Once upon a time there was a standard in rayon and later in polyester that the embroidery business within the United States set as a benchmark for consistency, value, quality and performance. Over the course of the last few years changes have happened within the thread manufacturing industry, forcing embroiderers to compromise their standards and settle for what is available. Embroidery companies have had to deal with poor deliveries, inconsistent shades, and thread breaks. A total market saturation with inferior threads from the Far East and other parts of the world has just made the problem even worse.

Ensign Emblem and Enmart have helped turn the clock back. As a major commercial user of these threads, Ensign understands what superior quality thread can mean to an embroiderer. As a full line distributor, EnMart has worked with Hilos Iris to reset the benchmark for customer satisfaction for cotton, rayon and polyester threads for machine embroidery and long arm quilting.

The following are some of the major differences between IRIS® Thread and any of the other threads being offered in the U.S. marketplace:

Iris® UltraBrite™ Polyester is a high speed thread designed for machine embroidery and long arm quilting, manufactured from the best trilobal polyester raw fiber in the world - which is manfactured in the United States. All trilobal polyester fiber is not created equal, and Iris uses the best on all fronts, having the greatest shine, strength, and tenacity. The raw fiber is then shipped to the thread manufacturer, Hilos Iris, in Monterrey, Mexico, where it is wound and dyed into the best polyester thread on the market today - and the only one made entirely in North America.

With Iris™ UltraBrite™ Polyester, you will have excellent coverage and fill due to the thread weight, and extremely high shine and color fastness due to our manufacturing and construction. We have the best recovery and elongation stability, and 299 stock colors. Thanks to development efforts, we now have the quickest turnaround time for custom colors and the smallest required minimum in the industry. In addition to great thread construction, you also get the best customer service and tech support possible. Rounding out this list of benefits and features, to top it off, our pricing is extremely competitive.

Iris® Smooth’N Silky® Rayon- Iris is one of the few remaining companies that uses high tenacity rayon. All of the original benchmark expectations set by market diehard users are once again available. There are also 299 stock colors as well as the same conditions for custom colors as is set up for polyester. The beautiful luster and sheen that natural rayon offers is now in a thread that runs at higher speeds than other rayon threads. There is no one who can challenge EnMart's service and the value of this product. For those looking for cheap rayon, there are many choices. For those looking for that benchmark product at very competitive pricing, Iris and EnMart offer the diehard rayon embroiderer a chance to visit yesteryear.

Due to the majority of the U.S. market having switched to polyester threads, EnMart and Iris have made the decision to discontinue manufacturing any more Smooth’N Silky® Rayon thread. What rayon is currently on the EnMart store is all there is and has been placed on clearance discount. Once it is gone, it will be gone forever, so get it while it lasts.

Iris® Ultra™ Cotton- In recent years, Iris® has introduced its Ultra™ Cotton Solids line of thread, designed for high speed machine and long arm quilting, piecing, and sewing. Created from long staple Egyptian cotton, this Ultra™ high quality 3-ply, size 50 (47/3) thread is processed in such a way that it generates almost NO LINT even after hours of machine time, with virtually no thread breaks. This makes Ultra™ Cotton Solids one of, if not THE BEST quilting threads in the entire world. Ultra™ Solids are currently available in 19 solid colors, with 16 more coming before the end of 2016.

On the heels of the Ultra™ Solids came the Ultra™ Varieds - 9 variegated colors manufactured to the same exacting quality and specifications as the Ultra™ Solids. However, due to the extra processing required to dye into variegated colors, Ultra™ Varieds cannot be ran at as high of speeds as the Ultra™ Solids, and more care must be taken to avoid thread breaks if used on a long arm machine.