Favourite Thread Starter Packs to Start Your Collection

When you’re looking to begin your collection with a new thread line, it’s often worthwhile to shop for packs to get a good assortment of starter colors and a great deal. Whether you’re starting a collection for machine embroidery, hand embellishing, piecing, or quilting, we’ll show you our favorite affordable thread packs that are perfect for picking up all the colors you need to get started with these techniques and more.

1.     Hand Embroidery Threads

When you’re doing hand embroidery, you always want a few colours on hand for some contrast and variation. A little set of pearl cotton is perfect for getting started with your collection, or to pick up some colours for a new project. Eleganza #8 perle cotton comes in an assortment of colourways, including 4 colourways in the Alison Glass collection, with 12 balls per pack. This gorgeous thread is the perfect size for hand embroidery and is colourfast, safe to iron, and is designed with a tight twist that resists unravelling.

2.     Machine Embroidery Threads

Machine embroidery is one of those techniques that requires a good assortment of colours. This pack is perfect for getting you started with a wide range of colours on smaller spools so you can get more colours at a cheaper price point. Wound with Splendor, a 40wt 100% rayon, this premium machine embroidery thread has a beautiful gloss that will give all your embroidery projects a professional sheen and drapability, and it’s both colourfast and safe to iron. Included in each pack are 10 mini spools in a variety of theme and seasonal colours

3.     Piecing Threads

Choosing the right piecing thread can make a world of difference in your pieced quilt. We highly recommend a finer thread, like his 80wt DecoBob, to do your piecing with as the super fine thread allows the seams to lay flatter. Not only will this make your piecing look better, but it will also make it easier to match up your blocks and patterns as the thread won’t be adding any additional bulk in the seams. This is especially noticeable in patterns with a lot of dense piecing.

This DecoBob set is available in 3 favourite basic colours selected by quilt designer Violet Craft. This is perfect for matching the thread with any project. Better yet, each cone comes wound with 2000m, or 2178yds of thread per cone. That’s enough thread to not only piece most standard size quilts but have enough extra thread to quilt it too!

4.     English Paper Piecing Threads

This hand piecing technique requires a lot of time and patience, so you want to choose a reliable thread that not only looks good, but is easy to stitch with. Meet InvisaFil, a 100wt cottonized polyester and DecoBob, the same 80wt cottonized polyester mentioned previously. These two threads are very fine, with InvisaFil being even smaller than DecoBob. We love these threads for English paper piecing because they know how to hide in the fabric where it won’t be seen. However, these tiny threads will also allow the fabric pieces to sit tightly against one another so that they’re flush and professional looking. InvisaFil will hide just a little better as the thread is so fine, however DecoBob comes in a very close second. We recommend DecoBob over InvisaFil for those who tend to tug a lot on their thread, struggle with using a smaller thread, or have arthritis in their hands.

InvisaFil comes in little packs of 6 colours in 12 different colours, with two of them selected by Laundry  Basket Quilts. And DecoBob comes in these small variety packs brought to you by Sue Daley in her favourite colours. These are perfect for matching your projects, whether you’ll be using basics or a pop of colour. 

5.     Appliqué Threads

There’s a lot of different thread options to do appliqué with, so let’s go over a few of them! InvisaFil, the 100wt thread as mentioned before, is one of your first contenders. This little thread does an amazing job hiding in the fabric, making it an excellent choice for turned appliqué or appliqué where you don’t want the thread to be seen. It can be used on both the machine and by hand, and always provides professional results.

If you prefer the finish of cotton, then consider Efina, a 60wt extra long staple Egyptian cotton with an ultra low lint finish. This premium cotton thread is smaller than your average thread, making it ideal for appliqué by hand or machine. These packs by Petra Prins include a beautiful variety of 10 mini spools in two colourways: Promenade or Painted Garden.

If you plan on doing wool appliqué, then consider using a wool thread. This 12wt 50/50 wool and acrylic thread line is called Ellana. It blends in beautifully with the wool fibres, making it nearly invisible. And better yet, both Ellana and Efina are designed to perfectly match the wool fabric collection by Sue Spargo, ensuring you’ll have the perfect thread to pair with the fabric. This little pack of Ellana thread in jewel tones is brought to you by Laundry Basket Quilts, and is a lovely set for getting started.

6.     Quilting Threads

Because of the huge variety of quilting thread options out there, we’ll only talk about 2 of our favourites. Our first pick is Konfetti. This exceptional 50wt long staple Egyptian cotton thread has undergone a treatment called double gassing, resulting in an incredibly low lint finish. If you love to quilt with cotton, this thread offers a quality look that will greatly reduce the lint build up in your machine. These packs include 8 half size spools in 5 colourways that are perfect for building your quilting thread collection.

But what if you want something with a little more shine? Meet FabuLux, this 40wt trilobal polyester thread with a gorgeous lustre. Available in 5 solid neon and 35 variegated colours, FabuLux is perfect for adding a bold pop of colour, or matching the colours across a variety of thread blocks. This is a strong and versatile thread that comes in 8 colour collections and 5 colours per pack.

These are just a few of our favourite thread packs. To view our full collection, head over to  www.shopwonderfil.ca/product-category/packages to see them all and find out where you can purchase them. Inspired to start your Wonderfil thread collection? Find a store in your area that carries WonderFil at http://www.shopwonderfil.ca/shop-local. You can also sign up for our free newsletter to receive more educational sewing tips, tutorials, and free patterns. Register by clicking here! We’ll see you again next time!