It’s spring and the Great Outdoors is beginning to call my name. This is the time of year when I start looking around the garden, inspecting the patio furniture and plotting how my sewing machine and I can make my outdoor space look more like summer and a whole lot less like leftover winter. How about you? We’ve got some lovely outdoor projects for you this week, but first let’s go over the basic 5 tips on sewing with Coats Outdoor D71 Thread that will make the task successful!

Sewing for the outdoors is a ton of fun and the possibilities are endless, but there are fabrics made for the patio and fabrics that should just be left inside. Let’s talk about what you’ll need for cushions, table coverings and other furnishing accents that need to be able to resist the weather.

Fabrics specifically made for the outdoors have a stain and water resistant finish and can withstand direct sunlight for many hours. In most cases they’ve been manufactured with UV resistant properties and have a durable finish that makes surface cleaning easy. Colors are vibrant and fade resistant making them the perfect complement to your summer garden. Look for fabrics such as: Waverly’s Sun n Shade, Premier Prints Outdoor Fabrics and Sunbrella.

But, wait! Before you start, it’s super important that you also use the right thread! Normal sewing threads are terrific for your indoor projects, but they’re not made to hold up in the Great Outdoors. Coats Outdoor Thread is constructed to perfectly perform in all kinds of weather and you’ll love it for everything outdoor from home to boat to camping gear. Who wants to be enjoying the sun, showing off their new self-decorated patio, but secretly worrying about whether or not the seams on the cushions are going to fall apart?

Coats Outdoor Thread is a bonded polyester, the same construction as the thread used in awnings you may have purchased. It’s UV resistant and comes in 200yd [183m] mini king cones in plenty of colors. This means you can create stunning outdoor accents with a no worries, weather-resistant, polyester thread that won’t fade or rot from direct sunlight. And, if it happens to rain on your party, this almost-magic thread won’t mold or mildew from the effects of a downpour either.

To create weather resistant magic on your sewing machine with Coats Outdoor Thread, you’ll want to make a few, easy adjustments.

• Outdoor Thread is heavier than normal sewing thread, so you’ll need a larger needle. This will somewhat depend on the weight of your fabric, but in general, you’ll want a topstitching needle from a 90 to a 110. Topstitching needles have a longer eye than Universal needles so you’ll have less abrasion on the thread as you’re sewing.
• Lengthen your stitch anywhere between 3mm – 5mm as a thicker thread needs more space in the seam.
• A heavier thread is less flexible, so slow down a bit while you’re sewing for best results.
• You may want to make a slight tension adjustment when using Outdoor Thread in both the needle and bobbin.
• Make a few stitching samples from two layers of outdoor fabric scraps before you actually begin and make a note of the settings you used. You’ll thank yourself later!