Hi everyone. I got a lightweight Janome for Christmas to use for classes, etc., and was "given" a box of twelve colors of Iris Ultra Cotton Quilting Thread. 50 wt. LSE. I've never experienced thjis brand before (use Aurafil or YLI mostly). Is this a quality thread? It feels a bit thicker than the same weight in the other two brands. Is it mostly used for actual quilting, or is it good for piecing as well? I have 12 spools of 500 yards each and hate to toss it if it's good thread; just don't quite know what to do with it. Any thoughts? Thanks!
Since you already have it, if it were me, I would just give it a try on a practice piece and see what you think.
Life is like a quilt...bits & pieces, joy & sorrow, stitched with love
Steph, Its probably a cotton like connecting threads essentials . I would use it for piecing but like Spud said try it out first. Dont toss it someone will use it . Susan
Steph
I haven't used this particular brand but I would definitely try it out. Hope it is a good thread for you.
Vinton, Virginia
Steph,
it might be thicker than the other threads because it's 3 ply not 2 ply.
One person on the Sew Mama Sew blog said it works really well in her Janome.
Your thread will probably work well with your machine. It would not be smart for Janome to give you a thread that does not work well; that can make their machine look bad. So, I would trust that they don't want to have people hate their machine because of the "free" thread they threw in. As a general rule, the 3 ply looks great as a top stitch... just don't take your stitch length down too small. I have a New Home (the old version of Janome) and have had it 30 years. It is a work horse and has never let me down. i liked it so much I got a Janome 1600 as my midarm quilting machine to put on a rack. Again I love it. have fun... and let us know if you would recommend the thread. There are some threads out there that are not as well known, less expensive, and look wonderful in certain applications. It is always great to learn about a new one. Judy from Maine
That makes sense. I hadn't paid attention, my usual threads have a 2 on the spool; the Iris doesn't. So that explains it! I'll give it a try. The colors are nice, and will be a help in color matching for machine applique. Thanks!
Okay, not sure what happened to the previous post but it came out all messed up.
Steph, just hang in there and give it a try and don't be so hard on yourself. I tend to be very hard on myself (I think we all do) but I'm working on accepting what I do and just try to make it better each time.
I have a janome 6600 and I love the Iris Ultra thread. It is 3 ply but isn't too thick, has a nice smooth texture and has less lint than some threads. It is good thread and if I'm not mistaken it is a janome partner product.
How does the Iris Ultra compare with Aurifil? I have tried Guttermen and really don't like it. My machine doesn't always like Gutterman and there is lots of lint.
Aurifil is finer than Iris Ultra even though they say it is the same weight, but it is also weaker (guess it's because it is 2-ply vs. 3-ply). I've used Aurifil for FMQ, but I don't use it for piecing. Just my preference. I agree that Gutterman is very linty. I tried it once and will not use it again. I do like Mettler silk finish cotton thread. Not sure if I like it as much as Iris, but it's what my local quilt store carries. The only place that I can find Iris is at my sewing machine dealer's and it is way out of my way and they were only "trying it" at the time and only had a few neutral colors.