Monday, October 31, 2011

My Aurifil thread test

It's been a while since I posted. I've been busy sewing, and designing things with lights, and scheduling classes, among other things. It's been a wild time, but I'm loving it.

First, I wanted to tell you about my thread experience. During the Summer, Aurifil Thread sponsored a contest on Facebook. If you had 100 friends who also "liked" their page, you could get 3 spools of yummy thread. I had signed up during a contest sponsored by Accuquilt (one of my other favorite FB pages) and was able to enter the contest. I received this in the mail a few weeks later.


Three large spools of Aurifil cotton MAKO 50wt thread and a color chart (smart marketing, Alex!). I am a little picky about my thread. I grew up using (and being frustrated by) that bargain "10 for $1" thread, and Coats. I switched to Gutterman after I spoke with people at my favorite sewing machine store. I found an online store that had good prices, and started using that for everything. I picked up some 40wt thread when I started quilting, and wanted to accent the top with thread. Some were better than others. Less breakage, less frustrations. I like Superior King Tut for most of my quilting, but I really wanted to see what the 50wt was all about. So, I went through my stash of mostly blues, purples, and pinks (lol, yes, those weren't my usual thread colors, but they were pretty, and free, so...) I decided to do something for Autumn, and would do my best piecing and quilting to test Aurifil.

So, first thing I did was pick out my red plastic bobbins (Viking makes bobbins in colors for my machine: purple, red, yellow, blue and green, in an assorted pack.) I used a Sharpie to write an A on them, so I would know they were the Aurifil bobbins. The spools were orange, which is Aurifil's easy way to determine the thread weight on the spool, so it made sense to me to use a similar color bobbin. Others use nail polish to mark the style of thread on the metal bobbins. I picked Eleanor Burns Autumn Leaves pattern and the fabrics to match the threads. I carefully pieced the leaves, making my usual adjustment for needle placement and 1/4" seams. Guess what? My pieces were bigger than usual! Yes, the thread did make a difference in the seam allowance, making the block size more accurate. I readjusted my needle position, and resewed the pieces. Yes, I had to rip out some of that wonderful thread. I was really sad to see I had wasted some! But I was learning that all "they" say about this thread is true. More accurate piecing, better quilting, less breakage, less lint. It really is as great as others have said. Since the thread is thinner, you really can put more on a bobbin, and you don't have as much lint in your machine after using it. I really checked this out.

So, here are my projects. I showed them to a friend, Miko at JF Magic, who works with some great guys who wanted to add fiber optic lights to these. One is finished, and the other needs backing and binding to finish after the lights were added. Look at the piecing, and the quilting. I am especially proud of that stitching. I did my best work on these, and Aurifil thread really did make a difference. Now to get other colors. I plan to replace my usual Gutterman with Aurifil 50wt, and want to try the other weights for quilting. I love Aurifil. The price per spool may be a little higher than I was paying for Gutterman, but it is well worth it for the sheen, how it works in my machine, and the accuracy.


I'm glad you can see the lights in this picture. It looks really cool, and the lights "chase" around the square.






Aurifil didn't ask me to recommend their product, and I am not benefitting from this endorsement. I really do love Aurifil, though. It would be fun to design a box of my favorite colors, if someone ever asks!