Cotton or Rayon: Which Gütermann Thread Should You Use

Hello everyone! I’m very excited to be back this week, and I’ve got some great projects lined up! While we may call ourselves quilters, we are more than that. We make bags, postcards, cushions, wallhangings, machine embroidery, and well – we can do just about anything!

This week, I’m taking a variety of products and will be sharing some ideas for small, quick projects. The posts won’t be tutorials per se, but I’ll explain where my inspiration came from and, more or less, how I achieved them.

Use the ideas as a starting point to make something unique using the same or similar supplies, and let’s see what you can come up with!

Today, it’s all about thread. The most significant area we use thread is to piece our quilt tops together. And there are many types and weights of thread. I could spend all day talking about those things, but I don’t have the space!

I’m talking about two different types of thread today – one is Gütermann Cotton thread, the other is  Gütermann Rayon thread. And just in case you’re curious, viscose and rayon are the same type of thread!

The cotton thread comes in five different sizes: 3000 meters, 800 meters, 400 meters, 250 meters, and 100 meters. I had to chuckle when I took this picture.

And there are MANY colors to choose from. Here’s a 48-spool collection that comes in a very nice storage tin.

Why do I love the cotton thread? The different sizes and color options make buying thread very flexible. I can purchase the 3000-meter cone in the neutral colors I use most frequently, which are typically black, white, and gra. I use those for constructing various projects.

I buy the basic colors in 800-meter spools. These include basic red, blue, green, and so on. Then, depending on what project I’m doing, I’ll buy smaller spools of specific colors, as they take up less storage space. While I love having extra thread on hand, I don’t need a large spool of every color.  As the spool size decreases, the number of color choices increases, which makes sense. I do NOT need an 800-meter spool of some random color that I may only use once!

Having access to 5 different spool sizes and a wide range of colors is a perfect way to use the same brand and still benefit from economical sizes and a wide variety of colors. I found it odd that I never seem to buy the 400-meter spool size!

I love topstitching or appliquing my binding to the front of the quilt with colored threads, and Gütermann is my go-to for that. I find a thread that matches the binding and the backing, so it disappears, and YES, I use different-colored threads in the bobbin and top.

The brown spool identifies the 50-weight cotton threads. You’ll also find the thread information written on the spool, including the type, the weight, and the yardage.

I love using these 50-weight threads for piecing. I’m seeing a trend towards using much thinner threads for piecing, but BEWARE. If you start to use thinner threads, you MUST check your seam allowance. The thinner the thread, the less room it takes when pressing. Always double-check that your seam allowance is appropriate for your thread weight. Use your sewing machine’s ¼” foot as a guide, but do NOT trust it until you test. The thread weight can make a huge difference.

The Gütermann cotton threads also come in 12 wt, 30 wt, and 60 wt. There are solid colors and variegated ones, and you’ll always find a thread for all your piecing, quilting, and applique needs. The threads are suitable for machine or hand sewing. Another reason I love the Gütermann threads is that they are readily available at my local fabric store.

Now, let’s chat about the rayon thread, which I love to use for decorative stitching and machine embroidery. That could involve using it for satin stitch or blanket stitch for applique. Or if you’re using one of the many decorative stitches on your sewing machine, the rayon threads are perfect for that. The rayon threads have a shine, and that’s what I prefer for machine applique. That’s a personal choice, the cotton threads work just as well, but with a matte finish.

I love machine embroidery, and I decided to test the two threads side by side to see the difference.

I found a variety of free-standing lace tree ornaments in the online Creativate Design Catalogue. I decided to try them all. Please note that a Membership to the Creativate ecosystem and an SVP-branded Wi-Fi-enabled embroidery machine are required to utilize these particular designs. However, many free-standing lace designs are available.

I put a water-soluble stabilizer in the embroidery hoop and sent the embroidery designs to the embroidery machine. I noticed there was a hole in the middle of my stabilizer. At some point, a drop of liquid spilled onto it, and the water-soluble stabilizer quickly dissolved. I likely spilled a drop of warm tea on it! Careful!

I wouldn’t have cared about the hole except that it was where some of the stitching was supposed to go. The beauty is that it’s easy to make a patch by wetting a small square and pressing it over the hole. Be careful not to make a bigger hole!

I made samples using both Gütermann cotton and rayon threads on top. For the bobbin thread, I used a white bobbin-weight thread. As these are free-standing lace ornaments, the back will show, and I want the bobbin color to match the top thread color.

I did not have to change any settings on the embroidery machine; I simply used the default tension, and all was good.

After stitching, I trimmed away almost all of the water-soluble stabilizer. I need to rinse these, but I do not want the excess stabilizer going down the drain. The water-soluble stabilizer becomes gooey when wet, and I wouldn’t want a clogged drain from dissolving it in the sink.

I keep the leftover stabilizer to use as a fabric stiffener for other projects.

Then rinse the ornaments under the tap or put a small amount of warm water in the sink and let them soak for a few seconds. It doesn’t take long for the stabilizer to dissolve.

Then I let them dry on a towel. Depending on how much stabilizer is left, the ornaments may be a bit sticky, which is a good thing. Once dry, they pull away from the towel easily. You may find a cloth without a nap is better. When they are dry, press them with steam on a cotton setting and let them lie flat to cool.

I like to leave a bit of the water-soluble stabilizer in the ornaments to help stiffen them. If you have thoroughly rinsed out all the stabilizer, the ornament will be limp. You can give it body by dunking it in a solution of dissolved water-soluble stabilizer, or by spritzing it with starch. As you can see, it’s way easier to ensure some of the stabilizer stays in. So a quick rinse is all that’s needed.

And here are the ornaments! Can you tell which was done with which thread?

The one on the left is made with rayon thread, while the one on the right is the cotton version, which appears slightly thicker and denser. While you can’t see it in the photo, the one on the left also has a shine, while the cotton one is matte.

Both are 100% correct – it just depends on the look you want. And both threads stitched beautifully on the embroidery machine!

So the next time you want to embroider something, and you don’t have 40-weight machine embroidery thread (that’s the industry standard), or you want something with a matte look, dig out that cotton thread!! You can do machine embroidery with it!

It’s been great fun playing with Gütermann Cotton thread and Gütermann Rayon thread today. Tomorrow is all about roving. Don’t know what roving is or how to use it? Be sure to come back, because I’ve got a great project lined up!!

Have a super day!

Ciao!

This is part 1 of 5 in this series

Go to part 2: Creating Felted Flowers with UNIQUE Craft Wool Roving