TEZERA KASSA IMPORT AND EXPORT COMPANY

E-mail: [email protected]

www.tezerakassaimportexport.com

Tel:- +251-911-73 89 99

Fax: - +251-111-57 73 44

P.O.Box:- 29966

Study on: - Sewing Machine Thread

Prepared by: Wubishet Belete

+2519 13 85 6391

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 THREAD CHARACTERISTICS
• THREAD WEIGHT

• FIBER TYPES

• THREAD PROCESSING

Thread Construction Methods

The higher the quality of the thread, the less special handling will be required. Poor quality
thread has much lint and breaks easily and can take the joy out of any sewing project. Each
type of thread has specific characteristics and will behave differently on sewing machines.
Threads are either made of a natural fiber (cotton, wool, silk, linen) or synthetic fibers (rayon,
polyester, nylon). While there are dozens of fiber types that could be twisted and spun into
thread, there are a handful of common fibers that are used in sewing, quilting, serging, and
embroidery.

• Spun thread - Cotton or polyester staple fibers are spun into single yarns and then twisted
together.

• Corespun thread - Spun cotton or polyester staple fibers are wrapped around filament
polyester fibers.

• Textured thread - Polyester or nylon that has been mechanically textured to make the thread
fuzzy and stretchy and woollie-like. Texturing is a procedure used to increase the volume and
the elasticity of a filament yarn. The essential properties of textured yarns and the products
made from them are softness, fullness, a high degree of elasticity, thermal insulation and
moisture-transporting properties.

• Filament thread - Shiny thread made of strands of polyester, rayon, or nylon.

• Monofilament thread - A single nylon or polyester filament. Polyester is highly preferred.

• Bonded thread - A strength-enhancing resin is coated on the outside of the thread. This
increases the tensile strength and helps reduce friction. Bonded threads are usually meant for
upholstery and heavy duty sewing applications.

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Fantastico is a high-strength trilobal polyester thread

King Tut is nature's finest cotton thread

Thread Types

Cotton

Cotton threads are made from twisting the fine staples (fibers) from a cotton bowl to create a
thread. There are many degrees of cotton quality. Superior's cotton threads are made from
Egytpitan-grown extra-long-staple cotton fibers. The advantages of cotton threads are: its
strength, medium sheen, and the natural fibers help grab the fabric to create a tight seam. The
disadvantages of cotton threads are: difficult to tell low-quality from high-quality (purchasing
thread from a reputable company helps alleviate this risk), low-to-high lint depending on the
staple length and processing, and quality cotton threads can be more expensive.

Corespun Polyester (also called poly-wrapped poly core)

Corespun polyester threads have a filament polyester core that is wrapped with spun
polyester. The advantages of corespun polyester threads are: its strength, reduced puckering,
and excellent stitchability. The disadvantages of corespun polyester threads are: low-to-
moderate lint.

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Filament Polyester

Filament polyester threads are made from long, thin strands of polyester fibers that are
twisted together. The advantages of filament polyester threads are: excellent elongation (the
fibers can stretch and recover), smooth presence with no lint and can be finished as a thick or
thin thread. The disadvantages of filament polyester threads are: not as strong as corespun
(when comparing the same size of thread) and finer filament threads may require tension
adjustments.

Monofilament Polyester

Monofilament polyester threads are a single strand of polyester fiber, similar to fishing line.
The advantages of monofilament polyester threads are: it's usually a very fine thread that
blends very well and can be ironed on medium heat. The disadvantages of monofilament
polyester threads are: tension adjustments are usually required when quilting.

Spun Polyester

Spun polyester threads are made from the twisting of small polyester staple fibers together to
create a long thread (very similar to how cotton threads are created from cotton staples). The
advantages of spun polyester threads are: spun polyester threads are less expensive to
produce and are usually priced lower than any other type of polyester thread. The
disadvantages of spun polyester threads are: moderate-to-high levels of lint when sewing and
not as strong as filament or corespun polyester threads.

Rayon

Rayon is created by pressing cellulose acetate (usually made from wood pulp) through small
holes and solidifying it in the form of filaments (sound like fun!). The advantages of rayon
threads are: its high-sheen colors, its soft touch, and it's an inexpensive thread. The
disadvantages of rayon threads are: it's often not colorfast (the dye can bleed onto fabric
when exposed to strong detergent, UV light, or bleach), it's not as strong as trilobal polyester,
and the fiber itself is not as durable as polyester.

Nylon

Nylon threads are synthetic threads (polyester threads are synthetic as well) often used in the
form of a monofilament clear thread or as a textured fuzzy (woollie-like) thread. The
negatives far outweigh the positives of nylon. We do not recommend sewing or quilting with
nylon threads, as there are better versions for the same application in polyester threads. The

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only type of Nylon thread we use and recommend is Bonded Nylon for upholstery and heavy-
duty sewing. Bonded Nylon is made from a different type of material than nylon sewing
thread. We don't use nylon for quilting or embroidery.

Metallic

Metallic threads are created from multiple layers of materials wrapped and twisted together.
The quality of metallic threads range from very high to very low. A good metallic thread does
not require a lubricant. Superior's metallic threads have a strong nylon core, a thin layer of
rice paper and a special outer coating that keeps the silver foil from rubbing against the
needle. The advantages of Superior's metallic thread is: beautiful sheen and excellent stitch
quality when embroidered, quilted, or sewn. The disadvantages of metallic thread is: tension
adjustments are required and stitching speed may need to be decreased.

Glitter or Mylar

Mylar threads are created by bonding thin layers of flat mylar material. The advantages of
Glitter thread is: holographic effect and can be embroidered, quilted, or sewn. The
disadvantages of Glitter thread is: tension adjustments are required and stitching speed may
need to be decreased.

Thread Processing

All sewing and quilting thread undergo some of the same processing, such as twisting,
lubricating, winding, etc. Cotton threads however, can have additional processing to enhance
the stitching experience.

Mercerized

Mercerization is the process of immersing the cotton fibers in a caustic solution which causes
the fibers to swell. This allows the dye to better penetrate the fibers and increases the luster of

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the thread. Mercerizing also increases the strength of the cotton thread. Nearly all cotton
threads made for sewing all mercerized, whether the label states Mercerized or not.

Gassed

Thread that has been gassed is smoother, has lower lint, and a brighter sheen. The thread is
passed through a flame at high speed to burn off the longest pieces of lint, resulting in a less
fuzzy thread. Gassing is also called silk finish or polished cotton. You can tell the difference
between a gassed and ungassed thread if you compare the amount of fuzz (lint) between the
two threads. Our King Tut and MasterPiece cotton threads are gassed and have very low lint.

Glazed or Coated

Glazed thread is treated with a coat of wax, resin, or starch and then polished to create a nice
luster. The thread is very strong due to the glaze and is recommended for hand quilting.
Glazed cotton threads are not recommended for machine sewing or machine quilting because
the coating can rub off in the tension discs and contact points and collect lint, fuzz, dust, and
cause a buildup to obstruct the thread path.

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