ME: Dakota Colors?

Posted by Taria on October 7, 2009, 1:42 pm

Pati, I just wanted to say thank you for always jumping and
sharing your vast knowledge of threads (and other quilt
help) I appreciate it and know it has to help others too.
Taria

Trilobals are polyester, with a high sheen. Somewhat more colorfast
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All trilobals are not created equal... same as any thread. I have
used, and have some of the Superior threads that are trilobal poly,
and they are great, But a bit on the fine side.
Coverage will vary depending on the size of the thread and the density
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I too, love Sulky threads--rayons, metallics, slivers, and
holographic-- but understand some of both the strengths and weaknesses
of them. And different machines do seem to react differently to
different threads. Play with tension as needed and be prepared to do
several "test runs" to get things straightened out. If the test runs
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on/about it. Keep the "losers" with the notes to help remind you what
you did/didn't do. It is a learning process, and that means making
less than perfect examples along the way.

As to color choices.... yes each company has their own set up, and
different design designers/digitizers will use their "favorite".
However, if you have a color picture you want to get close to, you can
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usually wants to change things up...and choose my own colors for a
design. Others are not comfortable doing that, at least at first. So
whatever works, works.
Have fun,
Pati, in Phx

Posted by Bev in TX on October 7, 2009, 11:48 am

I have tried several brands of machine embroidery thread with my Janome
MC10001. Of all the ones that I tried, there is only one brand that I had
real difficulty with -- Coats & Clark. I tried their rayon & polyester
embroidery threads and had the same problem with both, though I think their
rayon is the worst. Their thread is not twisted as tightly as other brands,
and this caused me no end of difficulty with it (breakage, thread splitting,
etc). I purchased is at a 50% off sale at Joann's, but this was truly a
case of "you get what you pay for". I now wish that I had spent that money
more wisely.

There is some variation in texture between other brands, but they all worked
well with my machine. Given those variations, you would need to test them
out to see what works best for your project. They were touting Floriani
thread as extra special at my LQS (their metallic thread is supposed to be
made with a different process than the other mfgs), but I have not tried it
yet (it costs more than the thread I normally buy). Their polyester thread
appears to be a bit more lustrous than some, so I plan to try it out some
day.

Regarding thread colors, I just searched and the following site has links to
many machine embroidery thread color conversion charts.
http://www.sewterific.com/threadcharts.htm
For example, if you know a Madeira rayon thread color, then you would use
these charts to find a closely (or the closest) matching color in another
thread type (e.g., polyester) or another mfg.
--
Bev in TX

... portion snipped ...
I *am* asking for opinions on which brands of thread are better/worse.
Things are just more complicated than brand x vs. brand y.

If someone had experience that brand x were terrible, kept breaking in
the machine, faded, etc. or that brand y was really good and they
wouldn't consider using anything else... that kind of stuff (the usual
opinion fests here on RCTQ :-) it might help me figure this mess
out. OTOH, if all embroidery threads are pretty much the same, that
would help too. We just don't know, so I asked.

Doc

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