IT'S A NEEDLE THANG!

Hello All My Wonderful, Creative Stitchers Out There and a Big Happy Valentine's Day! Can you believe we are halfway through February already? 2020 is already flying by fast and there is so much to do and talk about this year so let's get to it shall we?

I have to tell you that after a year of doing the Mr. X Stitch column, "Confessions of a Cross Stitcher", I am ready to get back to my blog and business. It was a wonderful opportunity and of course I loved working with Jamie and Ailish, but I really needed more time to devote to getting work done with my cross stitch and business so it was time to retire and get back to them. If you haven't had a chance to sign up for the Mr. X Stitch newsletter and visit the website, I would encourage you to do so. Jamie is truly dedicated to the needle arts and works hard to showcase their diversity in the 21st century and possibilities beyond it.

Getting Stuck on Needles 101
I'm not going to get into the history of needles since the beginning of time, but I will tell you something amazed me about the importance of them while I was reading David McCullough's book John Adams. In a letter from his wife Abigail, she asks him to bring back sewing needles for her since they were getting scarce where she was. That really struck me! I mean, here she is at their home, battling disease, raising a family with an absentee husband, worrying over the talk of war with England, and she is requesting needles. I never realized their value until I read that since we take them so for granted now. What a revelation! So let's give these little, hard workers their due.

So I've used a lot of different needles because there all different types for different sewing jobs. Here I am going to specifically talk about tapestry needles for cross stitch.

Thankfully we have a lot of different needles to choose from when stitching, in a lot of different price ranges. I am going to speak about my personal preferences and what I use since this has proven successful for me and my own experiences with them.

Sticking Points
Let's talk about the different brands. There are several to choose from. I haven't used the Bohin or Tulip needles, but I have heard they are very nice working needles. My preference turns to brands that are inexpensive and widely available. That includes John James, DMC, Boye, and Sullivan's (although Sullivan's isn't as available as they used to be-at least here in Oklahoma). They all come in a wide variety of sizes in tapestry too. Personally, I am very hard on the smaller needles, sizes 26 & 28, and being able to replenish my supply quickly is an advantage for me. Right now my go to needles are more the DMC brand. They are well made, strong and available just about everywhere.

Get to the Finish
While different brands come in different finishes, this really is subjective as to preference and performance. I know stitchers that swear up and down that the gold and platinum finish needles are so much better to work with and enjoy using them, and they are not wrong. I have bought and used them and for me and the way I work, the finish doesn't make that much difference to me. I consider my needles collateral damage in my projects because I either break them or lose them, so investing in top notch, expensive needles is not practical for me. When I say break, I am talking about the eye of the needles. The actual shafts in the smaller sizes I manage to bend, another cause for replacement.

Size Does Matter
Tapestry needles come in thick large sizes to petite thin sizes. The larger the number, the smaller the needle. I have accumulated a large range of tapestry sized needles because I use a lot of different fibers and the fiber is what essentially determines the size needle you will use. The larger the needle the larger sized fiber you can use or a larger number of strands. Something really important to consider in counted stitch is the friction of the fiber going through the hole of the fabric. The larger the needle, the larger the hole it will make for the fiber to stitch through. The less friction, the less wear and tear on your fiber. 

My go to needles are sized 22 to 28. I stitch primarily on 14 ct. Aida (because I love it) so I can use a larger needle usually 22-24. When I bead with Swarovski crystals or Miyuki Delica beads, I use a 28. No, I don't use a beading needle and here's why. Have you seen them? They are extremely long, not very stiff, and the eye of the needle is almost microscopic. I have tried them and for stitching on counted fabrics they did not work for me at all. First of all I don't string my beads in a group and then stitch them on. I stitch each bead individually because I like that sturdiness you get when you do it. If one bead falls off, chances are the rest of them will stay put instead of a rope of them spilling off the work at once. The size 28 needle I use is the DMC brand. I have found that eye to be the best when going through holes of beads, especially the Swarovski, since the holes are not very consistent in size and some are too small for even a size 28 to go through, which is why I always purchase extra Swarovski's for a project to compensate for those I can't use. Some Swarovski will be a tight squeeze for the needle but it can go through. This is hard on the more delicate eye of the needle and causes it to break more often.

Something I have noticed here recently, like as of this week recently, is that it was hard for me to find the DMC #28 Tapestry needles. Many places I shop online had all the other sizes but were either out of stock on the 28's or you couldn't find them at all, even on the DMC website! That would be a shame if they stopped carrying them because for stitching beads with counted cross stitch they more than fit the bill, especially with the Swarovski's.

Also, don't worry too much if you get your needles mixed up in the different sizes. You can pretty much tell the 26 and 28 from the larger 22 and 24. I was so anal at one time about having the right needle with the right fabric but in time I learned that the right needle with the right fiber was even more important. If you keep that in mind, you will know which needle to use no matter if you know the size or not.

Where to Stick It


My mini pin cushion along with two needle threaders I use.
You can't see it but the large Dritz threader is well used and
bent up. The smaller threader is handy but seldom used. An
"if needed" standby.

It really doesn't matter if you use a pin cushion or a needle minder or just stick it in the arm of your couch, use whatever you enjoy the most. I have tried and tried to use needle minders (needle keepers) because they are pretty cool and come in so many wonderful designs. However, I am notorious for losing needles, even right off the fiber, and soon learned that needle minders would have to be electromagnetic for my needles to stay on them. So I use pin cushions and usually have several different sized needles in them for using with floss and beads.
 

Front of needlebook I recently purchased from a shop on Etsy. Very well made
and reasonably priced. Love it!

 

The inside and first "page" filled with needles and ready to go!

I recently purchased a needle book on Etsy where I can put my needles and won't have to keep going through the needle supply drawer whenever I need one. Since I am always losing or breaking them, I decided I just wanted to put a bunch of different sizes in one place that I could carry with me from room to room or even when traveling. The needle book is perfect because each sized needle has its very own page in the book. So my first page has 28's, second page has 26's, etc.

Accessories for Needles

When dealing with needles these are indispensable. Magnetic wand on top and
rubber gripper on the bottom.

What do you need to have on hand for working with your needles? How about a needle threader?! With my eyesight I have to have one now at all times. It saves time and gets the job done. I have torn up a lot of those little wire threaders and so now I just use the big Dritz one that is just about a one size fits all. I still keep a wire threader for those teeny tiny eyed needles that the Dritz is too big to fit.

Have a needle puller or grabber on hand since sometimes those needles get stuck behind those stitches on the back and you need that extra grip to get it through. I just use the little round rubber gripper.

Get a magnetic wand! You have to have one of these to help you recover your dropped needles. They aren't expensive and come in handy for other things too, like grabbing screws from small areas. My couch eats my needles so I discovered the wand doesn't work in whatever dimension they go to, they are just gone for good, which is why I buy a lot of needles. If they ever do reappear, I'll be the first to know it since I'm the only one that sits in that spot.

Recycle Them

Handy-dandy recycle for your needles.

Yes you can recycle them! I found a Needle Recycler at Marilyn's (Stoney Creek) website that is made by Singer. It is a plastic vial that comes with the address of where to send it when you are done filling it up. You can put any type of needle in it, so even machine needles can go in there as well as any type of sewing needles. How eco friendly is that?!

Finale
So there you have it, all the information I have about needles that I have learned over the last 25+ years. They are wonderful little work horses whose value we often overlook, until like Abigail, when we are not able to easily get them.

Have a wonderful week! Next week we will discuss scissors! Like the potato chips, you can't have just one!

Keep Creating!