Coats and Clark

Coats & Clark is part of the largest textile/thread manufacturing company in the world with products sold in over 150 countries. It has operated for over 180 years with its start in Paisley, Scotland - where weavers had begun reproducing the rare Kashmir shawls of India. There the Clark family had a thriving loom equipment business and sold silk threads for the warp on the looms.

In 1806, Napoleon blockaded Great Britain and silk was no longer available. Patrick Clark created a method of twisting cotton yarns together to produce a thread which was so strong and smooth that it could be substituted for the silk. It was discovered soon after this that cotton thread was sufficiently strong to replace the linen and silk threads used for hand sewing as well. The Clarks opened the first factory for making cotton sewing thread in 1812.

A few years later another cotton thread mill was opened by the Coats family and thread was marketed under the name J. & P. Coats. By the 1840's, both companies had family members in America and other countries acting as selling agents. By the 1860's they began manufacturing cotton thread in the United States. Years later George Clark developed the first thread that was suitable for use on a sewing machine.

In 1896, the Coats' and the Clark's interests were consolidated however they retained separate identities. The Spool Cotton Company became the sole selling agent for both companies. In 1952 J. & P. Coats and the Clark Thread Co. merged to become Coats & Clark Inc.

Coats & Clark has always been known as a company that maintains ongoing research in product development. As new fibers, fabrics, and finishes are developed, Coats & Clark tests the compatibility of existing products and, if necessary, creates new ones. One of Coats & Clark's major thread developments was the creation of a cotton-covered polyester core thread in the 1960's. The cotton/polyester construction provides the best characteristics of both fibers making it compatible with new fibers and fabrics which had entered the market. Coats Dual Duty Plus® is today the number one selling all purpose thread in the home sewing market.

Until 1936 the Coats and Clark companies in the United States had handled no wool hand knitting yarns. An agreement was reached with Patons & Baldwins a British manufacturer of knitting yarns to make yarn in the United States which would be marketed through the Spool Cotton Company. Red Heart® Yarn was first sold in September 1936.

Under the Red Heart® trademark, the hand knitting wool yarns grew steadily in popularity, attaining a high reputation for quality. Distribution of the yarn was aided by the introduction of pattern books which provided consumers with fashionable project instructions. Today numerous hand knitting and craft yarns are being sold under the Red Heart® brand. Known for their quality and performance, Red Heart® yarns are the number one brand in the United States.

Over the years the product range has expanded to additionally include specialty Threads, Zippers, Tapes & Trims, Sewing and Needlework Accessories, specialty Hand Knitting and Craft Yarns, Crochet Threads and Embroidery Floss. Today major brands include Dual Duty Plus®, Red Heart®, Anchor®, J & P Coats, South Maid®, Susan Bates®, Talon®, and Aunt Lydia®.