Category: Threads

It doesn’t matter if you are using your embroidery machine, free motion quilting or doing controlled decorative stitching on your sewing machine, I have a “cheat sheet” that will help you with the correct way to present metallic thread to your sewing machine.

The design to the right was done on my Brother Dream Machine because it was a built in design. It was totally stitched with metallic thread.  There are 7 colors and 3 different brands, Brother, Sulky and some old Gutterman I had. The results were great with all 3 brands.

The tree was also done on the embroidery machine and the total run time for the gold metallic was 15 minutes.  I didn’t have any thread breaks.  I actually went off to do something else and came back and I had a tree!

This design would be wonderful on a guest towel for the holidays….just don’t let them use it!!

Metallic thread also works when you are doing decorative stitching or free motion quilting.  You can use all those great detailed stitches on your machine that don’t really look good if the thread is heavy.

I’m definitely not an expert at free motion quilting, but my doodles look great with metallic thread.  I’m best if I work in a small area at a time.

There is an accessory you can get for your machine called The Thread Director.  This little gadget makes it possible for your metallic thread to come off the spool so there are no twists or tangles.

It’s a funny looking gadget that is a spool pin adapter

Here is a picture of it on my machine with metallic thread. You want to be sure that your spool will turn easily when the thread is pulled off.  Be sure there isn’t anything deterring the free movement such as paper stuck down in the spool hole.  You won’t have this issue with Brother or Sulky threads, but check if you are using another brand.

First select the correct stitch.  Since I can’t give everyone a number to find on their machine, I’ll give you a picture.  You will find it in your Utility Stitches.  There is nothing fancy about this one.  It takes about two stitches straight and then swings to the left.  The trick is to have it swing to the left just enough to catch the fold of your fabric. You will adjust the width of the stitch to be sure it catches just a bit of the fold.   The machine will always take two stitches, but you can determine how long those stitches will be.  Use a bit longer length if your applique has large straight areas.  Use a smaller stitch length if your applique is small or has lots of curves.

Second, select the correct sewing foot and needle.  I suggest you use a 70 Microtex needle so that you don’t poke a big hole in your work.  You don’t need a large needle to take the Invisafil thread through the fabric.  The foot I suggest is an open-toe foot. This way you will be able to see that your straight stitching will fall just to the right of the fold and the swing to the left will just catch the fold of the fabric.  This is where you will want to do a practice and take a few stitches and try a smaller swing to see if it catches.  Remember, you want just enough to catch the fold of the fabric.

In the picture on the left, I have pulled back the fold so you can see what the stitching looks like.  You can see that the thread is running along the edge of my fabric and the needle swings out to the left to just catch the fold.

In the picture on the left, I have pushed the fold back over the stitches.  That’s all it takes to hide them.  I get the look of hand applique, but I was able to accomplish it with my sewing machine and Invisafil Thread.

We have a great selection of colors on our website.  All you have to do is pick a color that is “in the ballpark” as the thread is so thin with a matte finish.  It will just blend in.

Don’t forget to get a 70 Microtex needle.  

To purchase a package of 70 Microtex needles here, click the “Select Options” button below the Microtex image, then on the Microtex needles page, use the “Choose an option” pull-down to select 70 Microtex.

Hope you will learn how your machine can help you accomplish the look of hand applique.

Visit our Invisafil Thread page to shop our complete selection of these great Invisafil 100 Wt. Polyester Threads from Wonderfil. The one shown here is Invisafil Aqua IF713.

Let me give you my little “cheat sheet” for the set up with Invisafil Thread:

1.  Use invisafil in the top and the bobbin
2.  The thread is so thin, you might want to loosen your top thesion by a number (ie. 4 to 3)
3.  For applique,  use a 70 Microtex needle as you don’t need to punch a big hole for this thin thread.
4.  For quilting, use an 80 Microtex needle to easily punch thru the batting.

We use Invisafil with raw edge applique.

