Railroading when loop starting

Dianne Lewandowski 21 years ago

I'm directing this at Mavia who was conversing with me about having one thread untwist when railroading upon loop starting (two different ends of the thread used at the same time in a stitch).

I did some more experimenting, both with floss and pearl cotton. You can see pearl cotton's results much more readily. Here's what I discovered:

If you don't keep the threads side-by-side as you pull the needle through and begin the next stitch, one thread can have a tendency to move its position (if it was on the right, it moves to the left) and THAT untwists the thread. It's not the act of railroading per se. It's maintaining the threads parallel throughout the process of stitching.

This phenomena will happen whether or not you loop start. Perfect stitching requires some fussiness on the part of the needleworker. Ask me. I just ripped out some closed blanket because I wasn't paying attention and the threads were coming untwisted, changing the look as the embroidery progressed. I know better. I just wasn't paying attention. I'd prefer to blame it on light conditions. :-) I'm really fighting the issue of having to use a secondary light source. Very bummed about it.

Dianne

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Kim McAnnally 21 years ago

When I went to the PO today to mail a package, the lady there asked about my shop. Said she used to cross stitch and told me about some of her projects. She wondered if she could still do it. I mentioned a magnifier but didn't think to mention extra light. Do you have to use more than one lamp, Dianne?

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Dianne Lewandowski 21 years ago

I went downstairs to find the brand name of the swing-arm lamp that clamps to a table (a dear unknown angel sent it to me). It's called simply "Daylight" and the bulb is a true-light fluorescent. That gives me enough light, especially when there is also some bright light streaming in through a window. I can also use it at night, but detest having to sit at the dining room table to stitch.

I can still stitch if there's indirect sunlight. Problem is, we've had so many cloudy days - or if there's sun, I've been distracted with other duties.

So the simple answer is: yes, one lamp is enough if it's a bright enough lamp. I don't use the magnifier that came with the lamp. I tried and just can't get used to it. And I don't need it at all if there's enough light. Dianne

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