Old thread

[Donald]

I was wondering if thread can be old and bad. I started a design for a hat today, all the colors sewed out fine except the black color. Numerous thread breaks. At first I thought it might be the seem in the center of the 6 panel hat. I did change the needle to a 80/12 bp but the problem of thread breaks still occured in spots away from the seem. I finally made it thru the black color to the next color, this color sewed out without a thread break even across the seem. The thread I was using is arc thread. tomarrow I will try a new unopen spool but it is still arc thread. I had sewn out the design on a flat and it sewed without a thread break even the black. I did make the design a little smaller just remembered the stitches might be to small in the black will check that in the morning also. Any help would be apprieated.

Donald

[Juli in Kona]

Yes, thread can get old and bad. I don't know how old "old" is, but it can go bad. AND black is the worst one because it is dyed the most and is therefore the weakest.

Juli in Kona

[Greenwing]

you can do a few things mist the cone with water and place it in a plastic bag over night in the fridge. Take it out and let it sit for an hour and it will help strengthen the fibers.

Also Juli is dead on Black is the worst due to the amount of dye used. And arc is not the strongest thread to begin with.

a Quick spray of silicone can do wonders for it also. Just spray it in a bag and leave it over night.

One other thing to consider is was the thread exposed to sun light for any extended length of time. if so pull off a few layers of thread and expose fresh thread and you should be good to go.
Black absorbs all light!!

Also thread CAN BE BRUSED yes brused if the cone is droped or crushed. this will cause breaks (this takes a good hit and is not that common)

hope something here helps

[Rod or Sharon]

uuuuugh...

It is not advisable to spray the thread with anything that may cause it to "slip" in the threadfeed/pinch rollers....silicone spray being one of them.

Rod Springer
Amaya Tech & Trainer

[Greenwing]

Never had a problem with it.

as all the thread I use is treated with it when it is manufactured.

I would never suggest anyone using it to lubricate their Pinch rollers directly.

But in moderation it has bee useful and can make metalic thread flow like polyester in the machine.

I will not suggest it again, just trying to help and it is one of the things that works for us.

[Steve]

I have some colors that are rarely used and are at least 10 years old. They have always been kept in my house which is kept between 70-80 degrees. I used a color about a year ago which must be at least 10 years old and it ran fine. I'm not sure how long you can keep thread but I'm sure it would vary depending on the manufacturer, temperature, and humidity levels they sit in over the years.

[Jenny]

We have found that black is bad to break too...we were told in training that black is sometimes other colors that they dyed to make black and thus one reason for thread breaks...we were also told that sometimes white is bleached to make white and it might tend to break more also...we also were taught that thread does get old so when I buy a new spool I put the date on the inside of the spool so I will know how old the spool is....
until next time...

Jenny
Westbrook Wonders

[Greenwing]

It may be true for Rayon thread.
However Polyester fibers Start out White infact have other colors added to change their hue.
Also Bleach Clorine and Peroxide have little effect on polyester fibers. (the bottles they come in, are polyester)
We use to do a test to show students,
get two continers of bleach
put a length of Polyester thread in one and
a length of rayon in the other
leave over night.

one the rayon will bleachhout right away and the poly will not.
The next morning the poly may have lighted sometimes not and
the rayon will be gone it will desolve.

Once polyester thread is set in manufacturing it will not hold any color consistantly if at all.
these are some of the reasons it is superior to rayon..

[The Embroidery Authority - OLD]

What everyone here has failed to focus on is that Donald was experiencing thread breaks only on the center seam of a six panel hat. Every other part of the design/cap/thread sewed out okay.

Donald,
You must always sew with a sharp needle when sewing caps. Preferably a larger needle such as the 80/12 to prevent the needle from deflecting too much due to being too thin.
Some caps are simply just a b**** to sew, especially on the center seem. This is compounded with the design. A digitizer will take into accord that if the design is meant for a cap, he/she will try not to put too many stitches in the center seam area to alleviate thread breaks.
If you've generated this design yourself (such as lettering), you must watch out for density, underlay, stitch directions and stitch lengths, etc...
Chances are, if you are using polyester thread, your thread won't be the problem. Unless you're using your grandmother's thread passed down through the generations.

Good luck to you,
Ed

[Gabi Kat]

Pressing the hat seam with an iron or hat heat press also helps.

Gabi
in frosty Tucson