Question: Needles?

Good morning, all...

Over the weekend, I started doing the hand quilting on the
baby quilt I'm working on and have a question about needles.
Basically, is there a preferred/correct length for hand
quilting? I have been using a relatively short needle which
is easy to negotiate through the fabric, but results in
fewer stitches with each pull of thread. I'm not trying to
speed up the process -- I just wondered if anyone could
advise.

Thanks in advance if you can help.

Nancy in NS
http://community.webshots.com/user/loves2quilt

Nancy,

I use size 11 quilting needles. For me, the shorter the needle, the better,
as I find I have more control over it. Someone - I think it's the Thimble
Lady - uses much longer needles, but her method of quilting is different
than the standard rocking stitch.

--
Louise in Iowa
nieland4 at mchsi dot com
http://community.webshots.com/user/louiseiniowa

"Nancy in NS" wrote in message
...
Good morning, all...

Over the weekend, I started doing the hand quilting on the
baby quilt I'm working on and have a question about needles.
Basically, is there a preferred/correct length for hand
quilting? I have been using a relatively short needle which
is easy to negotiate through the fabric, but results in
fewer stitches with each pull of thread. I'm not trying to
speed up the process -- I just wondered if anyone could
advise.

Thanks in advance if you can help.

Nancy in NS
http://community.webshots.com/user/loves2quilt

On Mon, 14 Aug 2006 12:22:19 GMT, "Louise"
wrote:

I use size 11 quilting needles. For me, the shorter the needle, the better,
as I find I have more control over it. Someone - I think it's the Thimble
Lady - uses much longer needles, but her method of quilting is different
than the standard rocking stitch.

Thanks, Louise. I did find the short needle easy to "rock"
through the fabric, but found myself dropping it often.
Probably because the end of my finger is numb. :-) (I have
yet to get comfortable with a thimble...)

Nancy in NS
http://community.webshots.com/user/loves2quilt

Shorter needles will give you shorter stitches....eventually. Most people
start with larger needles and work down to smaller as they get better at
quilting. But do use "quilting" needles.

Betty in WI

I like #12 betweens. You can't really do a rocking stitch with a longer
needle, unless you have space alien fingers ;-) And if you do any curved
designs, you won't want to pull up as many stitches anyhow.
Roberta in D

"Nancy in NS" schrieb im Newsbeitrag
...
Good morning, all...

Over the weekend, I started doing the hand quilting on the
baby quilt I'm working on and have a question about needles.
Basically, is there a preferred/correct length for hand
quilting? I have been using a relatively short needle which
is easy to negotiate through the fabric, but results in
fewer stitches with each pull of thread. I'm not trying to
speed up the process -- I just wondered if anyone could
advise.

Thanks in advance if you can help.

Nancy in NS
http://community.webshots.com/user/loves2quilt

On Mon, 14 Aug 2006 15:50:16 +0200, "Roberta Zollner"
wrote:

I like #12 betweens. You can't really do a rocking stitch with a longer
needle, unless you have space alien fingers ;-) And if you do any curved
designs, you won't want to pull up as many stitches anyhow.

Yes, the shorter needle works well for me and anything I can
do to shorten stitch length is a bonus.

Nancy in NS
http://community.webshots.com/user/loves2quilt

On Mon, 14 Aug 2006 13:17:40 GMT, "Betty in Wi"
wrote:

Shorter needles will give you shorter stitches....eventually. Most people
start with larger needles and work down to smaller as they get better at
quilting. But do use "quilting" needles.

Thanks, Betty. Yes, I have quilting needles. I guess I'll
stay with the shorter length as I seem to be doing ok with
it. Practice, practice, practice.

Nancy in NS
http://community.webshots.com/user/loves2quilt

In article ,
Nancy in NS wrote:

Good morning, all...

Over the weekend, I started doing the hand quilting on the
baby quilt I'm working on and have a question about needles.
Basically, is there a preferred/correct length for hand
quilting? I have been using a relatively short needle which
is easy to negotiate through the fabric, but results in
fewer stitches with each pull of thread. I'm not trying to
speed up the process -- I just wondered if anyone could
advise.

Thanks in advance if you can help.

Nancy in NS
http://community.webshots.com/user/loves2quilt


The ThimbleLady uses a long needle and get lovely stitches, but most of
us use "betweens", which are a very short needle. My personal experience
has been that the smaller the needle, the smaller the stitches, but YMMV
and it does take some practice. I use a size 11 needle and find it nice
and short while still being pretty sturdy; size 12 tends to bend for me.
g HTH
--
Sandy in Henderson, near Las Vegas
my ISP is earthlink.net -- put sfoster1(at) in front
http://home.earthlink.net/~sfoster1

AKA Dame Sandy, Minister of Education

FWIW - The Thimblelady also uses a completely different
method of stitching - hence her use of longer needles.

Cheryl & the Cats
_ _ _ _ _ _
( Y ) ( Y ) ( Y )
~ ~ ~
Enness Boofhead Donut
Now in hibernation with a wake-up call for Spring!
http://community.webshots.com/user/witchofthewest
catsatararatATyahooDOTcomDOTau



"Sandy Foster" wrote in message
...
: In article ,
: Nancy in NS wrote:
:
: Good morning, all...
:
: Over the weekend, I started doing the hand quilting on
the
: baby quilt I'm working on and have a question about
needles.
: Basically, is there a preferred/correct length for hand
: quilting? I have been using a relatively short needle
which
: is easy to negotiate through the fabric, but results in
: fewer stitches with each pull of thread. I'm not trying
to
: speed up the process -- I just wondered if anyone could
: advise.
:
: Thanks in advance if you can help.
:
: Nancy in NS
: http://community.webshots.com/user/loves2quilt
:
:
: The ThimbleLady uses a long needle and get lovely
stitches, but most of
: us use "betweens", which are a very short needle. My
personal experience
: has been that the smaller the needle, the smaller the
stitches, but YMMV
: and it does take some practice. I use a size 11 needle and
find it nice
: and short while still being pretty sturdy; size 12 tends
to bend for me.
: g HTH
: --
: Sandy in Henderson, near Las Vegas
: my ISP is earthlink.net -- put sfoster1(at) in front
: http://home.earthlink.net/~sfoster1
:
: AKA Dame Sandy, Minister of Education

On Tue, 15 Aug 2006 01:06:34 +1000, "Cats"
wrote:

FWIW - The Thimblelady also uses a completely different
method of stitching - hence her use of longer needles.

Thanks both, Sandy and Cheryl. I guess I'll stick with the
short.

Nancy in NS
http://community.webshots.com/user/loves2quilt