When I first started to do English Paper Piecing I had a sewing basket full of old spools of thread which my mother and I had purchased to complete garment sewing projects in the sixties and seventies.  I used these freely to baste my first hexagons regardless of thread color.  These threads were mostly polyester blends. I still have quite a few hexagons basted with colored threads that are over forty years old.

As the supply of my vintage thread started to dwindle I came upon a blog post, which I can’t locate at the present moment, lauding the value of a particular basting thread.  I purchased three spools through Amazon on September 30, 2013, and assumed that it would last me for a very long time indeed even if I used it for basting projects to be quilted in addition to hexagon basting.  As you can see from the image above I finished my first 1,250 yard spool, and am just about ready to break into my last one.

I’ll be ordering this thread again soon.  Shipping on one spool exceeds the cost of the spool itself, so I’ll get three spools or more again when I order.  It makes sense to order in bulk since it takes me less than a half a year to exhaust a full spool.  Because this product is not eligible for Amazon Prime free and speedy shipping it may be worth it for me to order directly from the WAWAK web site.  The code for the item is CBT1WH incase you feel like looking for it there.

I really like this thread.  It has a stiffness to it that makes threading the needle easy.  It also has a bit of roughness that grips the fabric a little bit, which helps in basting for hand quilting.