Tag: needles

A Boost from a Friend!

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Wanda of ExuberantColor.com

For I Have A Notion™! from Wanda of ExuberantColor.com. Wanda is a friend both online and in real life, and she is also a quilter. No surprise there I’m sure.

Meet Wanda

You may already know Wanda through her blog ExuberantColor.com, or her Colorwash 360 class and quilts. For the record Wanda blogs daily. Mostly about quilting, but she includes some birds, critters, food, plants, friends, and family are thrown into the mix too. However, most days it is about quilting. What she is working on, how she does it, sometimes her inspiration, and always fabric and color! I drop by nearly every day to see what she is working on.

Wanda of ExuberantColor.com at the opening of her one-woman show at the Ciel Gallery in Charlotte NC
Wanda Hanson at the opening of her one-woman show at the  Ciel Gallery in Charlotte NC
Wanda of ExuberantColor.com teaching her Colorwash360 class
Wanda teaching her Colorwash360 class.

Recently, one of us posted a comment to the other, (I can’t remember which one), about the Richard Hemmings #10 Milliners needles and how it is our favorite needle for hand stitching down quilt bindings. I also know some hand stitchers that prefer this needle for ‘needle turn applique’ as well. Anyway, we also continued with a discussion about some other things we like for particular sewing tasks that are more difficult to find.

Richard Hemmings #10 Milliners Needles

Wanda mentioned in our conversation, that a couple of items she prefers are difficult to find, and is often asked by her readers where they can be found. Aside from the Milliners Needles, we talked about John James Long Darning Needles and Mettler White thread for basting.

What Makes Them Must Haves?

Wanda likes the John James Long Darning Needles for hand basting her quilts for quilting on the domestic machine. The long darning needles allow for making large stitches with less hand fatigue than with smaller shorter needles. Wand also uses a different stitch for her basting, which helps keep the sandwich from moving while quilting.

Wanda also likes the Mettler White Thread for basting because it breaks easily when pulled. A big benefit, if it was caught in the quilting stitches. Wanda has written several posts on hand basting a quilt; this post, and this post, and several more are listed under ‘Basting’ in the Labels on the right side of the page.

So THANK YOU, Wanda, for the boost and for all the quilters that have visited I Have A Notion from the link on Wanda’s post! If you have not visited Wanda before you are in for a treat at www.ExuberantColor.com

Beth

A “Needle” Question

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A friend and I were driving to a meeting together earlier this week. One of our discussions was about the sewing machine needle.

She said, ‘I know you don’t like the regular chrome needles, but I don’t mind them”.

My response was, “it isn’t that I don’t like them, I just find them to be too expensive. I like titanium needles better because they last 5-8 times longer than chrome plated needle” and cost less.

WHO WOULDN’T want to use a needle that lasts longer and costs less?

The Difference Explained

A standard chrome plated needle (Universal, Sharp, Jeans, Topstitch, Stepp Nadel….. etc), that comes 5 to a package and sell for about $4.99- give or take a dollar, is only rated to last for approximately 8 hours of sewing time. That is about the number of hours it would take to make a blouse if you were garment sewing. If making a crib quilt it might be the number of sewing hours for a simple block baby quilt. But for another article explaining the Titanium Needle check out the Superior Threads Education article.

A Titanium Needle (Topstitch, Embroidery, Sharp…. etc) is a steel needle that is coated in titanium. The Titanium coating cuts down the friction, keeps the needle cooler when stitching and keeps the point from becoming dull as quickly and lasts 5 to 8 times longer. The needle is NOT made of titanium and will not damage your machine any more or less than the old fashioned chrome needle, so don’t let that fear make you spend more on needles than you must.

The Math

Of course your needle mileage will vary depending on the type of fabric you are stitching (density of the fabric weave, content and thicknesses) for the actual stitching time. If you can sew 8 hours with a chrome needle for approximately $1, how much more cost effective is that same dollar with a titanium needle that lasts from 40 to 64 hours of sewing time. ihaveanotion.com has Titanium Topstitch Needles here, Titanium Embroidery Needles here; and if you still prefer the Standard Chrome there are some here.

The Benefits of a Titanium Needle

What are some of the benefits of using the Titanium needles? I find these 3 to be the most significant… and some days the order of significance changes….

  1. not having to spend so much time changing needles
  2. saving money on one of the most important parts of the sewing machine
  3. achieving a nice neat stitch!

For my primary needle I use the Titanium Topstitch needle, whether I am piecing or quilting or playing with thread. On had in the needle box are some Titanium Embroidery or Large Eye needles  for those times when I need a larger eye or thread groove to accommodate a larger thread. I still have a lifetime supply of those old standby chrome over steel needles, but that is because I inherited them, so even for free -I like the titanium better.

Speaking of the lifetime of needles, how do you dispose your dull, bent or broken needles and pins?

More Later- Beth

PS …. if you haven’t yet left a comment on the Welcome post, please do….