Stitching thread

• A stitching thread is special kind of yarn that are

engineered and designed to pass through sewing
machine rapidly. They form efficient stitches without
breaking or becoming distorted during the useful life
of product. The basic function of thread is to deliver
aesthetics and performance in stitches and seam.
Sewing thread is a flexible, small diameter
yarn or strand usually treated with surface coating,
lubricate or both intended to be used to stitch one or
more pieces of material or an object to a material.
 Factors Affecting Characteristic Of Thread
• FIBRE CONTENT, i.e. polyester, spun polyester, cotton,
nylon, etc.
• STRUCTURE/CONSTRUCTION : i.e Spun, Core spun
etc
• TWIST; S or Z twists.
• PLY; Number of filaments i.e. mono, multiple, etc.
• COUNT of the thread i.e. higher the more it is finer
and therefore more the cost.
• COLOR: Dark, light and fashion
• FINISHES; finishing i.e. how it has been finished
depending upon the fibre composition and end use
 Thread Classification
• Thread can be classified in different ways.
Some common classifications are those based
on
• 1. Substrate
• 2. Construction
• 3. Finish
Substrate
 Fiber Content

Characteristics of cotton thread:


Soft

 Strong and durable

 Easily adjusts to changes in the fabric (such as

shrinkage) since it is a natural fiber

 Available in various thread weights

 Easy care
Advantage of Cotton Thread:

 It gives uniformity in stitch &

seam appearance
 Dying is easy and easily gets the
color of the fabric.
 Resistance to the heat
 Resistance to the tangling
Disadvantage:

 Poor elasticity
 Poor abrasion resistance
 More expensive
 Weaker (time consuming due to thread breakage)
 Weakens easily by chemicals used in fabric
&garment finishing
 But for contrasting stitch polyester is good.
Rayon
Characteristics Of Rayon
 High sheen
 Soft, and works well in detail
 Relatively heat resistant
 Not colorfast
 Not as strong as polyester
 Less durable than polyester

Nylon

Characteristics Of Nylon
 Strong
 Low melting temperature. Not heat resistant.
 Not colorfast. Will yellow over time.
 Becomes brittle through laundering
 Polyester

Characteristics Of Polyester

 Durable. Designed for heavy duty use

 Stronger, more tensile strength than rayon

 Colorfast

 Retains shape

 Recovers stretch

 Spun poly is strong, with a matte appearance

 Thread twist
• Twist – The ‘twist’ of a thread refers to the
number of turns per unit length required to
hold the fibres / plies together to give the yarn
/ thread substance the required strength and
flexibility. A thread with an excessive twist is
also likely to give trouble while sewing due to
‘twist liveliness’, which can cause snarling,
loops, knots and possible spillage that prohibit
stitch formation.
 Twist
• • Direction of twist is
identified as ‘S’ for
left twist and
• ‘Z’ for right twist.
• Most single needle
lock stitch and other
machines are
designed for ‘Z’ twist
threads
 Construction
Spun sewing thread

Core spun sewing thread

 Filament sewing thread

 Air entangled
 Spun sewing thread

 Single yarns are twisted together to form multiply

 SPUN THREAD is made using natural or synthetic fibers. Spun polyester is one of the most
widely used threads.
 Number of ply may be 2 to 6

 . CORESPUN THREAD is a combination of staple fibres and filaments. The most commonly
used corespun thread has multiple-ply construction, with each ply consisting of a
polyester filament core with cotton or polyester fibres wrapped around the core.

