Save Money When Printing (MAC is included).

  These tips can be used for Windows XP and Vista and MAC- Operating systems vary, if in doubt, check with your provider and/or technical support.   Several years ago, the 'powers that be' told us that we were going to become a paperless society.  I don't know about y... [More]

'Tis the season to help others

As the holiday season heats up I decided to get my toes operated on.  What was I thinking?  This is time of year when everyone is running around. Not me.  In the last few days I had to learn how to do my holiday shopping on line. My DIL helped me figure out how to get free shipping wh... [More]

It's Adorable You!

About 3 years ago I was sitting on my porch looking out across the Puget Sound. John Deer (Adorable Ideas) and his family were visiting with us and we were just enjoying the view of the water and relaxing. It occurred to me to ask him, "If you could ask for any embroidery software feature that ... [More]

Hints For Photographing Holidays and Parties

Just in time for holiday fun, here are a few tips for getting some really great shots.  Let's start out with some basics: Start with a camera.  OK, that sounds a little sarcastic, but the fact is that the auxiliary phones, ipods, etc., just don't have a great deal of real depth ... [More]

Ribbon Trim Adds a Special Touch to some Really Trendy Linens!

I've been looking through Spring catalogs from some of our suppliers and I'm seeing lots and lots of damask patterns and designs.  It inspired me to think ahead to next year because I'm sure you'll be seeing lots of it too!  It may be a little late to get something done for... [More]

Leaping In, With a Mac

Hello fellow embroiderers, design seekers and stash collectors! 'Leaping In' begins with a non-PC topic. No, I'm not being Politically in-Correct right out of the gate here at ATG. I'm talking about Mac computers and the lack of embroidery support for them. That other 'PC' ... [More]

More Tags!

     Individual characters (letters, numbers and punctuation marks) from my alph [More]

The Project Gone Wrong

AAAHHHH!  Christmas Time-It’s a wonderful time of year when we all rush around, from one party to another.  Rushing the kids to their parties, and activities, while planning for the cookies we will bake when we get enough time.  We spend hours, thinking, planning scheming for th... [More]

Optical versus Digital Zoom and Photo Tips

  These tips can be used for Windows XP and Vista - Operating systems vary, if in doubt, check with your provider and/or technical support.   Many people are confused between optical and digital zoom.  If you are thinking of buying a new camera for yourself or someone else, you c... [More]

Get your Hostess Gifts ready now---party season is upon us!

Hey Everyone!  It's that time of the year again---time to start coming up with some quick and easy gifts for folks on our list.   I try to make the most of every single minute I have in the sewing room because I just don't get as much time in there as I want.  But I do wa... [More]

Is Your PC Obsolete? And Problems and Solutions

  These tips can be used for Windows XP and Vista - Operating systems vary, if in doubt, check with your provider and/or technical support.   Years ago, I remember reading one of my favorite PC guru's newsletters and it said something like - This new PC has 10 MB of storage, you w... [More]

Keeping it Simple - Puppy Love and Gingerbread Man Coasters

I have to tell you a story of love at first sight.  I have to tell you the story of Keiko.  She is one of the newest members of the family (kind of).  We have two dogs at our house - a sixteen year old Pomeranian mix and an almost two year old Papillon.  So do we need anothe... [More]

LaRueSews-Quilts-Be Your Own Judge

This has been a busy month. We recently went to Nashville again to sign a contract on a Motor Home that we saw last month. It’s like new, though used, and really beautiful. We will get it the first week of December.   Also, my sewing machine has been back to the factory, or wherever dis... [More]

Needles and Thread .. best recommendations

Hello everyone.  Had some spare time in my new married life and wanted to touch base with this great community!! I have been emailing my customer base about needles and thread and how my experience may help those that are either new, or, just have never given these two important tools much tho... [More]

People I meet and why they are hip to the possibilities of sewing…

In today's office environment  the more popular method of communication is email but when my phone rings I can almost guarantee that I will be hearing from someone who is completely enthralled by sewing and wants to tell more people about what is happening in the world of sewing in the... [More]

How to Work in a Paperless World

Did you ever wonder what it would be like to actually see the top of your desk through all those bills, notes, orders ...... and the list goes on.  I know that feeling of "where did I just put that!"  I know it's within arms reach because it was just in my hand and I haven... [More]

Holiday Travel, Needles & African Folklore Embroidery

I used to be a really nervous flyer, every bump, thump, or noise would startle me. Reading just would not relax me and chatting to the passenger next to me would not succeed in calming me. Things began changing for me once I started bringing my African Folklore Embroidery kit on board the air... [More]

Understanding Standby and Hibernate and Airline Seat Selecting

These tips can be used for Windows XP and Vista - Operating systems vary, if in doubt, check with your provider and/or technical support.   Among the things that are really great about a computer, being available and handy are just two of the important issues.  When I sent to school, w... [More]

Keeping It Simple - Embroidered Lace Snowflake Ornaments

Each time she visits my granddaughter asks if we can get the manger set out early this year.  It is very old and worn but she loves to play with it, taking the figures on the trip to Bethlehem.  We make a tradition of getting the house ready for the Christmas holidays the weekend after Tha... [More]

No Matter Where I Go People Like to Talk About Sewing!

People who know me know that I love to ask questions that generally lead to "six degrees of separation." Asking those questions usually leads to a discussion of sewing, and you know how much I love that.  Recently I was asked to attend St. Louis Fashion week.  Shouldn't need ... [More]

LaRueSews-Quilts-Beads are Fun Too, a 30 minute project

Hi there EveryBuddy.  Three weeks has come and gone, again. Blogging time is here.  I hope that all of you have been diligently making the last block I gave you in LaRueSews BOM.  This time it will be a quick one, both BLOG and block.  I have been out of town for a few days.&nb... [More]

Volume Control and Help!!

