Let's talk about thread.

According to Becky, who just got back from quilt market, an up and coming trend is 100wt thread.  I promptly ordered 150 spools to add to our ever growing thread collection this in turn added more confusion for the uninitiated when it comes to buying thread.  Below is what we stock and why we have it.  For comprehensive thread info and everything you would need to know to impress your friends with knowledge of thread check out Superior Thread's website.

12wt Cotton-  This stuff is about as thick as you can get in a sewing machine before it no longer fits.  It is great for embellishments, decorative stitching or any application where you realy want the thread to stand out and still want to stitch by machine.  Our store does not carry anything thicker because of my allergy to hand sewing.

40wt Cotton, Polyester, or Embroidery Thread-  I group all these together because I use them interchangeably depending on my project.  40wt thread for the most part is your standard top stitching weight.  Most anything that is marked "Embroidery Thread" and has no weight marked on it is 94.3% of the time 40wt.  Cotton will not have the sheen and shininess of the polyester and sometimes that's what you want, but typically I go with polyester I can run it a little fast in my machine and it runs cleaner, (Barry Manilow never had lint problems with his polyester jump suits).  This thread can be used for piecing quilts, but it was made to be seen so top stitching and machine embroidery is what most people use it for.

50wt cotton- Aurifil is hands down the greatest piecing thread ever.  It runs clean and stitches up nice.  Everybody I have converted to Aurifil 50wt never goes back to anything else.  50wt is a nice catch all size, it pieces well and will function reasonably for top stitching, and it makes decent bobbins

50wt Sew Fine - This is what I primarily use on my long arm.  I have been doing more with 40wt Master Quilter (again 40wt is ideal for top stitching) but 50wt Sew Fine is my "go to"
thread, and because I like you I will tell you why...  Bobbins.  I often match my bobbin thread with my top thread to eliminate any "pokies" and it gives me more room for error with tension.  40wt is a thicker thread so not as much of it gets on a bobbin which means if I use a 50wt in my bobbin I can change my bobbin 6 to 10 fewer times in the course of a day.

60wt Bottom Line- this is specifically for bobbins but not a popular thread because we have finer threads that work just as good.

80wt DecoBob - Use to be the preferred bobbin thread for our sewing machines, but my conversion to 100wt is making it hard to justify stocking DecoBob.

100wt InvisaFil - This stuff is awesome and things are trending this way for a reason.  It makes great bobbin thread because you can get miles of it on a bobbin.  It makes great piecing thread if you are into minis as it will give real fine seam.  It is an amazing long arm thread.  100wt thread all but disappears when used for top stitching so your piece work remains the focus, and the quilting pattern is nothing but a subtle impression on your quilt top.

There are tons of threads out there, I could open a store selling just thread but I think we have decent enough selection to get most any job done and still leave
plenty of floor space for the fabric.  Feel free to post your favorite thread and why you like it in the comments section.