Review: Stainless Steel 2 ply

 
RESISTANCE

  • hand sewn 8” trace has a resistance of 9 ohms
  • machine sewn top thread 8” trace has a resistance of 10 ohms
  • machine sewn bottom thread 8” trace has a resistance of 9 ohms

THREAD QUALITY

  • easy to thread a size 24 crewel needle
  • frays and whiskers
  • easy to sew by hand as well as by machine
  • thread is wound on an industrial spool and has to be rewound on a bobbin for machine sewing

RECCOMENDATIONS
Stainless Steel 2 ply is conductive, thin diameter, whiskers and frays. This thread is RECOMMENDED for both hand sewing and machine sewing eTextiles, soft circuit, craft-tech, or wearable computing.

MANUFACTURER
Bekaert

Hand sewn LED circuit on cotton broad cloth with felt backing.
Positive and negative traces are 8 inches long.
Conductive Thread Comparisons
 

Threads a crewel needle size 24 easily.
Jonh James Chenille Hand Sewing Needle Size 24
 

Hand sews a basic running stitch with few tangles or difficulties.
Conductive Thread Comparisons
 

1.8mm blue LED with 4 tight loops around the LED leads.
Conductive Thread Comparisons
 

Use a fresh 3V CR2032 battery to power the circuit.
LED glows = empirical evidence that the thread is conductive
Conductive Thread Comparisons
 

The biggest fault with with this thread is that it frays and whiskers making it easy to short circuit the electronics.
Conductive Thread Comparisons
 

Spools of stainless steel conductive thread: left to right
6 ply, 4 ply, 2 ply.
Stainless Steel Conductive Thread 6ply,  4 ply, 2 ply Bekaert Corporation
 

Machine Stitching with a Schmetz Embroidery Needle 90/14
Schmetez Embroidery Needle for Berninia Home Sewing Machine
 

Machine stitching sample
top trace is Stainless Steel 2 ply thread as top thread
bottom trace is Stainless Steel 2 ply thread as bobbin thread
both methods sew smoothly without snags or fraying.
2ply Stainless Steel Conductive Thread Comparisons
 

and the reverse side of the machine sewing sample.
Conductive Thread Comparisons