Rarely, and this is one of the few places where spending slightly more is straightforwardly worth it. Thread is the cheapest component in any project and the one most able to ruin it.
What is actually wrong with poor thread.
Lint. Loosely spun thread sheds fibre continuously. That fibre packs into the tension discs and the bobbin race, and it causes tension faults weeks later that nobody connects to the thread.
Uneven thickness. Run a length between your fingers and you can feel the thin and thick sections on bad thread. Tension cannot be balanced against a thread that varies, so stitch quality wanders.
Weakness. It breaks, usually at speed and usually in the middle of something visible.
Fuzz. A hairy thread looks dull in the seam and shows every irregularity.
How to judge a spool before buying. Hold it to the light and look for a smooth even surface with no visible fuzz. If you can, unwind a length and pull it hard between your hands.
Where cheap thread is fine. Basting, tacking, testing tension, machine practice, and children learning. Keep a cheap spool for exactly those jobs.
Where it is not. Anything that will be worn, washed or seen.
The honest counterpoint. Very expensive thread is not necessary either. The established general purpose polyesters from known makers are inexpensive and entirely adequate for garment sewing.
And old thread behaves like cheap thread, whatever it cost originally.
Questions people actually ask
Is the thread in a bargain multipack usable?
Sometimes, and it varies within the same pack. Test each spool with a pull test and keep the poor ones for basting.
My expensive thread still breaks.
Then the fault is elsewhere — needle, threading, a burr in the thread path, or tension. Good thread does not break on a healthy machine.
Last reviewed 2026-08-11