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I'm going to be sewing a couch slipcover out of denim. What thread would you all recommend?
Bobbie, Clotilde (the catalog) has a heavy-duty 'jean' or denim thread that might be what you're looking for - at least if you want your slipcover to look jean-ish. it used to come in white & blue jean 'gold'. I haven't seen their catalog for a spell, but I've got a spool here that you're welcome to
I feel like I should put in a disclaimer here, too. I'm completely self-taught and am only speaking from the voice of my own experience. my mom is world-class seamstress who taught sewing, but she never taught me. Our 'thread' conversation came about when I was complaining about my machine and I said I needed to buy a new one because mine kept breaking thread. the first thing she asked what kind of thread I was using and I told her C&C. she laughed and said, 'well, that's not your machine, it's your thread!
I started out sewing by hand and bought my first sewing machine at age 40 because hand sewing just takes too long. it was a 1927 singer hand-crank and it took me quite awhile to figure out how to use it. from there I went to a beautiful little singer feathweight, then to a singer 301 slant-needle and about 5 years ago picked up my Viking 555 at a small shop in Stuttgart. I'd probably kill for one of those viking designer one's, but I figure I ought to get a car before I pick up a $12,000 sewing machine. :redface:
anyway, every time I post here, I keep expecting one of the real experts to pop up and say ' hey, you old fart, don't you know it's been proven that silcone spray actually disolves viking sewing machines? or that gutterman has been known to cause cancer in tetse flies??? get a grip! :redface:
Lol, I have to say my favourite 'bear-making threads' have got to be the ones here on Teddy Talk 
(Sorry, couldn't resist)
I use the extra-strong thread on a spool from Bear Basics here in the UK_ I swear I could sit on it and it wouldn't break 
I bought some other stuff cheaper, but it was more... fibrous? It breaks relatively easily sadly 
Still good for handsewing normal seams though.
Creative Design Studio (RKR4CDS)I went to a beautiful little singer feathweight,
Ohhhhhhhhh, Kelly! You've got a Featherwt?
I'd LOVE one, but as I hardly ever use my 40 yo top-of-the-line-then Husky, the $300 - 400 also seems a bit excessive.
One can carry a vintage Needlework Collection a bit too far!
My sister, in Los Gatos, got hers a few years back, for $100 at am estate sale in San Jose. Sort of like the car being driven, only on Sundays, by a little old lady is Sacrament (or was it Pasadena) You get the idea; it's pristine. I love buying all of the little Featherwt accessories available - those are dear enough!
I haven't gotten Clotilde's catalog in a while, nor Nancy's, prob when I stopped buying! I don't want the stitching to show in jeans-style so I'll go with blue and let the edges fray, helping them out where needed. I'm pleased that your costuming style lead me to think about just laying the pre-shrunk denim right onto the couch and cutting & pinning, rather than developing a pattern and then handing yardages of fabric. THX!
B
I keep expecting one of the real experts to pop up and say
And there are no true experts here. Some of the TTers are just better at what works for them. That's why we're all here and asking questions! As soon as we become 'experts', we'd have no reason to continue to challenge ourselves and would stop working....
Plum Cottage BearsKelly, I have a Featherweight, too. I would like to start using it but I am somehow hesitant. What can you tell me to encourage me to go there?
desertmountainbearI use upholstery thread or mastix for hand stitching my bears. I use nymo which is a nylon beading thread which comes in different weights and many many different colors for stitching on paw pads, that way I can match the thread to the color of leather I am using. I keep a block of bees wax and wax all the thread I use. For soft sculpting I use fishing line (monofiliment) in a 12 lb test. It is thin and very strong. I have broken upholstery thread when pulling toes, but I rarely break fishing line. You do need to work this back and forth a few times so it wont loose tension, it is slippery
Joanne
hey bobbie, I sure do have a feathweight. I've got quite a vintage singe collection. back when I had more space, I used to have 5 machines lined up in s row, all with different attachments - one for a ruffler, one for buttonholes, for a zigzagger. .
as for accessories. I think I have them all - darners, picote edgers, rufflers, even 2 of that most elusive of all, the 'penguin' i.e. the walking foot. it's a really fun collectors field. (my featherweight is a beauty and was in mint-in-the-box condition when I bought it, but it wasn't any kind of deal - I think I paid $500+)
Kelly, I have a Featherweight, too. I would like to start using it but I am somehow hesitant. What can you tell me to encourage me to go there?
