Speedway 100% Spun Polyester Sewing Thread Tex 27 (40/2) — 5,000 m Cone (5,468 yds)

Speedway Tex 27 spun polyester is the general-purpose garment-industry sewing thread, wound onto a 5,000 m production cone. This is the cone for a shop that sews the same colour all week: fewer changeovers, fewer thread-ends to bury, and a lower cost per metre than any smaller put-up. Available in 18 colours, which is the whole Speedway polyester range. Ships from Miami, FL.

Technical Specifications

What is it used for?

• Light and medium apparel: shirts, dresses, children's wear, underwear
• Overlock and coverstitch — this is the standard weight of the garment industry
• Curtains, tablecloths, bedding and home textiles
• General-purpose sewing on single-needle industrial lockstitch machines

What needle size should I use?

Use a Nm 70–80 (Singer 10–12) needle with this thread.

That is the size. The system — DBx1, 135x17, 134-35 — depends on your machine, not on the thread. How to identify yours · Industrial machine needles

Careful with “Nm”: for thread it means 1000/Tex (Tex 27 = Nm 37.0), but for needles it means the blade diameter in hundredths of a millimetre (Nm 110 = 1.10 mm). They are not the same number. Conversion formulas from Coats; government sizes from the A-A-59826 specification published by American & Efird.

Not sure between two sizes?

Tex 27 or Tex 60? Tex 27 is the garment-industry default. Move to Tex 60 when you want the stitch to show, or when the material is heavier than mid-weight.

Bonded Nylon vs. Spun Polyester — which one?

Bonded nylon is stronger for its diameter and more abrasion resistant, and the bonding agent keeps the plies from fraying at high sewing speeds. It is the standard for upholstery, leather and canvas worked indoors or under cover.

Spun polyester holds up better to prolonged sunlight and moisture. For anything that lives outdoors year-round, polyester — or our UV-treated nylon — is the safer choice.

Buy a full box and save

Order 12 cones or more of this product and the discount applies automatically at checkout — no code needed. That is a full factory box.

Other cones in this line

• Tex 60 — 3,000 m cone
• Tex 27 — 2,500 m cone for short runs

Frequently Asked Questions

What needle size should I use with Tex 27?

Nm 70–80 (Singer 10–12). If the stitch looks starved or the thread frays, go one size up before changing anything else.

Should I use Tex 27 or the next size?

Tex 27 or Tex 60? Tex 27 is the garment-industry default. Move to Tex 60 when you want the stitch to show, or when the material is heavier than mid-weight.

How many yards are on the cone?

This is a 5,000 m cone (5,468 yds). Metres and yards are an exact conversion, so that figure is not an estimate.

Will this work on a domestic machine?

Yes. Tex 27 is a normal garment weight — any domestic machine handles it with the needle size above. It is also the weight most overlock and coverstitch machines are set up for.