Greetings Aurifil followers. I’m Karen L. Miller ~ Redbird Quilt Co., Master Educator and Program Coordinator for Aurifilosophy, here again to celebrate our 6th year of Thread Matters – The Aurifilosopher Series with monthly contributions by our wildly talented and creative Aurifilosophers from across the globe! That’s 6 whole years of inspiring Aurifil thread education! Catch up on previous Thread Matters posts via the button below.
Today, we’re going to continue our discussion of longarm quilting using Aurifil thread. I’m excited to share helpful information and a lot of inspiration!!
Is your shop, group or guild looking for insightful, inspiring and educational information on thread? Consider booking a virtual or in-person program with one of our skilled Aurifilosophers. Learn more about Aurifilosophy and find your favorite Aurifilosopher here.
In the April Thread Matters post we chatted about longarm quilting using Aurifil thread. The Aurifil team at AQS Paducah enjoyed visiting with hordes of quilters and sewists who adore Aurifil thread and were especially thrilled to discover a large percentage of patrons use Aurifil on their longarm quilting machines. Our key takeaway? Every brand, size, and configuration of longarm machine happily stitches away with a variety of Aurifil thread weights, yielding beautiful cotton sheen on their edge to edge or free motion quilting motifs.
Today we’re honored to highlight a few individuals whose quilts were prepared and quilted on longarm quilting machines with Aurifil thread. Many of these quilters shared their desire and appreciation of using 100% cotton thread on quilts prepared with 100% cotton fabrics. Let the tradition continue!
Sarah Thomas (@sariditty)
Pattern: Roulette by Sarah Thomas in Rainbow Quilt Color Method Book
Quilting: Roulette digital designs from Sew Steady on Bernina Q24
Thread: Aurifil 40/3 and some 40/2 on top with 40/2 in the bobbin
Favorite Aurifil Color: Bari 4651
Batting: Quilters Dream Bamboo
Needle: Size 90/14 or 80/12
Don’t worry about matching thread weight or color in the bobbin if you are good at proper tensioning. I use 50wt – 80wt in the bobbin and more often than not I opt for a fun color to add interest to the back.
— Sarah Thomas
Maryellen McAuliffe (@marymackmademine)
Pattern: Center Stage by Pieced Tree with added machine embroidery
Machine Embroidery: from @embroiderylibrary
Quilting: Digital Quilting on a Handi Quilter Amara
Thread: Machine Embroidery with Aurifil 40/2 – Longarm Quilting with Aurifil 40/3 top and bobbin
I use a size 18 needle because it seems best with Forty3. I check bobbin tension in the case with each change and if I occasionally get top thread breaks, I check thread path, tension, and needle. If that’s fine, I loosen the quilt on the frame and slow down the machine… and eat chocolate. LOL
– Maryellen McAuliffe
Nancy Rink (@nancyrink)
Pattern: Blackbird Designs “Bachelor’s Buttons” (Nancy titled her version ‘Urns with Flowers’)
Quilting: Free Motion Quilting on an APQS Millenium
Batting: Hobbs Tuscany Wool
Thread: Aurifil 50/2 on top and bobbin
I love how Aurifil 50wt/2ply thread sinks into the layers of the quilt and produces a wonderful texture without being too “thready.”
– Nancy Rink
Pattern: For Rosa by Nancy Rink – a block of the month program made in conjunction with Marcus Fabrics.
Quilting: Free Motion Quilting on an APQS Millenium
Batting: Hobbs Tuscany Wool
Thread: Aurifil 50/2 on top and bobbin
Narda of Maz Q’s Sewing and Quilting (@maz_qs)
Pattern: Elephants by Laundry Basket Quilts
Quilt Maker: Michele P. @mphillips3690
Quilting: Digital Edge to Edge “Tresses” by @thequiltingmill on a Bernina Q24
Thread: Aurifil 40/3 on top and 50/2 on top and bobbin
Favorite Aurifil Color: Rope Beige 5011
I love offering cotton thread as my main quilting thread – and Aurifil’s colors are exceptional. The fact that I can get the same color in different weights is ideal too. Once I found out about Aurifil’s Forty3 option, the decision of which thread to use became much easier!
– Narda, Maz Q’s Sewing and Quilting
Trudi Wood (@trudi_wood)
Pattern: Mystery Quilt 2021 by @laundrybasketquilts
Fabric: Pieced using @tilda_uk all from stash. Binding is @oakshott.fabrics
Quilting: Free motion quilted on an Innova Longarm Classic 22”
Thread: Aurifil 50wt cotton in colour #2311
Trudi’s Mystery Quilt was awarded 2nd place in the Traditional Quilts category at the Festival Of Quilts, 2022.
Cassandra Beaver (The (Not So) Dramatic Life)
Pattern: Zoo Family Portrait Quilt by Cassandra Beaver
Quilting: Free Motion quilting on an A-1 longarm
Batting: Hobbs Tuscany Wool and Hobbs 80/20 Cotton/Poly blend
Thread: Quilted with 50wt Aurifil in 19 colors
Cath Brough (@cumbrianlongarmer)
Pattern: Pineapple Quilt, prepared by Sarah
Quilting: Digital Echoed Swirl Panto from Jess Ziegler on an Innova Longarm
Batting: Hobbs 80/20
Thread: Aurifil 50wt color 2410 top and bobbin
Barb Persing (@bpquilts)
Pattern: Poppies
Quilting: Free motion quilting on a A-1 Longarm Quilting Machine
Thread: Aurifil 40/2 top and bobbin
For free motion quilting my first words of advice are turn off your stitch regulator! You cannot achieve flowing designs when you are fighting a stitch regulator. My favorite longarm class to teach was Introduction to Free Motion. I have even had students tell me at the end of class that they almost walked out at the beginning when I announced we would not be using stitch regulators during class. At the end of class these same students thanked me. A class is the perfect opportunity to work outside of your comfort zone and experience something new. Stitch regulators have many uses but I believe you need to learn how to run your machine FIRST without them.
– Barbara Persing
Many thanks to Sarah, Maryellen, Nancy, Trudi, Narda, Cassandra, Barb and Cath for sharing their longarm experiences using Aurifil 100% Egyptian Cotton thread. Your work is so inspiring!
Have you tried Aurifil on your longarm? We would love to hear about your experiences. Share your tips and feedback in a comment below!! Get caught up on other longarm quilting tips with Aurifil in this blog post.