Diana Pickens in South Carolina has tamed her monofilament thread. Thanks for the advice, Diana. I'm sure many of us will benefit from this tip.

Working with a new spool of monofilament thread sure is frustrating. If you use the vertical thread spindle, the monofilament unwinds and wraps itself around the spool pin. Then it doesn't feed properly and jams or breaks.

So here is what I do:

I use a patch of poly batting with a small hole in it. I put it on the bottom of a vertical spindle, then put on the spool of monofilament thread. The batting tends to grab the thread before it can puddle around - and below - the spool. This helps it to feed properly.

I am also trying one of those small tubes of net that you slip over the spool. This tube keeps the thread from unwinding from the spool during storage and handling.

I find that the less thread on the spool, the better it behaves. So don't throw the spool away when it gets annoying. The problem gets less annoying the more you wind off the spool.

With all three solutions in place -- a half-full spool, a patch of batting, and a net tube -- I am not having the awful problems I had before.

Thanks, Diana. I've had problems with monofilament too. I found that it feeds better on my machine if I use the horizontal spool spindle. And Ami Simms has another solution to the problem in this Ask An Expert tip.

Readers' Comments:

October 21, 2001
Barbara T. writes:

Diana has some great suggestions about how to tame those unruly monofilament threads.

Instead of buying a net, I make my own by sewing a seam lengthwise down the leg of an old pair of pantyhose. I then cut a section across the leg the right size to fit my spool of thread.

It takes a little trial-and error to find the right width for sewing the seam, but I find the end result is worth it.

October 29, 2001
Cathy T. writes:

I recently did some embellishment with metallic embroidery thread and had fits with it coming out of the thread pick-up lever. You know, the thread guide on the machine that goes up and down with every stitch.

After much frustration and experimentation, I found that a mesh thread spool cover increased the tension on the thread enough to keep it from junping out of the guide so much. This should work for any thread that comes off the spool kind of stiff and straight.

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