April Aurifil Artisan Showcase – Favorite Thread Weight
With so many thread weights to choose from, it is sometimes difficult to choose a favorite. Of course, that meant we needed to challenge our team of Aurifil Artisans to select their favorite Aurifil thread weight out of the 7 that we offer. 😉 It’s amazing to see the diversity of projects they have shared and we hope that you are inspired to create something with a thread weight you have not tried yet!
*Click on each Artisan’s name below to read more about their project.*
Amista Baker – “I used all of the 50 weight Aurifil threads shown on handmade masks this month! Top stitching in fun colors is my favorite thing to do on any project.”
Krista Hennebury – “A monochromatic mini improv quilt made with Oakshott shot cottons and walking foot quilted using three coordinating Aurifil 40 wt threads.”
Elaina Sabado – “My favorite thread is Aurifil 50 wt. While I was working on my small rainbow wall hanging I quite serendipitously came upon the Auribuzz blog post for April 23rd, Andrà Tutto Bene and was inspired by to add this message of hope to this project.”
Kathy Ross – “working on a series of colourful hoops using Aurifil 50 wt.the idea is to fill my feed with colour and brighten everyones mood during these worrying times. Whilst also showcasing my favorite thread weight Aurifil 50wt”
Sherry Shish – “My favorite thread weight is 50wt. The reason why I love this thread weight is because it’s thick enough to be super strong, but thin enough to not cause my piecing to be skewed by creating too much thread in the seam. In addition, I can quilt my quilts with 50wt and still get some amazing texture without my quilting being super visible. Best of all I can use 50wt to make bags. The thread is strong enough to sew through many layers of fabric and interfacing without breaking.”
Cassandra Ireland Beaver – “Five colors of 50wt Aurifil are used to quilt “The Value of Coral” to preserve the optical illusion while enhancing the quilt with texture and depth.”
Laura Piland – “A walk around my neighborhood has me looking for all the tulips that are blooming! They were just the inspiration needed for a spring mini quilt! I used Aurifil 50wt in black #2692 to free motion applique the flowers and leaves, then added some clear vinyl for a fun and non-traditional element.”
Yvonne Fuchs – “The Trussed mini quilt is a great example of my most used thread weight, 50wt, coupled with the fact that I love using other thread weights to accentuate details.”
Shannon Fraser Designs – “I’m sharing a bunch of projects featuring my favorite thread weight – 28wt! I just adore the prominent stitches this heavier weighted thread offers. Plus, did you know it comes in cone format too?! Check out all the fun projects up on the blog.”
Steph Skardal – “IGTV Scant Quarter Hour: Isabelle and I present the Aurifil thread weights and talk about our use of each.”
Claire Haillot – “Although I do love all of the Aurifil threads, I am quite pleased with the 40wt threads I’ve used to quilt my latest project: Felix. Being a heavier weight means it’s thicker than the 50wt and it has a shine that makes the quilting come alive. I really love the finished look.”
Heather Black – “My Mishmash quilt took a while to finish but I couldn’t be happier with the mixing of design and quilting. I used my favorite Aurifil thread, FORTY3, to quilt the entire quilt. This is such a versatile thread for my longarm. It’s strong enough to take the stress of quilting long straight lines and makes beautiful stitches.”
Lucy Brennan – “Using my Crossed Orange Peel pattern, I made a cushion using hand piecing, machine applique and quilting with (mostly) 50 weight Aurifil thread. During the making of this project I set myself a couple of little challenges and in my post I share tips on how I completed them!”
Daisy Aschehoug – “Aurifil’s 12 weight cotton creates perfect accents on hand sewn patchwork and embroidery pieces. The heavier weight makes a beautiful sight in hems and along seams!”
HollyAnne Knight – “In the midst of our global pandemic, I’m so thankful I’ve had this simple quilt from Nicole at LillyElla Stitchery waiting for some quilty love. This large woodgrain quilting motif, used as an all over design, has made me fall in love with free motion quilting and gorgeous 50 wt thread all over again. Crisp stitches and buttery texture are keeping me sane!”
Leslie Meltzer – “Choosing a favorite thread weight feels a bit like picking a favorite child, so I’m going to follow the clues in my projects. In the end, a decorative pillow cover may hold the answer!”
