How to Prepare Thread for Quilt Making

At one time or another, most quilters have been faced with the problem of knotting thread. To prevent this, most people tend to use shorter quilting thread. However, this means that you must frequently change the thread. If you want to use a longer piece of quilting thread and avoid knotting, cover your thread with a wax coating. Waxing the thread will also help you thread your needles with ease.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Cardboard, about 30-32 inches long and 8 inches wide
• Quilting thread
• Paraffin wax
• Iron
• Paper

1. Cover the cardboard piece with paper. Use a glue stick rather than tape because tape doesn't stand up to heat.

2. Wrap an entire spool of quilting thread around the cardboard lengthwise. Try to lay each strand next to each other so they are not overlapping.

3. Rub the paraffin wax all along the quilting thread. Be liberal and make sure that all of the threads are covered. Flip the cardboard over and cover the thread on the back side.

4. Cover the thread with a piece of plain white paper. With your iron on a hot setting, iron the quilting thread through the paper. Some wax may leak through onto your iron, but this is easily wiped away later.

5. Cut the thread off of the board at one end. Trim the edges that are kinked from the cardboard.

6. Braid all of the threads together for storage. When you need a piece of thread, you can easily pull one out from the bunch.

Tips & Warnings

• Beeswax can also be used, but it may get dirty. It's best to stick with paraffin wax.