I'm directing this at Mavia who was conversing with me about having one
thread untwist when railroading upon loop starting (two different ends
of the thread used at the same time in a stitch).

I did some more experimenting, both with floss and pearl cotton. You
can see pearl cotton's results much more readily. Here's what I discovered:

If you don't keep the threads side-by-side as you pull the needle
through and begin the next stitch, one thread can have a tendency to
move its position (if it was on the right, it moves to the left) and
THAT untwists the thread. It's not the act of railroading per se. It's
maintaining the threads parallel throughout the process of stitching.

This phenomena will happen whether or not you loop start. Perfect
stitching requires some fussiness on the part of the needleworker. Ask
me. I just ripped out some closed blanket because I wasn't paying
attention and the threads were coming untwisted, changing the look as
the embroidery progressed. I know better. I just wasn't paying
attention. I'd prefer to blame it on light conditions. :-) I'm really
fighting the issue of having to use a secondary light source. Very
bummed about it.

Dianne
--
"The Journal of Needlework" - The E-zine for All Needleworkers
http://journal.heritageshoppe.com