Variegated Thread Quilting

Picking the perfect thread for your finished quilt project is often a daunting task. One of the popular things to use today are variegated threads because they're colorful and they tend to blend so well with our bright, cheery fabrics that we have. But when it comes to variegated thread, what you see is definitely not what you get. Some tips for when you go to the store include look closely at the thread. These two appear very similar on the spool. You see the red, the yellow, the blue, and the green but this may not be a good representation of what you'll see on a quilt. If you are purchasing larger spools, and typically this is what a long-arm quilter will use, turn the spool in the end and look down on the top of the spool and you will probably see a better representation of how your thread may look on your quilt. Another thing to keep in mind with the variegated thread is you can't always tell what you're getting by looking at the spool. In particular, these. This one is a very subtle variegated green. This one appears to be a very subtle gold and you almost looking at that would not think it was variegated. This is why I recommend that people spool out thread onto their quilt blocks. And I'm just using a piece of black fabric here to show you. When you puddle this thread out, now you start to see that there's gold, there's orange, there's pink in here, all these different colors that don't seem to pop out at you on the spool at first glance. So variegated thread can range from very subtle. It can also be a single color family such as this green. You can see where it almost has a hint of almost leaning toward the pale teal all the way up to the dark sage green or olive green in here. And the nice part about this type of thread where it's in the single color family is that it will add depth to the quilting without being distracting or changing too radically. Another thing that you wanna keep in mind is the threads can appear a little bit different. Like here, you might not think this one would work because it appears much lighter. But let's take a look at it when we pull it out on the fabric. This one actually is brighter than it looks on the spool. The colors are a touch more toward the neon side, if you will, and the other thing to notice is how far apart the variegation is. This one is approximately, oh I'm gonna guess right at about 3-1/2 to four inches between colors. This particular one, another brand, has less variegation. It goes strictly from the blue to the yellow right into the reddish tones and back out again, and this one is probably closer to a good six to almost eight inches between the variegation. So that's what you're gonna see with your thread as your pattern stitches out, is longer bands of color or lines of color. This one, if you notice, is a little bit shorter. It's probably about 3-1/2 inches again. And some I've seen are as short as an inch between colors. There's no way to tell that on the spool really by just looking at it. I would recommend that you go online to the different thread manufacturers and look up threads that you may be considering to see how much variegation there is. Also, when you look for your thread make sure you take your fabric with you or a good representation of the fabrics that you used in your quilt so that you can try and see how it will work but honestly the best thing is when you get home, just go ahead and puddle it or when you work with your long-arm quilter. This thread in particular really brings home the point of what you actually will end up with is not what is appearing on the spool of thread. This one looks very light. It looks almost silvery with maybe a touch of a little bit of pink and blue in it, possibly some gold. When I turn it on edge you can see it just a touch better that it's got a little bit of color in there, a little bit more than what we saw on the side. But looks what happens when we puddle this, the magic that this particular thread has. You can really see the colors coming out and you can see where that thread has a lot more going for it than what we initially thought. So don't be afraid of variegated. Just keep these rules in mind and be ready for a few surprises from your variegated threads when you get them home if you haven't been able to pull off a little bit in the store and take a look at it. But have fun because they will add another dimension to your quilting and can very well indeed be the perfect thread for you.