Since you asked Jacquie...

http://www.superiorthreads.com/education/316/

Here is a page from Superior Threads that will start to explain the difference between threads.

Alex Anderson touts Masterpiece as the best piecing thread. I had heard her tell about the thread and how it doesn't bulk up in the seam as much as a cheaper, thicker thread when you press the seam. A good thread takes up less material in the fold and it could be as much as one or two thread weaves of the fabric. In a multiple seam block....that can make a lot of difference. It did in my block yesterday.

But... of course I was skeptical and (as stubborn as I am sometimes) kept using the cheaper stuff and .... kept coming up with blocks that were just not quite the right size. Frustrating!! I just couldn't believe that a different thread would make that much difference.

Next step....I tested my quarter inch seam by sewing on a recipe card and by sewing three strips together and measuring etc. I adjusted my needle and kept testing until I found the sweet spot and my perfect 1/4" seam.

And I had used Masterpiece when I did both tests. Not because I was testing the thread....but because that's just what was in my machine at the time and I was trying very hard to sew a perfect quarter inch seam....not paying attention to the thread at all.

When I first started quilting (sewing) I was buying my piecing thread from Walmart because that's the only place I had access to for thread purchases. The more complicated the blocks I was piecing the more I ran into problems. My blocks always came up a tad bit too small.

So I ordered a cone of Masterpiece after hearing Alex talk about it so glowingly and I could tell right off that the cone looked a slight bit finer and smoother.

In this picture you can tell a very small difference between the two threads. Masterpiece is the spool that you can't see off camera and the Walmart spool is the one showing.

But stubborn me and beat me on the head.....I had several spools of thread I felt I should use up.... I kept right on grabbing that thread occasionally.

Until yesterday. That proved to me that I have to re-think my thread choice if I want to consistently get my quarter inch. The more seams in a block the more it really makes a difference.

To me and the way I sew.!!

And now .... back to your regularly scheduled sewing.... ;)

Happy Sunday!!