Gadgets: Needle Threaders

Well, it's prosaic, but I did say I'd try to catch up on some gadget- trees

So here's Episode One

These are only my opinions, btw, you may have other experiences.

Needle Threaders (NAYY).

I'm long-sighted, so I can't see the holes in my needles very well, sometimes even with my glasses on. So I'm a sucker for anything that will do the job for me.

There seem to be two main types: the little wire loopy ones:

the pokey-stick through the hole jobs: I've used both types (though that Matilda's one is one I haven't tried and I like the look of it very much) and the downfall of both of them is the thickness of your thread. It has to be able to pass through the eye doubled. Some needle eyes aren't big enough for that, so no needle threader is going to cope. That said, the main problem is finding threaders with wires or pokey-sticks fine enough to go through the needle eye in the first place. When going to buy a new one, I carry a few needles to try them out before I buy.

FIRST TYPE Roxanne: Does the job, but the wire breaks and bends out of shape really easily; threads very small needles. I have used it successfully on 10s, 11s and 12s, but the latter is a bit hit-and- miss. It tends to balk at the YLI glazed cotton, but is a breeze with King Tut, Mettler and standard Gutterman.

Ornate Clover: Costs a bomb and bust the first time I used it. I'm not buying another to try it again. It might have been bad luck, but at that price I want quality.

Cheap-n-cheerful (Made in China) like the link: Just the job for general use, but lousy at anything really fine. Sometimes you can hit on a really fine one (they seem to be very variable) in which case frame it and name it and keep it very close to you in class!

LoRan: double-ended. Works great for wools and embroidery threads, useless for anything else. Will double at a push as a bodkin to thread elastic etc. Not meant for quilting, but thought I'd mention it, as I have a couple and they were just the job for cross-stitch and tapestry if anyone indulges ith those.

SewEasy threader and yarn cutter: looks like a cloverleaf: Loved this. The yard cutter is great, the wire is in the handle, so it doesn't bend all out of shape between uses and doesn't disappear to the bottom of your workbasket. And to cap it all, it is on a lanyard (that detaches) so the whole lot goes round the neck. The wire is fine enough to deal with 12s and YLI glazed cotton. My hands-down winner.

SECOND TYPE: These are all very similar. Mine is made by INFILA and works well. There is another version that they make called and EZ IN which does machine needles in situ. I had a few, but somehow they've all been spirited away. My Bernie threads its own anyway, so they weren't much of a loss, but they did the job they were intended for.

The trouble with all of these is the fact that both ends of the thread have to go through the tube. That means you can't use them to re- thread a needle that has pinged out of the fabric - usually with a titchy bit of thread attached and just two stitches before you were going to get a new needle-full. (Too many times! :) )

My last gadget, on these lines, is called in lace-making circles a Lazy Susan, but it has other names. It is a needle rammed into a handle so the eye is outwards,to catch those threads as above. It can also be used to whip those sniggly ends in after MQing or hiding a thread doing cross-stitch or tapestry. These are really useful and I recommend them. Google Lazy Susan and there are many to choose from, but they all work the same way.

Hope people find these jottings useful. Nel (Gadget Queen)