The setting on my machine is just a normal zig zag stitch with a width of about 1.5 and a length of about 1.2.  The trick when doing this stitch is to keep the stitching on the fabric.  Ideally, it would be half on and half off the edge.  If you move totally on the fabric, you will be fine, but if you move totally off the fabric, you will see the stitching and should take it out.

Just a hint about fusing your fabric for raw edge applique.  When we get a complaint about skipped stitches or a gummy needle, we always ask about the length of time for the fusing.  Most of our customers with problems didn’t know that there are specific directions and times for each of the fusibles.  So before you begin working on your project, be sure you know how to properly use the fusible you have chosen. This will help eliminate these two issues.

I had so much fun playing with the thread myself that I wanted to share an idea about how to use those “practice” pieces. This is what my first practice piece looked like.  It’s pretty much a mess to most people, but it lets me see what stitches I like.  Some might write down the length and width of the best ones which is a fine idea, but I am lucky to have a machine that will remember that for me!  With this practice piece I can refer back to it, and try different stitches as I go along.  If I want to try another stitch, I just put in on the practice piece.

Once I got going, I thought it would be a good idea to use just one color of thread so I could concentrate on the stitches. I just drew a line and did diagonal stitching.  I originally had spaces and rows, but I just kept putting stitches on until it became boring.  I just didn’t know when to quit.  I’ll cut this up and use parts of it in another project…someday!!

I decided to add more color and sew them in rows.  It gave me more variety and was much more interesting.

I discovered a new stitch.  I used a stitch that had one straight side to it.  After stitching it, I  used the mirror image button on my machine and stitched it again.  It became a wider stitch than what appears to be possible on a sewing machine.  I love that.  Now it didn’t exactly line up in the middle, so I ran a triple straight stitch in a contrast color down the middle to cover the gaps.  It made a wonderful design.  It’s fun to discover a “new” stitch!  I know your machine has some stitches that would work just like this one

Once I had enough practice pieces, I wanted to make something.  I used one of our favorite little bag patterns called Little Glam Bag.  It gave me some great divisions to use my small pieces.  If you haven’t tried this pattern it is a simple little pouch and is a great way to use your decorative practice pieces.  You can order this pattern on our website at Glam Bag.

I have sold sewing machines for 42 years so I’ve “seen a thing or two”.  Machines have always had decorative stitches, but we didn’t always have a variety of threads.  It’s the thread, needle, tension, and stabilizer combination that makes for successful decorative stitching.  Sounds confusing, but it’s really not when I give you my little “cheat sheets” on how to set your machine.

I do have a disclaimer.  We have been a Brother dealer for about 25 years and an Elna dealer before that.  The information I will share will be directed to the Brother machine for the tension settings, and accessories.  Since Brother makes Babylock sewing machines, you will find the same settings easy to follow.  I can’t speak for other brands, but a sewing machine is a sewing machine with tension settings, stitch selections, needles choices and needed stabilizers.  I feel anything I say will be able to be applied to other machines.

The next consideration is the top tension.  Again, simple.   Set it to “1”.  The Brother/Babylock machines have a “normal” tension of 4, so it is considerably looser.  The tension needs to be loose so that your bobbin thread will be able to pull the heavy thread to the backside of your work.  This way, the bobbin thread won’t show. My choice for bobbin thread is Metrosene 50wt.  We need a bobbin thread that is heavy enough to hold down our 12wt thread.  If we have a very light bobbin thread, we won’t be able to loosen the top tension enough to keep the heavy top thread from pulling our bobbin thread up.

You will have better results if you use cotton or cotton/linen blends of fabric as your background.  I always use spray starch to stiffen my fabric.  For all your practice pieces, use Sulky Tear Easy under the fabric.  This is all the stabilizer you will need if you spray starch your cotton or cotton/linen fabric.

I stitched some samples for you to see the impressive difference in Aurifil 50wt on the right and Sulky 12wt thread on the left.  Each of these samples easily shows how heavy thread can make your stitching look more like hand work.  These are all simple stitches, nothing fancy.