Needles tutorial

13 years ago

I have often heard (here and other places) about the importance of changing your needle often, however this tutorial that I stumbled upon opened my eyes to how frequently I should be changing - they said every 8 hours of sewing! Wow - I have not been changing my needles that often. I wonder if I'll notice a big difference if I start changing more frequently.

I also thought the part about using a different size of needle for piecing, quilting, and binding was interesting.

For what its worth, I'll attach the link below.

Here is a link that might be useful: Pat Bravo needles 101

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Comments (6)

msmeow
13 years ago
Lola, that's great information! I tend to use a needle until it breaks...I know, I should do better! Though if I am embroidering with my machine I do use a ME needle, and I use big, fat ones in my Juki for quilting (16, I think).

Thank you for the link!

Donna
mary_c_gw
13 years ago
I change my needles frequently - it really does make a difference in the quality of my stitching.

A good guide is a new needle for every bed sized quilt. A new needle every two lap sized quilt. A new needle for every three baby quilts.

I also keep a special pincushion with labeled areas (needle size/type), because I often change needle types for other sewing in the middle of a piecing project.

It's not like the needles are going to break the bank!!
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murphy_zone7
13 years ago
Great info. I too change my needle frequently and found it really does make a difference. To help me remember which needle I have in the machine, I have a tiny piece of green pipe cleaner and put it in the box that the needle came out of. That way I know what size I have in the machine. "They" say that the size is marked on the needle itself but with my old eyes I can only guess "they" are right. I just know I will never see it. :)
magothyrivergirl
13 years ago
I am a needle changer~I can tell when the needle shows its first sign of wear on this newer Pfaff quickly, maybe because I am using thread that isn't a perfect match. I also use different needles & sizes for different fabrics and types of sewing.
I think batiks dull needles faster than other cottons.

I use an old plastic Schmetz needle case that was a variety of sizes, I have marked "Using" and put the hardly used needles in their correct size slot. Seldom, when I change a needle, do I select from that case, and I think why did I save those needles????LOL

A fresh needle and a lint free sewing machine is a treat.
day2day
13 years ago
Great info. Thanks for the link. I don't change mine often enough...will try to remedy that.

~Geraldine
lola99
Original Author
13 years ago
I like your tips of a special spot on the pincushion for different sized needles and the colored pipe cleaner so you remember which size you have in your machine. I was wondering how I'd keep track of those things if I started paying more attention to my needles.

Thanks for sharing your systems.

Lola