Very Informative forum. Thank you all. Rosemary your Quilt Museum website is excellent. Are you planning for the next Harry Potter event?
Happy sewing

Yes, I am with you all on the hand test! There's proof in the pudding, right there! BUT, that being said, occasionally you will find a new spool of thread (mainly metallics) that will be troublesome, and break or shred (metallic separating from the core thread). I have learned that you can pull out about 5 feet, toss it, and try again, repeating if necessary. For some reason a spool (sorry Rosemary - a reel) can have a number of feet (oops, meters) that are weaker then the rest of the spool. And ALL of the rest of the spool can be just fine. So, If you have a spool that the thread breaks on you, don't toss it without testing it as metioned above. A penny saved...........

I do a lot of quilting with metallics, and am now working with a gold metallic that I had purchased maybe 8 months ago. Since it is $15 for a small spool, I buy it when it is 50% off. So, I bought one a month or so ago on sale. I was quilting just fine, then one day grabbed the newer spool by mistake, and immediately had problems. When I pierced through a previously sewn metallic thread, it would shred the metallic right off of the core thread at the point of entry into the quilt. I didn't mess around with the newer thread, just switched it out for my older thread, and everything was fine again. The point I am making here is, I KNOW this particular gold thread and my sewing machine get along. If I had run out of the old thread, and started sewing with the new thread, I would probably have wasted a lot of time checking tension, rethreading my machine, cleaning the bobbin case, replacing the needle, etc., because it was not behaving like it usually did. It would have taken me a while to remember that it could be a weak area in the thread. You just expect your thread to be perfect and always to perform the same. Lesson learned!

Dawn
In beautiful Northwest Montana

PosyP wrote:
I have found certain threads not to be an age issue at all. In fact, some older threads are much more machine sewing friendly than the same brand and color of new threads and that's using my industrial machine. I tend to rely strictly on the hand test also mentioned by Rosemary. Another topic entirely but the same pulling test works for batting that you are unsure of.

Thanks Rosemary!! Good points!!

Scoopie wrote:
See point 3 in above post - dyeing techniques have changed and we don't know if it is for the better for the longevity of the thread - call back in 100 years to find out the answer

WendyCPA wrote: I realise that he is trying to be helpful, but it won't be him repairing the sewn item if it does fall apart will it!

Here is my take on it

1) Different colour dyes affect the strength of the original thread, so two different colours of the same age will not be as strong as each other. (Still true today I would think)

2) Yes Sunlight will help to rot thread, and all fabrics. But if they are stored away from sunlight they could be fine.

3) I do know from church furnishings that old silks starts to deteriorate after approximately 70 years, that said depending on storage conditions, silk can last much longer - see Quilters Guild of Great Britain 1718 quilt. ( go here to see a partial detail, the best picture I can find at the moment - http://www.quiltmuseumshop.org.uk/product/376/1718_Coverlet_Bookmark
As a aside to this when my Mother was working on her church's green altar frontal, she had a lot of conversations with the people at Watts & Co http://www.wattsandco.com/ and they told her that due to the change in dyeing techniques they think that the average life span has shortened from 70 to 50 years.

4) Again experience from reels of silk floss (the non-twisted type), if you can hold the wooden reel between one finger and thumb and the thread between the other finger and thumb and can rotate the thread on the reel, it is rotten and will keep snapping off every few stitchs in hand work.

5) To check whether the thread is strong enough to use, take a length between both hands and try to snap it, compare how much force it takes to break it as opposed to a newer thread. DO NOT compare polyester to cotton!

6) If you are using a super-duper, bells-&-whistles super fast (industrial?) machine it might be operating too fast for the older thread to cope with, at which point it will keep breaking. However 'most' domestic machines don't get up the revs to cause this to happen. And if the thread keeps breaking and you have a new needle in the machine, and have checked everything else 'Bob the thread Guy' says to check, retire that specific reel from machining, but it could be ok for hand basting.

7) When we are sewing something it is usually because we want it to be available 'NOW' - not necessarily in 10-20 years time. If it passes points 5 & 6 above I would use the thread if it was the perfect colour for the job instead of buying new.
As 'Grisson' from CSI original puts it 'Follow the evidence - don't make assumptions'

Besides the empty wooden reels make great toy 'tanks' as we called them, using a small stub of candle, a short elastic band and a matchstick . You could cut notches on the edges of the reel for better grip - the plastic reels just don't work properly

Th-Th-Th-Thats all for now folks!

Wendy, this is a good question! We have been told that the older threads are inferior to the newer threads, and we should not use them, because they will not hold up over time. You said the thread was around 40 years old. If I found a quilt that was pieced 40 years ago, with that thread, I'm sure it would still be holding up just fine. Quilt collecters (and those lucky enough to have had quilts passed down over the years) have quilts that are 80 to 100 years old. And, from what I have seen, the threads holding the fabrics together, are still doing their job. But what I HAVE seen is the fabric itself wearing out, or rotting.

Also, I have a beatiful 100 year old tea dress that my grandmother made. All of the threads are still holding everything together perfectly! There is French lace, hand made lace, tatting, and tucks. And here again is another item where the only wear is in a small area of fabric in the hem. (And, a couple of broken threads where some open hand work/weaving was done.)

So, I see nothing wrong with your friend using her thread for small projects. If I wanted to do something like a quilt, that will be handed down, or used a lot, I would certainly use a new thread, to assure it's ability to stand the test of time.

Personally, I keep all of my threads in drawers. I get plenty of sun in my sewing room, and in the morning shines into one side, and in the evening it shines on the other side. It's just easier to have it out of site, as opposed to moving it out of the suns path.

Dawn
In beautiful Northwest Montana

Rosemary! What say ye?? : :

This is more of sewing question than a quilting question but here goes...

A good friend recently took her older but still great machine for servicing. The sewing machine fellow saw her old thread - it is at least 40 years old (still on a wooden spool) and berated her for using it. He said anything she sewed with it would fall apart.

Other than that - I don't have any info. It was thread my friend's mother-in-law saved and she inherited dozens of spools. My friend does not quilt and would only use it for making "mini" items such as table clothes, doll clothes and bedspreads. So - my question is - does thread "spoil"? Would you use decades old thread for basic tasks? Any tips for storing threads (other than keeping it out of sunlight to prevent fading)?

Thanks for the help! I suspect the issue is more sentimental than practical. They seem reluctant to give up on the collection of thread so lovingly passed on.

Wendy