When finishing a pillow with my new Sugar Coated Stars quilt pattern, I decided to try something new! I love the look of hand quilting with heavier weights of thread. But I have to admit, I don’t always have the time or patience for hand quilting. So I decided to experiment with a different thread in my machine!

I decided to use 2 different weights of Aurifil Thread - one for the quilting in the middle of the star and a heavier for the outside outline of the star.

Tips on how to quilt with 12 weight thread

Using 12 weight thread in my machine was surprisingly easy with just a few minor adjustments! I sew on a Juki TL2010Q and had to make some minor adjustments to my tension to account for the heavier thread.

I used Aurifil Thread 12 weight in Grey and my usual go-to Aurifil Thread 50 weight in White in my bobbin. You can also use 40 weight in the bobbin.

I also used a Schmetz Microtex 90/14 Topstitch Needle.

I used my Juki walking foot, lengthened my stitch length to 4.0 and took my time. It turned out perfect! I used Aurifil 50 weight in Arctic Ice to quilt the center of the star in my pillow top. I love the look of the 2 weights of thread in the quilting! It was the perfect finish to this project!

Tell me, have you tried machine quilting with a heavier weight of thread before? Do you have any other tips to share? I’ll definitely be trying this again soon!