![\"hand](\"http:\/\/vettycreations.com.au\/white-threads\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/needles.jpg\")
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Last year in New Zealand, I taught some Mountmellick embroidery classes. Mountmellick thread is very different to other threads: it is thick, has a number of strands though is non-divisible, and is completely matte. For those who are used to stitching with, say, a single strand of cotton floss, it is a very different experience! It can take a bit of adjusting!<\/p>\n
In one class, the students were making good progress, however a couple of them mentioned that they weren’t entirely happy with their stitching and they felt that it might be the chenille needles’ fault (John James brand). They felt that the eye was not treating the thread well. As I had some spare chenille needles of the same size (DMC brand), I gave one to each student to try.<\/p>\n
The difference was immediate, for those who changed over.<\/p>\n
There may have been a bunch of the John James ones that had been manufactured in a way so that there were burrs or sharp bits inside the eye. These were either cutting into the thread or snagging the thread.<\/p>\n
The substitute DMC needles obviously had a smoother eye, and therefore the problems disappeared.<\/p>\n
It may just have been a bad batch, but I think the important things we can learn from this are as follows:
\n– paying more for a needle does not guarantee a better needle. I think there is a lot of needle snobbery going around. Sure, some more expensive needles are better quality, but that doesn’t mean the more economical needles are rubbish. I sell DMC brand needles and I really like them. I find they work very well for me.
\n– if you’re having difficulty with your thread in your needle – maybe it is snagging in the eye, or the thread seems to be shredding – swap your needle for a different one of the same size. A different brand or different packet mean that you can be surer you’re getting one from a different batch. If you use another one from the original packet, you can’t be sure that it isn’t a bad batch.<\/p>\n
Of course, there could be many other reasons that the thread isn’t behaving well, such as operator error (!), or it could be that the needle is too small. However, switching your needle for one of the same size is an easy way to try to improve things.<\/p>\n