Sewing thread is literally what holds things together in making clothing or crafts with fabric. This thread comes in the most amazing array of colors and fibers that sometimes it can be a confusing choice when beginning a project: Cotton, silk, or polyester? Matching or contrasting color? Heavy weight or light weight? Something in between? There are many choices that can be considered when selecting a thread to use at the store when thinking of making something.
A manufacturer such as Superior Threads offers a wide variety of products for the consumer to choose from as well as some very nice instructional materials about how to best use these threads. Polyester threads are usually thought of as being stronger than their cotton counter parts, but in fact either can be as strong or as breakable as the other depending on the weight. The primary difference between cotton threads and polyester threads is that cotton is more reactive with its environment. This means that a sewing thread made of polyester is less likely to suffer from water damage than is cotton when a finished project becomes damp for a long period of time.
Many crafters or quilters feel that the material of the thread should match the material of the project so that a cotton thread would be used with a cotton quilt and a polyester sewing thread with a synthetic one. Some feel that the quilt materials may be torn if the thread isn’t just like the fabric. The fact is, though, that this is a myth and the thread is most unlikely to be the cause of any pulls or rips in the fabric that occur during the crafting process. Silk with silk can be a good idea simply because silk holds color differently from either cotton or polyester and over time the threads may change color with washing.