WOW & Frustration

Yeah, it'd would be heaven if the eyes on the quilting needles were large but then it's darn hard to pull them through the quilt at times.

Piecemakers are tops on my most hated needles list. Microscopic eyes and flimsy needle shafts.

I'm a fan of Roxanne needles and Richard Hemmings (I believe they are actually the same needle :-) I also like Jenna Kimball needles but they are hard to find around here so unless I spot them at a shop hop or on-line I go with the Roxanne ones.

marcella

My favorites, though I haven't done an exhaustive trial of all brands, are (1) Richard Hemmings and (2) John James. I've never broken the eye of either brand, though occasionally I do have trouble with the thread snapping where it goes through the eye. Probably my own fault for using too long a strand of thread and not moving it through the eye steadily enough. I'm thinking that there may be another reason why these eyes are breaking -- is it only one package? If so, it may have been defective.

Kim, I don't handquilt but I've done a million or so miles of stitching and am wondering. Do you use your metal thimble for pushing or for protecting your 'underneath the quilt' finger? I've seen handquilting done either way and both. Maybe, maybe, if you're a 'pusher', the guilty party here is your thimble. Could it be that you've worn a sharp edge on it that damages your needles? Polly

Kim, I have been using (and loving) the Roxanne, size 11 betweens. I use them for hand piecing as well as quilting (and also sewing down bindings ) The eye seems to be large enough to thread but small enough to pull easily through the fabric. Need to find another local source for them. A tube is a little pricey-- about $7.50-$8 but there are 60 needles in a tube. I usually have trouble because I bend needles, but these last a long time before they bend usually. And the tube I have I have used for almost 2 years now. (the other reason I tend to have to replace hand needles is that my body chemistry eats the coating on the outside of the needles and makes them really, really difficult to pull through. These even last fairly long there.....)

Pati, > The WOW! - After reading many recommendations and comments, I finally

Oh yeah, I have fallen in love with the newish "silicone" thimbles. They are soft, but really do protect your pushing finger from the eye end of the needle. And help keep the thread from breaking from rubbing between the needle and thimble, and probably also help protect the end of the needle.

Pati, > Kim, I don't handquilt but I've done a million or so miles of stitching and

Oh, is that why my thread keeps breaking everytime I sew. I thought it was a sharp edge on the needle - but almost every needle I try does it.

I suppose wearing a thimble is a fairly recent (5yrs) thing with me, and now I can't sew without one. Next time I sew I will watch the thimble!

Roxanne #12s. (These work fine with the thin wire threader, the one that looks like a pointy loop on a little plastic handle thingy, which sometimes also has a thread cutter.) John James thimble with magnetic tip, seems a bit softer than all-metal. I've broken my share of needles, but never at the eye! They all seem to go by snapping in half. Roberta in D

"AuntK" schrieb im Newsbeitrag news: snipped-for-privacy@o5g2000hsb.googlegroups.com...

Newsbeitragnews: snipped-for-privacy@o5g2000hsb.googlegroups.com...

Thanks everyone for your comments and recommendations. Looks like some on-line shopping is in my future. I've only got the one LQS anywhere near me and their stock is a little on the thin side when it comes to notions. Roxanne seems to have edged out the others for needle brands - guess I'll give them a try. Yes - I am a 'pusher' with my thimble. I'll have to check for that sharp edge - been using that thimble for a very long time. Would love to have one of the Roxanne-style rounded metal thimbles but really have a hard time justifying that kind of $$ for a thimble. But then, I managed to convince myself that the $$ spent on a new machine were okay, didn't I! I've also had the same experience as many others with the thread snapping or seeming to get 'shredded' through the eyes of the needles as well. Particularly with the Piecemakers I was using last night! Not sure who mentioned the cost of the tube of needles but just a couple of quick calculations and per piece the tube price mentioned was a good $0.03 per needle LESS than what I've been paying locally. Guess I'll just have to make sure the on-line source has free shipping. Just might need to try that silicone thimble as well as a few other odds 'n ends to make sure there's free shipping!

Thinking about this question, I thought of something that used to happen with me. My needles broke and also bent, until I started using quilting needles. You know, the short ones....... That solved the problem. Having been a sewer for years, I always used the long needles so I could take a lot of running stitches with one go through, but this isn't the motion used to quilt.

I can remember having to pick out broken needle from my quilt with tweezers - not a good thing.

Anyway, just a thought.

Congrats on the new machine. Have fun with it.

As to your needle eye breakage problem: What kind of batting are you using? Some battings are just plain hard to hand quilt and work best when machine quilted. I could see some of them causing needle breakage. Those compacted ones like Warm & Natural come to mind as being murder to hand quilt. I was just reading a few days ago that fusible batting or spray basting the quilt layers together makes for harder hand quilting too.

Debra in VA See my quilts at

I do use the Warm & Natural batting - like the concept of as close to natural fibers as possible. I've used this same batting in all of the quilts I've made so far. All of which have been hand-quilted. While I've had similar issues with the others, this particular quilt just seems to be chewing up needles/thread much more so than the others.

I mostly pin-baste my quilts, sometimes thread-basting. Have never tried any of the spray basting products. I have images of the various layers shifting and being glued together permanently (although I know this is not the case). Pinning seems a little more forgiving to me. As I'm not overly experienced with the whole quilting process I like as much wiggle room as possible.

I do use 'betweens' to quilt/bind with. Usually 11's. Haven't seemed to have too much of an issue with the needles breaking mid-shaft - just the eyes snapping off. As well as the eyes shredding my thread. Again, not having much of a selection locally my thread has been limited to Coats/Clarks and Gutterman. Both are labled as 'hand quilting thread'. And the Gutterman seems to be more inclined to shred than the Coats. Another couple of items to add to my on-line shopping adventure. As I'm using various colors - which I tend to do to make the quilting stand out even more - I think I'm stuck with what I have for thread for the duration of this quilt from hell. Thankfully I've only got a bit more to do on the body of the quilt and then the borders. I really just want to get this beast DONE and out of here.

I have never had any trouble with the Gutterman shredding. I suspect your thimble. Either that or you got a bad package of needles. I use inexpensive thimbles and needles from Joann's and I've never had a problem with the eye of the needle breaking.

Julia in MN