Cotton is the widely manufactured fabric and also the one used commonly around the globe. There is a huge variation in cotton subtypes such as short-staple cotton, long-staple cotton, pima cotton, supima cotton and egyptian cotton and alot more. There are plenty of reasons to support the common usage of cotton due to the fabric’s breathability, high moisture-wicking abilities and balanced heat retention abilities. Although the cotton fabric is sufficiently stretchable but not too extreme. It is highly prone to bubbling and wrinkling. It is a soft fabric, organic in origin and durable and hence qualified it for wide usage.
Cotton Fabric and Cotton Thread
Cotton fabric is used to sew almost every type of clothes and housewares like dresses, jackets, t-shirts, blankets, bedsheets, towels, uniforms, quilts, jeans, and woven fabrics and for every project or kind of fabric to be sewn out of cotton the best suitable thread has to be chosen.
For every type of cotton fabric the best thread choice will change also but the general and most basic rule is that natural thread for natural/organic fabric and manmade or synthetic thread for synthetic/manmade fabric, that is, polyester thread should not be used for sewing cotton rather, cotton fabric be sewn with cotton thread. Ultimately the best thread for cotton fabric is the cotton thread and available in a wide variety of colors and can also be dyed.
But cotton thread also has various types on the basis of weight of thread and fabric, and strength and luster and size of thread.For example, in cotton quilting purposes the long-staple cotton thread with silk-finish is used because of its luster and for sewing jeans the heavy cotton thread is used, for sewing t-shirts light cotton thread is used.
The cotton threads are mainly of five types: mercerised cotton thread for finer fabrics, glazed or polished cotton thread for quilting processes, the hybrid thread of cotton and polyester that can be used for a variety of fabric and is called dual duty,tatting thread which is thicker in diameter and is used for crocheting or needle work and pearl cotton thread used for embroidery that is twisted, two ply high sheen.
The type of cotton threads for sewing different articles of cotton fabrics are shared below and what type of thread best suits which kind of the cotton fabric is also discussed.
Dual Duty
Dual duty cotton-poly blend thread is considered the best thread for sewing jeans and denim dress because of its durability and strength. It is also used for speedy sewing of towels and home furnishing, soft seaming of cotton fabrics, trousers and heavy duty outdoor wear. As denim is made up of 100 percent cotton so this polyester core in cotton wrapping thread is excellent choice because of following reasons:
- Best sewing performance
- Abrasion resistance required in case of jeans stitching
- Finer thread sizes of good strength for improved seaming
- Good wash-down characteristics
This cotton-wrapped polyester thread does not suit the leathers and very lightweight fabrics.
Mercerized Cotton Thread
Mercerized cotton thread is used for sewing mercerized cotton fabrics and crochets. Mercerized threads and fabric have greater strength and luster. It is used for decorative sewing. It is excellent for all sewing purposes on natural fabrics and equally good for machine sewing, hand sewing and hand quilting.
- It is good decorative thread
- Has greater strength and luster
- Takes dye more quickly
- It does not shrinks or loses its shape than regular cotton
- Forms soft stitches
- It is not good for synthetic fabrics
Cotton Silk-Finish Thread
The 100% cotton silk-finish thread is best for quilting and sewing cotton. It is also durable, lustrous and strong. It is also called mettler thread.
- It is used for quilting by quilting machines.
- It is non-shrink thread.
- Comes in larger color range
- It is smooth and looks luxurious
- It is made of long staple-fiber
- It is used for overlocking
- It is also good for stretch fabrics
- It is highly heat resistant
Tatting Thread
This thread is also known as crochet thread, pearl cotton thread or crochet cotton. It is used for decorative purposes as embroideries, decoration pieces, book marks, laces, doilies and jewelries. It consists of three tightly twisted cords. It comes in a variety of colors. It has different ranges of size that is : #1 size is thickest thread while the #100 size is the thinnest one. The tatting cotton thread comes in various sizes. Its types include 6-ply, mercerized cotton, 3-ply, mercerized cotton, 2-ply pearl cotton, and cotton embroidery floss.
Glazed Thread
Glazed thread is a cotton thread that is basically mercerized and after mercerizing it is treated with chemicals or it is coated with wax to give a lustrous and polished look. Glazed thread is highly desirable for hand quilting, hand sewing and hand embroideries.
Glazed cotton threads are not appreciated to be used in sewing machines because the glazing coat of thread rubs off when passing through tension discs in the sewing machine causing trouble in machines like jamming.
Wrap Up; Best thread for sewing cotton!
Above are different kinds of cotton threads used to deal with cotton fabrics. The selection of thread depends on the purpose and type of article to be sewn. The quilting, heavy duty thread cannot be used to sew shirts, tops, blouses, bedsheets and embroideries as obviously the simple mercerized thread for sewing dresses cannot be used for quilting.
The light weight cotton fabric should be dealt with lightweight but strong threads whereas to sew heavy weight cotton fabrics like denim or jackets the dual duty thread will be the best choice. The thickness, staple and color of thread should match with the kind of fabric.
The brands of threads and the cost of thread also influence while choosing the thread and also their availability. Considering the above criterias and the types of threads described will help in choosing the best thread for sewing cotton fabric.