Because Perle cotton is not always available everywhere, many people are not familiar with it; others know only perle and love it.
There are 2 main types of thread, mercerized and perle. Mercerization is a process that strengthens the thread, makes it glossy and less fuzzy than then non mercerized perle.
This is NOT to say that all perle cottons are fuzzy. And I am not saying that all mercerized cottons are not fuzzy. The quality of the cotton used and the length of the cotton strand used to make the thread are what will impact a new thread. Age and storage conditions will affect a thread down the line.
I have a huge personal selection of threads by many manufacturers. Not all manufacturers use the same sizing gauge, so I always make a sample to compare to other threads that I already have of that size.
The pattern I use, as you will see in the samples below, is a simple 5 ring 4-8-8-4 shuttle only pattern. It's fast and easy to make, and for a quick comparison, it does the job.
Every tatter has her/his own tension, so I would recommend you make the same kind of reference. Shuttle and needle tatters have a different tension ... some needle tatters tat so tightly they seem to want to flip the needle ... LOL, and also the matching of the thread and needle size will affect the look too, so pick your tool of preference and make up your samples, making note of the tools and sizes for needle tatters.
I have cards with the pattern (in case I forget) with lots of room for notes, and I make a slit in it and slide in the sample.
There are 23 different samples below, and I will add more as I find more of my thread stash.
| Thread Size | Sample | Sample | Sample |
| 120 | 
Mirage |
||
| 100 |
DMC Cordonnet Special 100 |
Silco |
Metallic Colour Twist |
| 80 | 
DMC Special Lace 80 |
||
| 70 | 
DMC Cordonnet Special 70 |
||
| 60 | 
DMC Cordonnet Special 60 |
Finca Perle 16 |
|
| 50 | 
DMC Cordonnet Special 50 |
Accent |
|
| 40 | 
DMC Cordonnet Special 40 |
||
| 30 |
DMC Cebelia 30 |
 DMC Cordonnet Special 30 |
 Olympus Gold Label 40 |
Caron Wildflowers Perle |
Finca Perle 12 |
 Tat's All Metallic 893 |
|
 Altin Basak 50 |
|||
| 20 | 
Coats Opera 20 |
DMC Perle Brilliant 8 |
 Altin Basak 40 |
| 10 or 5 |  Tat's All Metallic 810 |
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