Type of sewing thread used in 1950s?

[plousia]

Wanting to pick the experts' brains about what type of sewing thread would most commonly have been used in the 1950s. I assumed polyester wasn't available then, but according to this history of cotton thread, polyester thread became available in 1952.

If available, was it commonly used? What would be the more typical choice? I ask because I've gotten into 1950s dresses recently and when any repairs are needed, want to use the correct type of thread (or maybe it doesn't really matter?)

 

[Rue_de_la_Paix]

It was not common for home sewers and most dressmakers to use poly thread. Aside from the big manufacturers who were using every new fiber around, cotton was the most used by sewers, with some silk, nylon, or linen thread used if the garments demanded it. If you are asking because you intend to do repairs, I strongly suggest using thread made of the same fiber (or similar) as the garment. Especially if the garment is a natural fiber such as cotton or linen. When you wash the garment (or sometimes even if you dry clean it), the threads will each react differently to getting wet which could, and often does, result in puckering or different hangs of the fabrics, or even dye loss.

 

[plousia]

Thanks very much, that's what I thought, the two dresses I've had to do repairs for so far I've bought cotton thread. This latest dress seems to be some type of synthetic but it looks like the original thread is cotton? Of course for natural fibers I will always use natural-fiber thread. On a different topic I've gotten into dyeing lately (not vintage, mostly linen) and run into the unfortunate issue that modern garments inevitably use polyester thread even with cotton or linen, and it does not take natural-fiber dyes, so you end up with contrasting-colour stitching.