Hi Susan -

According to their sites, the FilTec silk is a tex 10 while the Kimono silk is a tex 12. That would make the FilTec slightly lighter than the Kimono, but not by much.

Thank you all so much for your responses, this was so helpful!!

I do regularly use Invisifil - and I just ordered a few spools of Kimono silk so I am hoping maybe I could make it stretch using something different in the bobbin. Sounds like Decobob is worth a shot at 80 wt. and I think I will try Invisifil also - as I really want to minimilaze backtracking on the back as well.

Thank you again so much for your great input!

Nancy, is the FilTec 100 wt? Wow, they sure have the best prices!

I often use #100 silk for quilting the backgrounds of wholecloth quilts. I use Superior, YLI, and FilTec. I've collected all of the colors of each and use whichever most closely matches. The colors are different in each. Superior has a "thread of the month" club that allows you to collect all of the colors at 6 spools per month with free shipping, so that's what I did. I also use this silk for hand applique so it's good to have all of the colors.

I love Superior's 100 wt Kimono silk, which I use frequently. I usually use a close match of Superior's Bottom Line in the bobbin. When I really want the quilting to show, I also quilt with 40 weight polyester threads, such as Superior's Rainbow or Magnifico, and Isacord's 40 wt. embroidery threads. I will still use Bottom Line in the bobbin usually. If I just don't have the right color silk, I sometimes use Bottom Line in the top to quilt with instead of silk. Seems to work almost as well.

I use YLI 100 silk which I bought years ago. It blends into the fabric well even when a different colour but same value. I use ordinary polyester on the back and a 70 needle. I'm not experienced with fine work but it works for me.

I have a love affair going with Superior's Kimono Silk, but my pocketbook doesn't, and I use it sparingly for special projects when I want a good blender with very little thread presence...great for texture and back-tracking with little thread build up showing. I'd like to order a real thread color card in the future. Maybe the Good Fairy of Quilting will bring me every color.

I also like Wonderfil Invisifil (100 wt) especially for the price point, but I don't see that it comes in as many colors and finding a seller with a wide range of colors is challenging. I had problems ordering online from Redrockthreads the other day, and of course, if was after their office hours. A spool of this is a fraction of silk cost and lasts me a long time.

Superior makes ordering so easy and I have my thread in 3 days with no special mailing.

Decobob is made by the same company as Invisifil and is a very fine (80 wt) bobbin thread that has a bit of grip to help keep the bobbin thread where it's supposed to be. A local longarm dealer loves this product.

I used silk for a twin-size quilt I've just completed. Loved it!
It was Superior thread; they suggested a size 70 needle for the
project, I decided that I liked a size 60 better. Did break one
needle when I jerked the quilt sideways. The thread is so fine it
blended well with the multi-color top and looks great. I used the
same thread in the bobbin. Will definitely do it again!

I am curious if anyone here uses silk thread for their machine quilting - and if so what brand do you like? Also what do you like to use in the bobbin with your silk thread?