is there a REAL difference between the two?

[Cannibal]

but owf is the only place to get colored thread.

That's kind of a surprise! You'd think it'd be a no-brainer to stock multiple colors of thread.

[skar578]

i know, maybe it is the brand of thread, and they dont want to have 2 different brands to get multiple colors.

[Walking Bear]

I have used the OWF gutterman and Ed Speer's cone.
The OWF gutterman works well and is smooth and is not fuzzy. Ed's cone black thread is more fuzzy. I need to put more tension on the thread when I wind the bobbin. Other wise it works just fine.

[Youngblood]

I know enough about thread to realize I don't know much about thread. But I do know that not all Gutterman polyester thread is the same. I think I have 4 different diameters, or Tex value, of Gutterman polyester thread. I have the type that OWF sells and the 3 different types that I found at JoAnns. At JoAnns seems like they had an economy version, a regular version and a heavy duty version. All are different diameters and the larger diameter ones need larger needles just to thread them through the eye of the needle. I think the type sold by OWF falls between the regular version and the heavy duty versions I found at JoAnns. Unfortunately I don't think the Tex #'s is printed on the rolls of threads... I wish they did that along with the recommended needle sizes to use with it.

I have a cone of the thread that Ed sells but haven't used it yet. Ed showed it to me and he liked it because it was pretty strong and not too fuzzy, plus he found it for a good price. Seems like it compared to the diameter and strength of the Gutterman's thread I got from OWF.

At one time I sat down and tried to size the different threads with different needles judging whether the fast threader could pull them through the needle eye and how well the stitches looked when I sewed a row of straight stitches and zig-zap stitches on either some 1.1 oz RSN with DWR or some silnylon. I think I wrote down the combinations I choose somewhere.

[skar578]

Youngblood, if you find where you wrote those matches between the threads and needle sizes, could you tell us? I like how the speer thread seems to compare to the gutterman. cause it is a much better deal. i am going to check out walmart and JoAnns.

[slowhike]

if you find it, guess where you should put it? haha,.

could you elaborate on that? ...tim

[skar578]

edited. in case it really was confusing.

[greggg3]

When I made my RayWay quilt I bought a spool of thread from Ray along with the quilt kit. At first I didn't like it because it seemed stiff or wiry, it was thin and really smooth however. Anyway, I used it because I had this huge spool and I finally used it up, a couple weeks ago (lasted me a couple years). I had gotten used to it so I was just going to get some more of the same but Ray's site says he's out adventuring, so I bought this thread from walmart, Coates I think is the brand, and it was listed as 100% polyester, for outdoor applications, resistant to UV light, and it came on this slightly larger spool, very expensive at about $4 a spool. This stuff is really fuzzy compared to Ray's thread, and it is causing a lot of problems, it can "grab" loose thread and carry it down in the bobbin and then it locks up the machine. Also it can fuzz or twist or something and get these little mini "hair balls" that catch when they try to go thru the eye of the needle. Boy, am I missing that thread from Ray's site!

[greggg3]

This is the thread that I bought from walmart that I don't really like that well

http://www.homesew.com/th32.html

[greggg3]

This is the thread Ray sells, 62 cents a 100 yards

http://www.ray-way.com/thread/index.htm

I wish I knew where he was getting it, I need some before Feb so I can work on Grizz's bridge model!