Eco certified thread

[Wishes]

Is there any thread being used for industrial embroidery that is considered eco friendly. I know there is cotton thread but does it sew well on commerical equipement? If there is a thead available does anyone know where to get it?
thanks
Margaret

[Ian]

In my search for eco-sustainable product, I've found the term is very relative Both Ackermann and Madeira are OKEO TEX certified both in their use in baby clothing and in the way they are manufactured. They are certified every year to have no chemicals that would be transfered to the babies skin(Oeko tex level 1) I do use the viscose Rayon for people that request "natural", but I do have to wind my own bobbins. Rayon is not as strong, so you have to make adjustments to tension and thread feed. Rayon is regenerated natural celulose, so it has longer fiber length than natural cotton so it's much stronger and can be made from more sustainable sources.

[edr]

Hi Wishes,

I do a lot of quilting so I have a variety of cotton thread brands that I use and have used successfully on my Amaya XT for embroidery. Most of these high-quality cotton threads are designed to be used on commercial high-speed long-arm quilting machines (the quilting version of a high-speed commercial embroidery machine like ours).

I have tried several brands of these 100% cotton threads on my Amaya XT and they work flawlessly with little or no thread breaks:

- Mettler Silk Finish Embroidery Thread (though not targeted for embroidery, you'll find this brand has the most color choices)

- Aurifil Cotton (beautiful but eggpensive!)

- King Tut Superior Thread (a favorite among quilters) http://www.superiorthreads.com/shop/...t/description/

- YLI Machine Quilting Cotton Thread (another favorite among quilters)

- Coats Star Machine Quilting and Craft (I think I saw them at Joann's)

- Signature Machine Quilting Thread

Some of these brands (YLI, Coats and King Tut) you'll be able to get in the big 2,500 m or more spools so they will fit on the Amaya spools, but for the smaller spools like Mettler, you'll have to come up with a home-grown small spool adapter like I did (see my post entitled "Is There an Adapter for Small Thread Spools?" http://www.amayausers.com/boards/ult...c/1/729.html).

I set the Amaya OS for Cotton Thread which has Acti-Feed at auto and I use Organ 80 sharp titaniums. The best thing to do is visit any quilting store in your area and pick up a spool of each brand that they have (you'll probably see YLI and King Tut as these are the most favored) to see if they work on your Amaya. I am having more success than others with Madeira Rayon Thread, so my Amaya XT must be finely tuned to work with any thread I have thrown at it so far (and I have a large variety being a quilter and sewer).

You can also google these threads. Red Rock Threads (http://www.redrockthreads.com/) sells a large variety of brands, but don't carry all the colors for each brand. So if there is a brand that works best in your machine and your quilt store doesn't have the color you need, then I'd shop around on the internet to see what other colors that brand comes in and for the best price.

Like I said though, Mettler Silk Finish 100% Cotton will offer you the most colors (196 different colors - http://www.amefird.com/mettler.htm), but it comes in the small spools. It is one of my preferred cotton threads to sew with.

Hope this helps!
Ed (the other "Ed" not the smart Ed, the Melco technician)

[Ian]

Good info Ed!

[The Embroidery Authority - OLD]

Oh come on, Ed.
You obviously know a heck of a lot more than I do about thread.
Also,.. You know my wife says I'm a "smart-ass".
Thanks for all the great information.

So not to confuse, maybe I should go by "Edgar" now???

Edgar the Melco Technician

[Wishes]

To both Ed the thread guy and Ed the Melco Tech,
Thank both of you for the time and details you both put into your answers. Tomorrow I will reseach some for your infomration and find out if it will suit my customer. Ed the Melco Tech, again you are so generous with your time. Thanks again,
Margaret

[edr]

You're welcome Margaret. Let me know if I can help with anything else.

Hey Ed the Melco Tech! I like that "ring"! I think Margaret gave us distinct names. I like Ed the Tread Guy and will sign my posts from now on that way so folks won't confuse me with you, the "SMART" Melco Tech. I also learn so much from you too. Thank you!

Ed the Thread Guy

[Jenny]

I have a cousin named Edgar...in H.S. he began going by Ed too...but he has always been Edgar to me and I will always call him Edgar...I think it is a great name...have a great day and until next time...
Jenny
Westbrook Wonders

[The Embroidery Authority - OLD]

Yes Jenny, I agree.
(BTW, My first girlfriend's name was Jenny in 6th grade)

I think Edgar is a great name too. In fact, I was going to go by "Edgar The Great" but I couldn't get all that to fit on my Taco Bell name tag. So I had to shorten it. The rest is history.

Ed