When I first started sewing and quilting, I never really
gave much thought to my thread. In fact, I discounted it all together and just
focused on what was readily available at my local big box fabric store and
whether the colour matched my project.
Then I heard it mentioned that thread is the glue that keeps
your project together. And something clicked for me; I’ve never seen thread in
the same way since!
Being a part of the quilting community on Instagram, I kept
hearing about a company called Aurifil Threads. Based in Italy, I thought I would have a tough time sourcing
them here in Montreal. But I was super lucky to discover that my fellow
Montreal Modern Quilt Guild member, Stacy, had them in her store Craft de Ville!
I decided to start off slow with one spool of their 50wt
thread in #2021 natural white. Since I piece my quilts with white, I figured this was the best
place to start. Now, I was a little taken aback by the price. Having previously
looked for the cheapest thread available, I was naturally a little shocked. Not
that it’s that much more expensive (more on that in a minute), but since I
typically like to save my quilty dollars for fabric, every little bit counts.
I should know better by now that quality isn’t cheap. In
fact, there’s usually a reason why well-made products are more expensive. And once
I started piecing with the 50wt, I immediately saw and felt a difference.
First off, the 50wt is way less linty than other brands I’ve
tried. This is super important for the health of your sewing machine. Lint is
not their friend and you want to limit dust and lint as much as possible.
Second, I’ve had WAY less tension issues since switching. Not
sure why this is, but my Juki loves this thread and the tension issues I used to experience have been a thing
of the past since making the switch.
Third, I love the feel of the thread. There’s a slight sheen
to it and it feels strong. Qualities you definitely want in your thread.
Fourth, the spools are never ending! Seriously! Which brings
me back to cost. There is a good amount of thread on that 1300m spool (AKA the
large spools). I know changing your spool is no big deal, but since I’m
constantly piecing, I don’t want to be constantly looking up to see how much thread
I have left. This felt like the never-ending spool! So, in the end, I would say
the price differential is not as great as I initially thought. When you cost it
out by the meter, it’s actually a minor difference (I did the math!).
My first trial was so positive, that once my first spool ran
out, I quickly switched to the cones! And those suckers last and last and last. My first cone saw me through
about a year and half of quilty projects – both piecing and quilting. I
recently bought my second one!
And, finally, have you seen the colours it comes in?! I love
that I can perfectly match my projects to my thread! This is very important to
me to have a wide array of options to suit my current project. Whether I’m
looking to go matchy-matchy or whether I want a nice contrasting pop, I’ve
never found myself saying “dang, I wish they had this colour”.
After my first experience with 50wt, I got curious! And
started exploring their different thread weights. Now I find myself using their
40wt and, more recently,
their 28wt for my
quilting. I love the added dimension these thicker threads provide.
I know a lot of quilters love using Dove for their piecing, but I've found myself loving it for my quilting! I picked it up in 28wt and have used it in no less than 3 quilts already!
This is the Mod-Rose Modern Aztec quilt using 28wt Aurifil Thread in Dove. The Modern Aztec pattern is available for instant download in the shop.
This one is more streamlined with simple straight line quilting using 28wt thread in Dove on my Irish Vortex quilt.
And here's a scrappy version using the Irish Vortex quilt pattern. Here I opted for organic wavy quilting, which adds amazing texture and is super fun to quilt too!
You also know how much I love hand quilting and I’ve used
their 12wt in several
projects. My most epic (and still a work in progress) is my Dresden Plate quilt
that I’m entirely quilting by hand. Since the quilt features Kona Cottons with
water names, I thought it was perfectly fitting to go with their variegated
thread in #4655 called Storm at Sea!
After machine quilting with 50wt in my trusty #2021, I also
hand quilted my baby Pink Lemonade quilt with 12wt Pale Pink #2410 and Lemon
#2115. I love how much texture this little quilt has. This is such a fun beginner friendly pattern.
I’ve been hooked on using Aurifil Threads and quickly picked-up one of their colour charts to make selecting threads a breeze. I’m a big fan of colour cards, which you can read more about here.
Oh, and if, like me, you’re looking to support brands that
are striving to be more sustainable, then I’m pleased to share that Aurifil
Threads is Plastic Neutral in 2019. What does this mean? Well, in addition to
encouraging buyers to recycle and reuse their plastic spools, they’ve also
partnered with The Plastic Bank, a Canadian company that strives to clean up plastic waste
from our oceans while also creating opportunities for people living in poverty.
In a year, Aurifil Threads creates 8000kg of plastic from their production of
spools, and by partnering with The Plastic Bank, they’ve committed to cleaning
up 8000kg of plastic waste in our oceans, thereby making them plastic neutral
for 2019. This is a great first step!
All of this to say that I am BEYOND excited to have been invited
to be a 2019 Aurifil Artisan. There are some amazing makers in this year’s group
and I can’t wait to see what fun projects we all share with you.
The quilt behind me is the Forest Talk quilt featuring my Winter Star quilt pattern and I machine quilted it with 40wt thread in #2309 Silver White - another must have colour in my thread stash!
Hit me up with any of your questions about Aurifil in the
comments below.
Happy quilting!
xo
Shannon
_______________________________________________
Never miss a post - sign up for the weekly newsletter here.
This post uses affiliate links. For more info, visit the FAQ page.
Other posts you might like:
Never miss a post - sign up for the weekly newsletter here.
This post uses affiliate links. For more info, visit the FAQ page.
Other posts you might like:
|
|
I am SO happy for you! I am also super excited to see what this year will bring for you! <3
ReplyDeleteThank you so much, Stacy!! Looking forward to sharing lots of fun quilty projects with you :)
DeleteI also didn't think too much about thread choice when I began quilting, but my machines love Aurifil and once I started using it I couldn't look back, either. It's so much fun to explore the different weights. I look forward to seeing what you create this year as an Artisan. Congratulations!
ReplyDeleteAw, thank you, Yvonne! I’m really excited to see what projects I come up with this year 😊 And I love that we’re both part of the Aurifil family for 2019!!
DeleteDo you only piece with the 50 wt? Or have you quilted with it? Also If you use the 28 wt do you use it in the bobbin as well? My local shop had the middle spools on sale today so I picked up a couple :)
ReplyDeleteI have both pieced and quilted with 50wt – it works perfectly well in both scenarios! For example, both Pink Lemonade quilts were quilted with 50wt. When I quilted with the 28wt I also used it in my bobbin and didn’t have any issues! It worked like a charm! Enjoy exploring Aurifil Threads – I hope you love them as much as I do 😊
DeleteYour review is spot-on. I discovered Auriful in 2004, when spools (the middle size) cost only $6.95. I’m very much wishing I had stocked-up at that price!
ReplyDeleteOMG – that’s an amazing price!! The good ol’ days 😉
Delete