Learn to Sew: The Effects of Cheap Thread

I am all about saving money when I can. There are so many ways to save money when sewing: from making your own patterns, to shopping sales for your fabric, notions, and patterns.

When we first started sewing I would hear people talk about the differences in threads, only to go to the store and find four spools for a $1.00, and buy them.

Not until we were sewing weekly were the effects of cheap thread on our machine understood.

First, all threads throw off lint in the machine however, we were constantly cleaning out the bobbin case because the lint was building up so fast that it was interfering with the movement of the bobbin case.

Second, I was having problems adjusting my tension. I would correct the tension only to have it get out of balance within a few projects.

Third, we experienced the machine skipping stitches and threads breaking often. Once we checked every possible culprit, we noticed little lumps in our thread that were getting caught in the eye of the needle.

After taking our machine in for the 3rd time in a 9 month period, and finding nothing wrong with the tension, he asked what kind of thread we were using. When I told him, I learned the truth about thread. Not only do the cheaper brands cause excessive lint, overtime they can also cause damage to the tension disks that the threads run through.

So, if you want to save money buying thread - buy the better, more expensive brands ON SALE. In the long run it will not save you money by buying cheaper thread!!!

I actually try to stock up on thread when they are on sale. There are several good brands out there. My favorites are 1. Mettler Metrosene Plus 100% Polyester, and 2. Guttermann 100% Polyester.