 Large diameter cotton replaced by small diameter polyester reduces

puckering
 Filament threads:-

c) smooth filament b) textured filament thread a) monofilament thread

It is made from a single

continuous fibre with a
specified thickness.
Usually polyester
Though monofilament is
Nylon, polyester strong, uniform and
Used for looper as cover
inexpensive to make, it lacks
High strength stitches
flexibility and is stiff and
scratchy in feel.
Used for shoes, leather Texturing filaments gives
garment, industrial the yarn more cover and
Usage : At hems, draperies,
products-tents,box high extensibility, but
and upholstered furniture.
cover etc makes the thread more
subject to snagging.
 Core spun sewing thread
• CORESPUN THREAD is a
combination of staple
fibres and filaments. It
generally has multi-ply
construction. The core is
made up filament fiber, and
staple fibers are wrapped
around the core. . Cotton
Polyester Core spun
requires two dye baths and
so leads to higher cost
Air entangled

Is made from continuous filaments of

polyester that are entangled as they pass
through a high pressure air jet. 

twisted, dyed, and wound on cones with

lubricant.

used in everything from seaming flags to

heavy denim jeans.
 Finishes
• Finishes are given to a thread for two
purposes
• TO IMPROVE SEWABILITY : Some finishes
involve increasing strength, abrasion
resistance and lubrication of the thread.
• TO ACHIEVE A SPECIFIC FUNCTIONAL
REQUIREMENT : Some finishes include
bonding, non wick, anti-fungal, fire retardant,
water repellent and anti-static finishes.
 FINISHES:-

Gassed Glazed

Mercerized
Soft Bonded
 TYPES

• WATER REPELLENT FINISH

• FLAME PROOF FINISH
• ANTI-BACTERIAL FINISH
• ANTI-MILDEW
Relationship Between Thread Construction, Fiber Type, and Thread Finish
Thread Construction Fiber Type Thread Finish
Cotton wrapped polyester Soft
Core
Polyester wrapped polyester Soft

Cotton Soft, Mercerized, or Glaced

Spun
Polyester Soft

Air Entangled Polyester Soft

Textured Polyester Soft

Nylon Soft
Twisted Multifilament
Polyester Soft or Bonded

Monocord Nylon Bonded

Monofilament Nylon Soft

Ply and cord
• SIZE :-
The overall thickness of the final
thread is referred to as ‘Grist’, ‘Ticket
Number’, ‘Tex’ or ‘Count’. Thread
should be as fine as possible
depending on the required strength of
seam. Generally, thicker threads have
greater strength, given the same fibre
content and yarn structure. Finer
threads tend to blend into the fabric
surface and are less subject to abrasion
than seams with heavier threads. Finer
threads perform better with finer
needles and produce less fabric
distortion than heavier needles.
 THREAD LUBRICATION:

 To reduce amount of friction

 To provide protection from the needle heat

 Lubricant should be non-sticky, non-staining, non-soiling

 and shouldn’t effect the thread color.

 Thread size measurement

Weight Natural fibre such as cotton and silk

Length measurement

Denier. Synthetic fibres

Tex.

Conversion 40 weight = 225 denier = tex 25

 Thread Put-ups

•Spool

•Cop

•Cones

•vicone

•Container

•Cocoons

•Prewound bobbins
PLIED THREADS:-

•Made by plying the yarns together

•Plying increases the durability & performance of

the thread.

Carded thread:-

When two or more plied thread are plied together &

multiple plies twisted together.
 Thread terminology

 Tensile strength is the tension at which a thread breaks, expressed in grams

or kilograms (force).
 Tenacity is the relative strength obtained by dividing the tensile strength by
the thickness of the structure.
 Loop strength is the load required to break a length of thread which is
looped through another length of the same thread.
 Minimum loop strength is the strength of the weakest loop in a series of
loops (tested in a continuous length of thread).
 Elongation at break is the amount by which a thread is extended at its
breaking point expressed as a percentage of its original length.
 Modulus is a term used to denote a numerical value which indicates the
manner in which the textile behaves when a tensile force is applied.
 Elasticity is a property of the thread which enables it to recover to its
original length after being extended by a set amount.
 Shrinkage is the amount by which a thread contracts under the action of
washing or heating.
 Moisture regain is the weight of moisture in a fibre or thread expressed as a
percentage of weight of completely dry material.
Properties good quality thread posses
 Good tensile strength
 Smooth surface and absence of faults
 Uniform thickness / diameter
 Good elasticity
 Good colour fastness
 Low shrinkage
 Good resistance to chemical attack
 Good abrasion resistance
 Good colour fastness
 Minimal metamerism