Chris English – “Experimental mini quilt using a mix of 12wt threads (wool and cotton) used the cotton for hand quilting and through the machine and just hand quilting with the wool. Also mixed in some 50wt machine quilting to create texture and contrast against the thicker 12wt. The top is made from a pair of old overalls (that were destined for landfill) and crumb blocks made from scraps.”
Lou Orth – “Applique scissor design showing my love for 50wt Aurifil colours!”
Karen O’Connor – “Testing patterns for Elizabeth Hartman always marks the new fabric/pattern debut season for me. This spring one of her new patterns is The Puppies. I tested the blocks and then made this long “mini-quilt” for a friend’s son’s 18th Bday.”
Kate Toney – “Use that gorgeous Aurifil 50wt thread stash for something other than piecing and quilting! I will teach you to machine embroider with cotton thread and even give ya a small project idea to get you started.”
Lisa Hofmann-Maurer – “My most favorite and most used thread weight is the 50wt. I use it for literally everything: piecing, quilting, sewing clothes, in the serger, epp,… I recently got my very own longarm and am still in the learning phase. The quarantine and homeschooling has let to absolutely no time for me to practice but pre-covid I just finished quilting this Oriana Quilt pattern. Oriana means the sun, from sunrise to dawn, that’s what I was going for with the fabric choice and the quilting. Even though 50wt is my favorite, I wasn’t brave enough to choose a colored thread for this, so I went with Aurifil Monofilament – the perfect blender. I love the results and hope to finish the binding after we’re “back to normal”. Stay healthy everyone and hang in there. Xo from Switzerland.”
Eliane Bergmann – “I made a boro-inspired zipper pouch using my favorite thread weight – 12 weight! 12 weight thread produced the most amazing texture and feel to this Boro-inspired zipper pouch, which was layers of “white” fabrics all stitched together.”
Jennie Pickett – “Aurifil 40wt is my favorite thread to use for quilting and making bags and accessories. I love that it stands out a little bit and shows off the quilting lines, as well as it being sturdier.”
Kristin Esser – “My favorite thread weight is 80 wt. It’s absolutley perfect for hand piecing. I’ve stitched up a couple completely hand pieced quilt tops–which is the perfect type of project to find some zen in these crazy times!”
Cheryl Brickey – “I made this mini quilt as part of my Modern Design Lab group based on a picture of the Library of Birmingham in England. The library has an orange peel like grate covering the outside of the building. I pieced the mini quilt using Aurifil 2024 (white) in 50 wt and then I got to the star of the show, the quilting using Aurifil 2692 (black) in wt. The quilting design was marked onto the mini quilt using a kitchen cup and then each circle was quilted 3-4 times using free motion quilting.”
Sheri Cifaldi-Morrill – “It’s really difficult to choose just ONE favorite weight of Aurifil thread. If I had to pick though, I’d select 50wt. It’s so versatile for both piecing and quilting. Most recently, I pieced and quilted my Andrà Tutto Bene mini quilts, a free foundation paper piecing pattern I designed in collaboration with Aurifil, with 50wt. While foundation paper piecing, I used 50wt, color: 2024 (White). I quilted all three mini quilts using my Even Feed foot using the following 50wt colors: 2024 (White), 2710 (Light Robins Egg), 1100 (Red Plum), 2235 (Orange), 2225 (Salmon), 2865 (Emerald), 4182 (Dark Turquoise), 2540 (Medium Lavender) Be sure to download the pattern for free on my website: https://shop.wholecirclestudio.com/ or on Aurifil’s website and make a mini for yourself, a friend, or your local quilt shop.”
Alison Holt – “My free motion machine embroidery and silk painting of sunlit raspberries. Using 50 weight Aurifil cotton threads and lots of patience.”
Isabelle Selak – “The texture and weight of Forty3 made it the perfect thread weight to compliment Isabelle’s linen Cross Lake mini quilt.”
Tighe Flanagan – “I use Forty3 as my new default for quilting and garment making. I have used it to to quilt and assemble blazers to even making jeans with colorful topstitching.”
So many wonderful projects! It’s fantastic how diverse the answers are when people talk about their favorite threads!