Machine sewing braided thread

[ZigZag]

I’ve heard much talk about standard three strand twisted thread being the only thread to use in a 411 or similar, but I thought I would share my experience with machine sewing with braided thread.

i have tried both tiger 44 coated and braided Kevlar fishing line and both have proved to be very successful. I have tried 0.6mm and 0.8mm, both work well and give a great stitch consistently.

anyone else tried braided?

[Jesleright]

Sounds like an interesting experiment. Does the coated thread leave wax build-up in the machine?

[alpha2]

And, how would it compare to a lube pot?

[ZigZag]

The Ritza 44 is silicone coated polyester and is silky smooth. I certainly wouldn’t even attempt to put waxed thread through the machine.

The braided fishing line has a Kevlar core so is incredibly strong. Not quite as slippery as the Ritza 44 which is specifically designed as a machine thread.

heres a link to where I buy it from.

http://abbeyengland.com/Store/CategoryID/432/List/0/Level/a/ProductID/68931

[Mattsbagger]

Weaver also sells Ritza machine thread I believe. 

[Joon1911]

Zigzag,

this is an intriguing idea.  Can you post some pics?   I’ve found I have to be careful of how I’m hand sewing with the Ritza otherwise the flat braid lay of the thread affects the overall “neatness” of the stitches.  I’d imagine this would be exacerbated by running thru a sewing machine.  

Edited March 13, 2018 by Joon1911

[Matt S]

Hi @ZigZag, I've tried the two braided polyesters I have on hand in machines, Tiger 1.4mm and a similar size un-named polyester braid that is slightly rounder, looser braid and entirely dry. I had better success with the Ritza. What machine are you running these braids through, if I may ask?

[ZigZag]

On 3/13/2018 at 11:35 PM, Joon1911 said:

Zigzag,

this is an intriguing idea.  Can you post some pics?   I’ve found I have to be careful of how I’m hand sewing with the Ritza otherwise the flat braid lay of the thread affects the overall “neatness” of the stitches.  I’d imagine this would be exacerbated by running thru a sewing machine.  

I'd be more than happy to show some pics. I'm traveling abroad on business at the moment so will get to this in around 10 days.

Cheers

Nick

[ZigZag]

17 hours ago, Matt S said:

Hi @ZigZag, I've tried the two braided polyesters I have on hand in machines, Tiger 1.4mm and a similar size un-named polyester braid that is slightly rounder, looser braid and entirely dry. I had better success with the Ritza. What machine are you running these braids through, if I may ask?

Hi Matt, i'm using a 441 clone, this one is made by Typical, pretty much the only one available in UK. I'm very pleased with it. Quality is excellent and had no problems with it so far.

[Matt S]

2 hours ago, ZigZag said:

Hi Matt, i'm using a 441 clone, this one is made by Typical, pretty much the only one available in UK. I'm very pleased with it. Quality is excellent and had no problems with it so far.

Thanks Zigzag. May I ask how much it was? DCR wanted £3800+VAT for a 441.

[ZigZag]

I bought mine from JB Sewing in Wales. They were amazing. Set the machine up perfectly and delivered it with an engineer to go through everything. 

http://www.jbsewing.com/typical-tw3-441

I paid around £3k all in with a speed reducer, servo motor, spare feet, etc. Very happy with it. 

[jrny4wrd]

Is there a conversion chart that would convert the mm to the thread #? I want to compair the Ritza sizes with the current threads e.g. #346.

On 7/7/2018 at 1:05 AM, chrisash said:

From memory 69 is just under 0.3 mm and 207 about 0.4mm or just under but the breaking strain is much wider at 11 pound ver 35 pound

Thank you!!

[Matt S]

30 minutes ago, jrny4wrd said:

Is there a conversion chart that would convert the mm to the thread #? I want to compair the Ritza sizes with the current threads e.g. #346.

Thank you!!

Ritza is a flat, braided thread whereas most threads are round and twisted so there's no direct comparison. The great thing about the flat threads is that they look a lot chunkier than they actually are. The other complication is if you just put a mic on a sewing thread it can squash down, especially if not bonded, so it's not too easy to get an exact measurement. There is a very handy comparison chart I refer to a lot here: http://www.tolindsewmach.com/thread-chart.html It has diameters in decimal inches and in millimetres as well as equivalent sizes of linen thread.

[Matt S]

On 3/17/2018 at 6:23 PM, ZigZag said:

I bought mine from JB Sewing in Wales. They were amazing. Set the machine up perfectly and delivered it with an engineer to go through everything. 

http://www.jbsewing.com/typical-tw3-441

I paid around £3k all in with a speed reducer, servo motor, spare feet, etc. Very happy with it. 

Thanks, that's a much more reasonable price.

[ke6cvh]

Hello group,  I have been purchasing braided poly off ebay made in USA in size 415 and 277 (for the bobbin).  The bobbin never has a problem.  The top thread, 415, would wind up terrible so I contacted the maker.  I already posted this information in a different thread not knowing that this thread was specifically about braided thread (lots of puns sorry).  The solution was obvious but I needed confirmation.  The cone was not designed to feed off the top.  Instead one needs to make a horizontal rod and allow the spool to spin on the rod as it feeds off (similar to how the bobbin feeds the thread).  Braided thread is stronger than regular.  This stuff being made in USA and bonded/waxed and white/brown/tan/black colors.  So now I'm waiting for some braided fishing line to arrive (although I truly love the braided poly and the mfg from USA I have long lead times getting it here overseas).  So I bought some braided fishing UHMWPE line.  The stuff rated at 80lbs is 0.5mm so perfect for a size 23 needle which is max for my Singer 112w-139 and the size 42 is slightly smaller than ticket 30 so perfect for the bobbin and seriously strong stuff.  UHMWPE is super UV resistant and has abrasion far beyond the best Nylon plus the extra strength.  So, I read people say that if the thread is too strong it will rip the material before the thread breaks.  I believe in this 80lb smaller size than 207 (approximately) top and the slightly less than ticket 30 42lb  (in the bobbin ) is ideal for a machine like the 112w-139 or Consew 206rb etc.  And I get free shipping on it.  We use commercial device that fits onto the spool pin and uses silicone lube on the thread.  With the fishing line I'd use the silicone lube pot and feed it sideways off the horizontal spool like the braided poly (size 415 is rated at 95lbs ! ).  We are setting up to weave on a hand loom next week (12 shaft homebrew countermarch) and I've even considered trying to make a rip stop on steroids with braided thread in the rip stop portion.  It'll be interesting for a project.  Best regards, Mike