I often get asked which Aurifil thread people should be buying so I thought I'd do a quick run through of which weight of thread is which and what each thread is best suited for. Rule no. 1 is the higher the thread number, the thinner the thread. Rule no. 2 is grab yourself a colour card if you can as each weight of thread comes in each one of Aurifil's 252 colours so you can always find the weight you need in the colour you want.
Aurifil 50wt is the finest (thinnest) of the threads and so is perfect for machine and hand piecing. It can also be used for quilting where you want the threads to melt into the background. It comes on an orange spool. You will find you can piece much more accurately with this thread than with other threads.
Aurifil 40wt is slightly heavier. It can also be used for machine and hand piecing but you will get better precision and the thread will glide more easily through the fabric with the 50wt when hand piecing. This is a great machine quilting thread where you want a bit more definition. It comes on a green spool.
Aurifil 28wt is ideal for machine quilting and should be used when you want the quilting to do the talking. It comes on a grey spool.
Aurifil 12 wt comes in both cotton and wool and is great for hand quilting and embroidery. It will run through the machine if needed too. Both the cotton and the wool 12 wt come on red spools.
I an just starting my FMQ journey so this pot is perfect timing for me. Now where can I get a colour card from? Thanks in advance
ReplyDeleteIt's taken me ages to remember that the orange spools are what I want for piecing - it's not hard but I just couldn't get it to stick...
ReplyDeleteThis is really useful. I've only had one spool which was the 50wt orange spool? Anyway, I used it for quilting because it was the only thread I had that I wouldn't run out of and yes the quilting does blend into the background. Which isn't a drama at all. It's good to know what I need to be using for what.
ReplyDeleteI had to come up with a way to remember which spool color to use without CONSTANTLY looking at my Aurifil App on my phone.
ReplyDeleteThe alphabet MNOP O is for orange which comes before P for piecing. As long as I can remember that one then the rest fall in line.
Don't forget you can get your Aurifil App (at least on an iPhone) and then you too can look at the weights all the time to figure out which one you need!
Thanks for a great refresher on the weights.
ReplyDeleteThanks very much, Lynne. There are so many threads about that this is really useful to know.
ReplyDeletewould you use different size needles with the different weight of threads?
ReplyDeleteWhere do you buy your thread? Is there a good place on line?
ReplyDeleteThis is exactly what I needed. You are awesome. Colored pictures really help the visual learner in me
ReplyDeleteI have a question. I LOVE Aurifil but get so frustrated as I cant seem to find smaller spools of the stuff, and if buying colours I really dont need large spools, do they sell small spools anywhere?
ReplyDeleteThanks Lynn ~ I always get confused in this area of tread and always have to ask (they probably think I'm a dolt). I wrote it down in my little book I keep in my purse ~ now I'll have a reference!
ReplyDeleteThanks for that as I was never quite sure what was for what type of sewing. Now I know. Di x
ReplyDeleteThanks for this post. It is right on time. I am quilting my first quilt by hand now and I just used what I had, which is probably a 50w of some kind. I started looking at the Aurifil thread and trying to determine what I wanted to use for my next hand quilting project. What do you mean when you said "when you want the quilt to do the taking"?
ReplyDeleteThank you for the wonderful informaton.
ReplyDeleteThanks for this information - I've been wanting to try a new thread and Aurifil was the one most recommended to me! I couldn't figure out which weight to buy tho and this is a huge help!
ReplyDeleteDo you have any favorite online places to buy it?
Great guide, now we just need to find a quilt shop that sells it on the mad road trip! Still, we're hitting up 3 shops today, so you never know...
ReplyDeleteWhen using the heavier weight threads in the machine, what thread do you use in the bobbin?
ReplyDeleteThanks for this great guide!
ReplyDeletethanks I have the 50 wt and was using it for piecing, then I saw that you were using it to quilt w so I saved it started piecing w something else.... So confusing so many choices of thread!
ReplyDeleteBrilliant post! :). But then you know you are already preaching to,the converted!
ReplyDeletei want to know the answer to di's question also! what do you put in the bobbin?
ReplyDeleteI would like to know what needle to use with the different weight threads. Thank you for this post.
ReplyDeleteThank you that was helpful, but I would like to know what to use in the bobbin .. ...also does certain needle sizes work better with heavier weight threads....
ReplyDeleteI just bookmarked this because I'm constantly forgetting. lol I only remember what color to order because I see what all of my current spools are. ;)
ReplyDeleteTHANK YOU. I'm pinning this because I keep forgetting, and I have one of those sampler things and was worried I'd use the thread for the wrong thing. lol
ReplyDeleteIt seems so simple with the colors of the spools. I never knew that before. Genius!
ReplyDeleteOh this is perfect. I can't thank you enough. And the spools are colour coded??
ReplyDeleteThank you that's perfect :-)
ReplyDelete