Buying thread

Ok, so.

<Rant>
What the bloody hell are these corporations up to?
</Rant>

I’m coming to the end of a reel of v69 and I was wondering if there’s a comparable natural alternative. So I take a look around and see that silk is supposed to be strong. So I looked up the strength of v69 and it’s around 11lbs. I look for thé strength of silk threads and…

So I see if I can compare the thickness and I find that gutermanns heavy thread is “40 weight” and has a “3D structure” Well that’s good that it exists in the 3 dimensional plane… also (fyi v69 has a diameter of 0.0115 inches).

How is it that the best information that a massive multinational corporation can give on its products is the weight per distance?

It’s like asking “ How far is it from Grand central station NY to the Whitehouse DC?”, “Well it takes my camel 3 days.”

No-one buys electrical cable based on its weight, we’d have cables made of lead.


For someone who spinning their own stuff at home, fair enough they’re not making enough to enable random sampling and process control techniques. But for the likes of Gutermann to say that this is a sensible way to measure thread….

Ok, the rant really is over know.

Can anyone tell me if gutermanns silk 753 is in any way comparable for the boot, awning and backpack repairs that I use v69 for please?

Hi James, there are different systems for thread weight. V is commonly used in synthetic threads for heavy duty textile. V69 is equivalent to TEX70, compatible with needles of size 16 to 18. That's about the thickest a home sewing machine can handle. Threads for garments of various materials use the TEX system.  Silk thread of tex40 comes with needle sizes 14 to 16. Weight wise Tex40 silk thread is lighter than the V69 but I can't find data on the strength as in lbs.

I guess one reason is that garment sewing doesn't have a requirement for very strong seams as in heavy duty outdoor gears. A thread that is much stronger than the fabric will cut into the fabric and make the garment weaker. Silk threads are used mostly for decorative stitches and there's no need to be super strong. Secondly, the strength has to do with the quality of fiber and spinning techniques, threads of the same weight and material can have different strengths.

I don't know if the silk thread will be a good substitute for your project or not. To be safe I would use the same thread that has been proved to be working.

Thanks May, looks like I’ll get another cone of v69.

‘what did people historically use for these sorts of repairs? Or did every craft have it’s own thread?

James Alun wrote:Thanks May, looks like I’ll get another cone of v69.

‘what did people historically use for these sorts of repairs? Or did every craft have it’s own thread?

What sorts of repairs? The job would determine the thread. Horse hair - from the main & tail - are incredibly strong, and come in rather convenient lengths, if you have a horse (mule, donkey). Linen, nettle, and other cellulose-based threads are all incredibly strong, too.

Carla Burke wrote:... Horse hair - from the main & tail - are incredibly strong, and come in rather convenient lengths, if you have a horse (mule, donkey).

I heard that horse hair upholstery is extremely long wearing and was used in commercial coaches/trains for that reason.
It hadn't occurred to me to use it straight as a sewing thread. Although I don't personally have a horse, there are plenty around, so I ought to be able to get a bit and experiment.

Is it used straight as a single strand, or should it be several strands wound?

Carla Burke wrote:
What sorts of repairs? The job would determine the thread. Horse hair - from the main & tail - are incredibly strong, and come in rather convenient lengths, if you have a horse (mule, donkey). Linen, nettle, and other cellulose-based threads are all incredibly strong, too.

Right now I’m looking at patching the soles on my moccasin slippers but I’m also thinking about canvas and webbing for awnings, bike luggage and backpacks.

I know v69 came about for sails, so there must have been something for that too.

I think the number of stands needed might depend heavily on what you're doing. So, soles if shoes might be best done with 2 or 3, for added strength. Sewing a seam in medium weight  cloth, might only need a single strand.

Not sure why I'd forgotten about sinew, but that's another that the thickness & number of strand needed to do a job are variable.

I had a very old, horsehair-stuffed wingback chair. It was my favorite chair, and had I not been deathly sick and unable to do anything about it, I'd still have it. But, moving it out of storage, to move to another state, my family found a dead mouse under the cushion, and tossed the whole chair. I was NOT a happy woman. That chair was comfy!

Thank you for mentioning linen!

I may have to take back some of my rant, coats do actually have a strength rating for their Linen thread.

Now, how to persuade Gutermann to do the same?

The linen thread looks like a real possibility, right now I’m looking at a saddle makers website.

So here is the initial project for this thread, repairing my slippers. As I walk I over pronate which means I have twisting motion under my big toe. This causes a lot of wear at this point and so I end up with a hole in the sole while the rest of the shoe/slipper is perfectly fine.

Materials



Starting



Nearly finished


I backstitched the seam that goes across the sole for strength and whipstitched the edges that shouldn’t see as heavy wear. I may end up whip stitching the seam on the sole to control the flap but I have a beveler in the post and I’m hoping that will help.

I’m going to need to sort out some sort of last if I’m going to do this regularly.