needles and threads

Needles and threads

1.       Needles – need to think about the properties of the needle and what you are using it for

2.       Sharps needle- the bigger the number the finer the needle size 2,3 and 4- medium to heavy fabrics, size 5,6,7,8,9 and 10 is for a light medium fabric, size 11 and 12 suitable for fine fabrics or creating small delicate stitches, size 16,17 and 18 carpet needles strong and sharp.

3.       Tapestry/cross stitch – these large eye needles with a blunt end,

4.       Quilting- the short length needles allows you to stitch quicker go from 1 to a 12 by is know 11

5.       Milliners/straws- there needles are now more commonly used for pleating, fancy decorative stitching. Similar to sharps needles but are longer sizes from 1 to 10

6.       Leather/glovers- triangulated pointing to enable them to pass thought materials without causing unnecessary abrasion, when using leather and suede and soft plastics

7.       Darners- long and sharp with elongated eyes as their name suggested these needles are use for darning or mending size 14 to 18

8.       Embroidery\ crewel needles – longer eyes than stranded sharps needle make the more suitable for threading stranded cotton

9.       Beading- made from finest steel wire enabling their use beads, sequins and pearls, made from a different diameter of wire.

10.   Curved needles- upholstery where a straight needle would struggle to function easily.

11.   Bodkins- generally used for threading cord or elastic though a fabric casing

Machine needles

·         Type of need it will tell you on the front of the case and the sizes on them such as 70/10,80/12, 90/14 left if the slash is European size the number on the right is the American size

·         Smaller size needle that pierces your fabric easily

·         A needle too small can shred the thread and continually brake

·         Size 9\70 suitable for light fabrics, silk and taffeta size 11/80 suitable for medium fabrics, cotton, lineing and satin size 14\90 medium to heavy fabrics heavy calico size 16\100 heavy fabrics denim, Leather

·         Change needle after 8 to 10 hours of use. Always change the needle before using expensive fabrics

Threads

·         Is your fabric woven or knitted, lightweight or heavyweight polyester thread will work best, you want the thread to be weaker than the fabric?

·         Try and stay away from cheap thread you get what you pay for

·         You can use thread the same colour it is recommend to get one shade darker for it to blend in easier, for you could use a different colour for decoration

·         Cheack the top or the bottom of a spool for the thread fibler content- is it polyester, cotton or all purpose

·         Check the thread strength or thinness the higher the number the finer the thread fine size 60, medium size 50 and heavy is size 20

·         Polyester thread- is an all-purpose thread size 50 medium small amount of give. Most polyester thread has max or silicone finish to help them slip through the fabric with minimum of friction. The finish of this thread however can appear waxy or shine. Manmade they cannot handle the same level of heat as the cotton thread so keep that in mind when pressing.

·         Cotton thread –  medium thickness size 50- wide range of colours the lack of give in cotton thread make it an unwise choice for knits or stretch fabrics, can take an incredible amount of heat from an iron

·         All-purpose thread medium weight size 50- suitable for all types of fabrics, it can be used on knits or woven fabrics of synthetic or natural fibres or blends, it is also a little bit Strachey

·         Silk thread – silk is a beautiful thread to work with for sewing and machine sewing, ideal for using when tailing as it can be moulded into shape with heat of an iron and because of it natural fibres it won’t snap easily due to excessive ironing, silk thread is very smooth so travels through even the lightest most delighted fabrics without leaving a mark as well as being very strong, great for basting because of it elasticity, silk can also be suitable for sewing any type of knit fabric

·         Cone thread- over locker thread – cotton, polyester, stretch, it is often too fibrous for use in conventional machine causing fluffing build up and snapping of the thread

·         Invisible thread- is now softer and lighter than former years, attaching multi-colour binding and bias tape, where selecting a convention thread, invisible nature the thread can be use with any colour fabrics, make sure that you change the tension it is available in both nylon and polyester you can get it is either the clear or a Smokey colour nylon is more pliable the polyester fibres holds up better to uv light and higher temperatures

·         Metallic thread – cotton or polyester core with an aluminium covering, remember to use a specialist metallic needles when working with it

·         Buttonhole twist- great for hand sewn button holes some buttonholes threads can also be used in the sewing machine, make sure that you select the correct one for your project.

·         Mercerised thread- simply mercerised cotton thread has been put through a series of processes causing the thread to swell became rounder and straighten out