Knot Garden work

Wait wait isn't a crewel needle just another name for an embroidery needle? It just would not be called "sharps" right?

I found this site

says there are three types of embroidery needle - crewel, chenille, and tapestry, so you are right... a crewel needle is definately an embroidery needle.

Actually, for embroidery, you also work with sharps and betweens.

The term "crewel" and "embroidery" are two words for the same needle. A needle with an oval eye. A No. 10 crewel is the same diameter and length as a No. 10 sharp. Only difference is the eye. A sharp's eye is small and round.

I frequently use sharp needles for embroidery. One strand fits nicely in a No. 10 sharp. Betweens size 7 and 9 are employed for padded whitework.

Chenilles are the sharp cousins of tapestry. Same needle except for the point. Tapestry's are blunt while chenilles are sharp.

Dianne

L wrote:

She went on and on about how it might be a problem to use a crewel size

10 needle and I just pulled one out of my stash and it absolutely huge compared with the size 28's I am using on the silk work right now. She had me wonder there for a minute about doing French knots on something smaller than I was used to and whew~~ this looks huge !

I'm confused. Size 10 crewels are not huge. They're finer than a 28 tapestry. They are longer, but finer.

French knots: some people prefer a milliner needle. If you think a size 10 crewel is huge (long), a milliner is the same fineness but much longer, with a tiny round eye.

I don't know what type of ground you are working, but if it's a closely woven fabric, then a No. 10 crewel or sharp is the appropriate needle. If the ground is countable, then a 28 would work, unless you are piercing the ground threads.

Tapestry needles are meant to be used to pick up (work around) ground threads - not pierce them. It helps prevent the piercing because of their blunt ends. But I also do counted work with sharp points on fine grounds because the point helps me separate ground threads when counting.

Dianne

P_B snipped-for-privacy@cox.net wrote:

Oh thank you for telling me Dianne. My package says 5-10 embroidery on it and I assumed it was the finest in there. I guess I best make a trip for some then.

Size 5 will be the thickest and longest, size 10 will be the finest/shortest. There's not a huge difference between a 5 and a 10, but there IS a difference.

If you're using one strand of floss, a size 10 sharp (or even an 8) will work just fine for you rather than an embroidery/crewel. In fact, I don't know why they use the term "crewel" for these needles. Look at the Number 10's you have and imagine threading a piece of crewel wool through that eye!

As an aside: We can get hung up on needle sizes. I often don't use what someone says to use. I use what's handy to use. There's an EGA certified teacher who swears no one should use less than a size 24 tapestry for counted work no matter the fabric count. But different people have different types of motor skills and hand sizes. So the thing to keep in mind with needles: the eye, once threaded, should have about 30 - 40% space left for the thread to comfortably fit. Too much room and you'll be fighting to keep it threaded. Too little room and the thread gets ravaged. I have a customer who uses miliners for quilting because she has large hands. What you read is simply "guidelines", not absolutes. Use what works for you - and the thread.

Dianne

Brenda

Well this will be french knots with one strand. What would you suggest?

Do you have little ones around? :-) I have three or four pin cushions all holding mostly needles. Many threaded from jobs on the go (someone will ask a question and I experiment for an answer).

Pin cushions can be fun to make. One of mine is actually a pretty brass flower pot. Another a hinged box. Another is a circle I put together to see if I could make a pattern work. It didn't, but it has been sitting on the kitchen windowsill ever since and gets almost daily use. :-)

I'll bet old medicine jars make handy carrying cases. We'll have to figure out how to decorate them like needlerolls. :-)

Dianne

A size 10 sharp or crewel/embroidery. Some people swear by milliners, but that's a bit obsessive, in my opinion. I've made a ton of Fr. knots in my lifetime, and sharps or crewel/embroidery work just fine.

You may quickly bend size 10 needles. I do. I use them anyway until they really get to be annoying. It's the heat of your hand (fingers) and the pressure exerted in some circumstances. Sometimes it gets smokey over here. :-)

Dianne

P_B snipped-for-privacy@cox.net wrote:

-- Brenda

Great. I had planned on using it and thanks for your expert advice. Evidently it takes an experienced needleworker which i am counting on me being one in this case, over 15 hours to accomplish a 2 inch square of this work.....I am quite excited about the intricacies of the work and one stitch I already know.....

Dianne Lewandowski said

question: I'm working my way through a stumpwork book by 2 British women, Daphne Ashby and Jackie Woolsey, who mention using 'calico'. Is the British definition of calico what we Yanks call cotton or ?

IIRC it's muslin - nice and cheap!.

emerald

Anne, it is muslin.

This is one that can be very tricky, since the same word on opposite sides of the Atlantic, means opposite things. As I understand it, calico in North America is a flimsy material, what is called "muslin" in Europe. Calico in Europe is a heavy cotton material.

-- Jim Cripwell. From Canada. Land of the Key Bird. This creature of doom flies over the frozen tundra in winter, shrieking its dreaded call; "Key, Key, Key, Key rist but it's cold!!"

Calico and muslin are one and the same.

To confuse things a bit, if you go into a fabric store, you'll notice that there are a variety of muslin types. Especially if you look in the section of plain colors. They may have several bolts of white muslin all lined up together. Some are a bit finer and softer than others. Any will work very well for your projects. I stay away from the poly blends and go 100% cotton. Trying to do pulled work on poly blends doesn't work well.

I noticed that some directions say to pre-wash the muslin to remove any sizing. Muslin often shrinks, too. But sometimes that minimal shrinking helps the embroidery to stand up high and snug up the fabric around the stitches. In the end, it's a decision you'll have to make . . . based on experience. And the only way to get experience is to try both methods. :-)

Dianne

anne wrote: