It works perfectly in my machines (all are Babylock machines) so I figured if it works well why try any other. Madiera has both poly and rayon embroidery threads with over 400 shades of thread to choose from. And they sell 1,000 meter spools and 5,000 cones. Not all colors come in the large cones. I find Madiera thread to be a good quality thread and love the huge choice of colors. BTW, Allstitch sells much more than thread. They also sell quality stabilizers, blanks and many other things all related to embroidery. When you are ready to upgrade to another machine, be sure to have a good dealer with a great tech to work on your machines. We all love the brand we have but if you can, test stitch every brand you can to see what fits your needs. Have fun and keep posting.

2 comments

by FLKat 02 Aug 2014

Yes, I just saw the Allstitch link thanks to another post. They seem to have quite a nice section of items with good prices. Thanks!

by clawton 02 Aug 2014

I've used Allstitch also like their products. I live pretty close to Baltimore so I got my order pretty fast.

Buying thread, well I live miles from my dealer. I started off with a great selection of Isacord. Now I have a great selection of different brands. Not sure where abouts you are in the universe but I have had some great buys from ebay.uk from people selling threads off from goodness knows what but it extended my colour range brilliantly. That was isafil thread. I have also got loads of huge cones of Madeira for my large machine. When looking to upgrade your machine have fun choosing a new one, I think most of use here always want a larger frame size than we have. My Brother Galaxie 3000 uses all the different brands I have threaded it up with so good luck