Friday, May 1, 2009

Thread Twist and Why It's Important

You may be wondering why we feel thread twist is important when selecting thread. Keep reading, because we want you to have the best information when purchasing thread.
With the exception of monofilament, all thread has some degree of twist applied.
When looking at labels, you will see numbers like 50/2 or 50/3. The number following the slash indicates the number of plies or strands twisted together to make the final product.
An important quality to look for is how many twists are applied to the thread.
A loosely twisted thread will look bulky and fluffy on the spool. It will unravel and shred more easily. As a poor quality thread passes along the thread path of a machine it can be easily snagged or caught, causing breakage. Slight snags create all those matted buildups inside a machine.
A tightly twisted thread has a smoother surface and will not get caught or snagged easily.

To clarify this principle, hold a large bath towel between two people. Twist the towel a few times and measure the distance. Twist the towel a few more times and measure the distance again. You will notice the distance between the two people becomes shorter and shorter with each twist.
The same applies to thread twist.
A quality thread requires 20% more fiber than a low quality thread. Like most things in life, you get what you pay for. Superior Threads cares deeply about quality. We bring you the absolute very best products. We guarantee our threads.
Update on the Motherland:

Progress on the new building is coming along nicely.
Framing has started on the first level.

The wiring is being installed.

And the roof is on! This second level will hold our School of Threadology.

2 comments:

  1. Looks fantastic I hope someday to go to your School of Threadology.

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  2. Understanding the "ply" of threads is easier if you have yarn to look at. When I'm not Quilting, which is rare, I spin wool. The wheel turns clockwise when feeding the wispy strands of wool into yarn. After I have filled a spool or more, then I am able to "ply" the yarns together. The wheel turns counter-clockwise when plying the yarn. Using two colors, the ply creates a type of tweedish look when knitting. Three plys of yarn together gives a variegated type of yarn, also thicker or heavy in weight.

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