Gail, if you've got a decent, modern, working machine, I encourage to you keep your featherweight as pristine and polished as possible and maybe use it in a nice display somewhere. you might want to use it occasionally when portability is an issue (quilters love then because they can take them anywhere) but while they are a durable workhorse, they're also kind of a pain to use, at least from my point of view. every attachment and foot has to go on with a screwdriver and trust me, you ain't had a thread jam until you've had one on an antique machine!
they make a might fine collectible, though. . . :dance:
Chaska, MinnesotaI use the nylon thread for my bears too. But I ran across a tailor shop that was going out of business and bought nylon treads with the tread cut and individually wrapped around card board. It is perfect for mini bears to just pull a strip of thread from the board. How handy was that!! And it was magnificent. I got it in all kinds of colors....Very strong thread....Anybody know what I'm talking about and where can I buy more?
Creative Design Studio (RKR4CDS)My sister quilts and gets absolutely, spot-on straight seams. LOVES hers.
I found a Lily 555 for $500 (firm) and wondered if it was worth it.
I'm debating selling it to get this with many more features. Mine has 5 cams that twist into place for different sts, but they're nowhere near as sophisticated as the Lily.
I was reading some sites that were comparing the 545 to the 555; didn't you say your Mom has the 545, Kelly?
My 40 yo Husqy works OK and I no longer really use it except for a bit of mending a couple of times a year, not like when I sewed for the whole family and the household, but have to justify $500 in my mind....
What do you think, Kelly? or anyone else who has one of these?
hey Bobby! they don't make the 555 lily anymore, but it retailed brand new in the states for $1200-$1400. if this one in good shape, I'd say $500 was a very good deal. they say it sews 240 decorative stitches at the touch of a button - a lot of those are alphabet numbers, but I use 60 or so embroidery stitches frequently. mine has never, ever jammed, sews like a champ (don quixote's doublet has 5 layers of leather in some places, upholstery fabric, quilt batting & a silk lining and it never even slowed us down. easy to change feet, lots of accessories, 12 buttonholes. . .I love it, I really do.
and who knows, bobbie, if you had a fancy new machine, you might be inspired to do a little patternwork, maybe a little bunny ;-) (Bobbie makes about the best sleeping bunny soft-sculpture on earth)
my mother had the viking 454 and hated. she said it couldn't sew leather. on the other hand, she's serious sewing machine snob and only recommends Bernina - who knows, she might get a kick-back.
featherweights do sew a straight seam like a champ and are really cool little machines. never think I denigrate the fair featherweight.
my viking does the same thing with a LOT less work
Posts: 1,836Kelly, I have a Featherweight, too. I would like to start using it but I am somehow hesitant. What can you tell me to encourage me to go there?
Go for it!! You won't be disappointed!! 
I look for reasons to sew on my featherweight! (I have 2 now and will probably add a Freearm in the next year or 2). I adore my first "everyday use" featherweight, but I was afraid to use it when it first arrived. I did tons of research, wrote out to other artists who use them, but something about that vintage pedal with double wires and that little motor box just terrified me at first. After about a week of staring at it I finally sat down and read the instruction manual (easier than any manuals they write now!!) and just went for it. I'd never go back to a modern machine...ever. I love my featherweight 
(Keeping it well cleaned, oiled (with the proper oils) and stored is key).
Have fun!!
:hug:
~Chrissi
Plum Cottage BearsKelly, at the moment I don't have "a decent, modern, working machine." The Featherweight or hand sewing seem to be my choices.
hey Gail,
I'd take the featherweight over hand-sewing any day. it's really cool machine, and like I said, 1000's of people swear by them - and I have sewn 5 years worth of bears on my own. I like my new machine because I sometimes change feet 5 times in 10 minutes, and viking's feet pop on and off easily (and I love my decorative stitches!). should you need any advice, it sounds like Chrissi will be able help you through it, and should you need any parts or attachments - including that elusive, invaluable walking foot, shoot me an email. most of my collection is for sale ;-)
there really isn't any reason to be hesitant about using your featherweight, either. if you already know how to use a sewing machine, you'll find operating one a piece of cake. it's really a very basic machine.
Plum Cottage BearsThank you, Kelly. I am pointed back to bears again, after awhile. I will stay in touch with the forum.
