"How do I know what thread to use for quilting?"

Let's talk thread! If you're new to quilting, it can be a bit confusing trying to figure out the right thread to use for your quilting projects. Before I started quilting, I was in the habit of buying the all-purpose thread at the fabric store.  I still have several spools in my stash. A popular brand is Coats & Clark.  Typically the all-purpose thread is 100% polyester.

But when I started quilting, I saw that several people advise that you use 100% cotton thread. The prevailing thought is that the polyester thread doesn't have the flexibility of cotton and that over time, it will cut into the fibers of your cotton fabric and cause tears. (Not tears that you cry, but tears in your fabric. 😄 Well, maybe both.)

You use 100% cotton fabric for the top and typically 100% cotton for the backing (some use minky fabric which is not cotton), and oftentimes a batting that is all cotton, too. Some prefer a blend batting, though, and others even use wool.  But a traditional quilt is all cotton.

But when I was starting out I was really watching my pennies.  I had already developed a pretty good obsession with fabric (who's with me there?), so when I was close to finishing my project, I was not inclined to go and buy new thread when I had lots and lots on hand.

So for my first quilt, I quilted it up with the good ole all-purpose, polyester thread.  And you know what? That quilt is still, 10 years later, quite intact.  And we use it almost daily.

Fast forward a few years, and I joined a quilting guild so was around some serious quilters.  Everyone was using Aurifil thread.

We even had an Aurifil rep give a presentation at one of our meetings. I gradually made the switch and do really enjoy their thread. It's glossy and nice and thin.  I can't recall their technology, but it's supposed to be the same ply as other thread but somehow thinner.  Many people love the thinness for piecing accuracy.  When you quilt, you typically use a 1/4-inch seam allowance.  When you press that fabric over, the thickness of the thread can impact whether you really end up with 1/4-inch or not.  And this is why you will see a scant 1/4-inch seam allowance often called for.  That allows for that thread thickness.

I think my first pack of Aurifil was from a sale at Missouri Star Quilt Company.  In fact, I think every spool or cone of Aurifil I've bought has been on sale.  That's how I've justified my purchases.  And the bigger size you buy, the more you will typically save.  I believe Aurifil typically comes in three sizes.  A small spool, a large spool, and then a cone. The large spool is 1422 yards while the all-purpose thread from Coats & Clark is 300 yards.

A spool of Coats & Clark is available right now at Walmart for $2.48 (Mar 2025).
A large spool of Aurifil is available right now at Missouri Star Quilt Company for $14.95 (Mar 2025).

You get almost 5 spools of Coats & Clark in the Aurifil size.  $2.48 times 5 is $12.40.  So it's close, and like I said, if you can get the Aurifil on sale, you can beat the Coats & Clark price. Missouri Star's daily deal today (3/15/25) was a 3-pack for $23.95. That's how I got my start.  The same 3-pack, white, gray, and blue. That's only $7.98 per spool! I'm not an affiliate for Missouri Star.  I wish I was.  Haha!

Aurifil is quality thread, but I'm no thread snob.  I would say that thread choice has to do with how you're using it.  If I'm piecing, I always use Aurifil. And speaking of sales, I caught a really good one, several years ago (I think it was Black Friday 2019) and got two cones for a great price.  The cones are the best value.  They're so big.  And if you have a conventional machine that they won't fit into, you can rig up a contraption with a coffee mug. I'm still working through that second cone! It has lasted longer than the Energizer Bunny!

Here's that Aurifil cone from 2019. Picture taken Feb 2026.

But for quilting, I actually don't prefer Aurifil.  I like my stitches to be well-defined and visible. Aurifil is so thin, it doesn't show as well when quilting.  And so far, I've been talking about 50 weight in Aurifil.  They do have a wide range of weights, and there are several who use a thicker weight for their quilting, which makes a lot of sense to me.

At some point in the past, I caught a sale (at guess where? Missouri Star!) on another brand of thread.  Missouri Star sells their own store brand.  I wasn't sure what to think at first, and truth be told, at first, I didn't like it.  But I think that's because I tried it for piecing.  It's 100% cotton, and it says it's 50 weight, but it is noticeably thicker than Aurifil.  And again, I know there's some sort of proprietary technology that Aurifil uses to get theirs nice and thin.  I can't remember the details from our presentation.  😄 But I'm sure if you visited their website, it would have details.

But I tried the thread again, this time for quilting, and I absolutely love it! It's exactly what I'm looking for, for thickness and stitch definition. So I have stocked up on several colors.

Now, I was trucking along, being a die-hard cotton purist, and at one of our guild Christmas parties, I received a spool of Glide in my goodie bag. It was so glossy and slick and pretty! And then I saw that it said it's 100% polyester.  I was like, what?!? Is this sacrilege?!?

Notice this Glide thread is very glossy.

I posted about it online, and I saw the answer is that many quilters prefer it as it produces much less lint compared to cotton which can be a build-up problem in your machine. My machine doesn't really have issues with that as my bobbin case is loaded from the side instead of the drop-in style. So build up is not an issue for me.  I've used this spool of Glide here and there when a quilt I'm finishing calls for the light pink that it is. Now, I do think there's a difference somehow between the 100% polyester of Glide thread and the 100% polyester of Coats & Clark.  Not sure if you can mercerize polyester, but that's how I'd describe Glide.  It's slick and glossy. So I can't promise that Coats & Clark will be virtually lint-free. 😊

And then I recently found out that longarmers exclusively (at least the several I’ve spoken to) use thread like Glide or Superior (both 100% polyester). So if you send your quilts out to be quilted, they're being quilted with polyester thread.

So this brings me back to the original point that I was told when I first started quilting, that polyester thread was a no-no.  I don't know if that whole thing about it cutting through the fibers of your quilt is an old wive's tale, or what.  What I do know, is that I am not a thread snob, and I'm a big believer in using what you have.  You want to make a quilt, and you have several spools of Coats & Clark all-purpose thread? Use it! Make the quilt! Snuggle up with it! That quilt will still get lots of love and use. 😊

I hope this helps anyone who's had questions about thread for quilting. What's your favorite thread for quilting? Leave me a comment below.

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