No matter how ashamed I am to say it, it's confession time. (Deep breath.) I use Coats & Clark Dual-Duty thread and I like it. Both the sewing machine thread and the hand-quilting thread.Whew! That was a big one to get off my chest.
How did this happen, you ask? How could a so-called experienced quilter use Dual Duty? Well, it's like this, I'm a self-taught quilter. No classes; and although I've read many books, I don't recall much about thread in any of them.
When I first began my adventures in quilting, I bought many of my supplies at Wal-mart (back when they had a pretty decent sewing department), and Wal-mart carried Dual Duty. Truth be told, I thought thread was thread and didn't even realize there were any other manufacturers much less types of thread. My LQS did carry some thread, but it was specialized stuff, like metallics and other unusual types.
It wasn't until I started interacting with quilters on the internet, mostly through the newsgroup, rec.crafts.textiles.quilting, that I began to realize that thread was not always just thread, and that most quilters use 100% cotton thread. Names like Aurifil, Essential, Sulky, and Gutermann were bandied about. Hmmm. And I could read the unsaid disdain about Dual Duty in between the lines. Yessir.
So I bought some 100% cotton thread just to try. Eke! The thread frayed and broke. It was linty. My sewing machines just didn't like it one bit. Not impressed at all. And I'll tell you as one who bows down to my new Juki on a regular basis, and asks the sewing machine gods to smile on us, I'll do darn near anything to keep the sewing machines happy. They like Dual Duty. Okay, I'll admit, I don't even remember what brand the 100% cotton thread was, and it probably wasn't top of the line.
So there you have it. My confession. I still don't know what is wrong with Dual Duty.
Now, I'm trusting you all to set me straight. Please leave comments telling me what thread you like and why. I really am interested in learning.
