Sewing Threads | Different Types of Sewing Threads

Sewing Threads

Sewing threads can make or mar a garments, and hence a through understanding of their processing and properties is vital for the industry to choose the right type of the threads. According to the definition given by ASTM, sewing thread is a flexible, small diameter yarn or strand usually treated with a surface coating, lubricant or both, intended to be used to stitch one or more pieces of material or an object to a material. It may be defined as smooth, evenly spun, hard-twisted ply yarn, treated by a special finishing process to make it resistant to stresses in its passage through the eye of a needle and through material involved in seaming and stitching operations1.

Sewing threads are used in garments, upholstery, air-supported fabric structures and geotextiles to join different components by forming a seam. The primary function of a seam is to provide uniform stress transfer from one piece of fabric to another, thus preserving the overall integrity of the fabric assembly.

Seam can be formed by the following techniques:

- Mechanical: stapling, sewing.

- Physical: welding or heat-setting.

- Chemical: by means of resins2.

The formation of seams by physical and chemical methods is restricted to a few specialised applications, as these processes tend to alter certain properties of the textile material. Among mechanical sewing techniques, sewing maintains its prevailing position by virtue of its simplicity, sophisticated and economical production methods and the controllable elasticity of the seam produced.

Different types of sewing threads

Usually, sewing threads are manufactured from either natural or manmade fibres in either staple or filament form3. A broad classification of different types of sewing threads is given below:

Classification of Sewing Thread