  These tips can be used for Windows XP and Vista - Operating systems vary, if in doubt, check with your provider and/or technical support. The following tip is my absolutely favorite tip that I ever found.  I hope you will like it too. If there is something that aggravates about tele... [More]

Halloween Costume – A Dancing Princess

  This week I finished putting up my Halloween decorations.  I made a few new ones this year, since my old ones were simply falling apart.  Instead of the scarecrow on the front door I made a wall hanging that is interchangeable for each holiday.  But that is a project I will sh... [More]

The Extinction of the Professional Digitizer

In today's market the true professional digitizer who knows how to create crisp small letters, make your sewing machine sing through a 200k stitch design without a thread break and create some of the best looking embroidery you will see on material are becoming extinct.  Those who are becom... [More]

I have no idea what this is going to look like?

Fall is my favorite season. I love how the weather changes from brutally hot to just perfect! I love being cozy and taking out my current stitching project, curling up on a chair beside the fire and watching how my African Folklore Embroidery design takes on a life of its own. My parents are current... [More]

Public Domain-Freeware and Uninstall Programs

  The following tips can be used for both Windows XP and Vista. When you think about the amount of money you are spending on your PC and related items, it might make you feel like you have spent more than the benefits warrant.  With a PC, buying the initial equipment is just the start.&n... [More]

LaRueSews-Quilts, Spuds in a Bag

It’s Chilly here in Alabama today.  That is to say, rainy 70 degrees feels cold compared with 90+ degrees.  This has been a frustrating day.  I have a little project that I wanted to talk about this time.  However, I’ve lost the special ruler I need for the project.&n... [More]
Can you trust your thread?

Can you trust your thread?

Well, let's assume that you have at least decent eyesight, but can you trust what you see?  There are so many ways that the universe can make us see something in the light in which they want us to, not necessarily as it is.  Some are obvious, all of us have seen something similar to these:

 

        

 

These are fun.  Is that an old or young lady.  Is that a flower design or a woman's face. Do you see four horses?  But not getting what you think you are getting is not so much fun when you have thread issues.   

If you read my blog regularly, you know I am a fan of Madeira.  I have never had a failure with Madeira and  I know that I can trust them. 

However, because I do try new things, I recently did purchase a brand name (you would recognize the name) 'collection' of colors.  In my blogs, I recommend what I have found to be excellent in my use, but I never give the name of a brand that I have found to be less than acceptable.  If you want to know the name of this brand of thread, please go to my profile and if you are signed in, you will see on the left a link to email me for that information.

Let's look at the thread itself and specifically the 'size' of the thread.  Just like the hair on your head, a single strand is very thin, about 75 microns for human hair, but not everyone's hair is the same size.

As it turns out, not all 60 weight thread is the same either!  Does that surprise you like it did me? 

I had been having a lot of trouble with one of the fonts that I use from AlphabetXpress.  It was intermittent and I was having the dickens of a time trying to figure out the problem.  Over time, I cannot estimate the amount of time I had with this issue but it was well over 50 hours. 

The specific font was Darling.  It is one of the most popular with my sales site and I have discontinued it several times because of failure.  I have checked - in no particular order:

  • the digitizing  - ruled out
  • the machine - ruled out
  • the needle - ruled out
  • the density - ruled out
  • the size of the lettering - ruled out
  • polyester versus rayon thread - not sure

I could go on and on.  The one thing I had not considered was the thread.  After all, 40 weight is 40 weight.  I figured the only time there would be a difference would be in the metallic threads.

Look at these samples:

 

  

 

Clearly the offending  brand was much more thin and that means less coverage.  While I do writing on hankies, you may be doing a 'field' area like snow, grass or the sky.  This would make a project unacceptable for me.

Buy the best you can afford and always do sample threads.  Did I check every one of the spools I got, no.  But I have wasted money and I really don't like that.  How about you?

Comments (3) -

I have found out over the years that Maderia Thread is the best that I can use in my machine.  The machine on occasion has eaten thread of another brand and ruined what I was doing.


This should be rule # 2, right after learning the machine; test with "like" fabric, then the needles and thread.


Sometimes lettering needs to be compressed a bit for better coverage.


I do not have the luxury of a nearby shop for machine embroidery, so I have to try everything.


How rural is it where I live?  The news of the day is about a deer saving a female college student from being mugged!  Deer 1/Mugger 0!


If that had been John Deer, I would have hog-tied him and picked his brain before he ran off  - even though his Digitizing Made Easy does address fonts.


Happy stitching everyone!


Marsuz - I know what you mean.  When I have a failure on a project, there are too many things to look at - did I stabilize correctly - was the needle dull - etc, etc.  Using the right thread is paramount and some machines just don't like certain thread.  Madeira has never failed for me and I have never heard of anyone saying they had a problem either.  


Pattiann - I agree, make sure you have the correct density as well.  In this particular case, the density seemed to be correct since Madeira worked.  


Additionally, in this case, using AlphabetXpress, I can make the lettering many sizes - nearly infinite sizes.  But the bottom line is the digitizing is very good - NOT perfect - and was working in all the other ways I could think of, such as field coverage.


I have tried to do AX in really large sizes and not been successful.  So, there is a limit but if you review other font/monogram designs, that is true of any digitizing.  If you have to go bigger or smaller beyond what the design recommends, you need a different set of letters.  


Pat


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