Threading needles

[need...@webtv.net]

Believe it or not....the needle has a right and a wrong side. One side
is beveled and easier to thread. Try turning it around if you are
having a problem and it may be easier. Of course, sometimes, you have
to use that pesky needle threader to keep your sanity.

[Junette Keefe]

Why is it that I can thread a sewing machine needle without using a needle
threader and without having a clear view of the eye of the needle but cannot
thread a hand sewing needle without licking the cotton (not floss) or using
a needle threader.

Is it just me, or is it one of the fathomless mysteries of the world?

Junette - who does not lick her embroidery floss but instead uses a handy
dandy needle threader.

[Fred Kuhn]

Hi Junette,

Would you say that is as frustrating as This? There is a lady who lives in
our neighborhood who can thread a needle faster than I can and she is blind.
She can really sew a pretty mean seam also.

Don't backstitch to e-mail just stitchit
Fred
http://www.stitchaway.com

"Junette Keefe" <bel...@telstra.com> wrote in message
news:J3Uz5.58406$c5.1...@newsfeeds.bigpond.com...

[Dianne Lewandowski]

Could it be, Junette, that sewing machine thread is pretty "straight
arrow" and sturdy, while floss and yarns are fluffier? I rarely have
problems threading a machine or hand needle with sewing thread. I OFTEN
have a problem with floss. Yarn I squeeze in two - and the eyes are
much larger to accomodate threading them.

Some needles seem to have an "easier" side and work better if you turn
them around.

In any event, it's why I frequently lick my floss, though sometimes I
manage without it, or use a threader (though that's rare). Since I wash
ALL my projects, I don't mind. Germs that live in the mouth can't live
outside on cloth and thread. Today's society worries too much. My
grandmother was a dressmaker of high esteem - and SHE taught me to lick
<big grin>. It simply wasn't an issue prior to the age of antibiotics.
Imagine all these museum pieces still around!! And all those floss
lickers!!
Dianne

[Allyson Lavigne]

I always wondered if it was because the machine is holding the needle
steady, so you only have to concentrate on the hand that's got the thread in
it. With hand sewing, you've got the needle in one hand and the thread in
the other, leaving you with a hand/hand/eye coordination challenge.
allyson

Junette Keefe <bel...@telstra.com> wrote in message
news:J3Uz5.58406$c5.1...@newsfeeds.bigpond.com...

[JennyWren]

I always figured it was because of the groove on the machine needle--eliminates
the up and down misses since it guides the thread right the eye.

Jenny

[sher...@my-deja.com]

As my mom teaches in her sewing classes, make sure to cut your thread at
an angle and it makes it a whole lot easier to thread. You can do the
same with your floss and it will thread easier too. I still have to lick
it though sometimes too! :) Oh, well.

Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/
Before you buy.

[Junette Keefe]

Dianne, it could be that sewing machine thread is much straighter than floss
except that I have the same problem when threading sewing machine thread
into a hand sewing needle. And I cannot for the life of me thread a beading
needle, no matter how hard I try. I cannot find a needle threader that will
fit through the eye of a beading needle and I could lick and pinch the floss
forever and it still wouldn't go through the eye.

However, I will get to test some of those needle threading skills later this
week when I try
to perform the miraculous by letting a hem down on a school uniform. The
said hem needs to come down 6". Problem is, there is only 3" of hem. As it
is, it will need bias binding on the hem. Oh the joys of developing
adolescents.

Hopefully, when finished the dress will meet the uniform requirements of the
school because I don't want to have to pay out $45 for a new one just yet
and second hand ones are hard to come by.

Junette

"Dianne Lewandowski" wrote ...

> Could it be, Junette, that sewing machine thread is pretty "straight
> arrow" and sturdy, while floss and yarns are fluffier? I rarely have
> problems threading a machine or hand needle with sewing thread. I OFTEN
> have a problem with floss. Yarn I squeeze in two - and the eyes are
> much larger to accomodate threading them.
>
> Some needles seem to have an "easier" side and work better if you turn
> them around.
>
> In any event, it's why I frequently lick my floss, though sometimes I
> manage without it, or use a threader (though that's rare). Since I wash
> ALL my projects, I don't mind. Germs that live in the mouth can't live
> outside on cloth and thread. Today's society worries too much. My
> grandmother was a dressmaker of high esteem - and SHE taught me to lick
> <big grin>. It simply wasn't an issue prior to the age of antibiotics.
> Imagine all these museum pieces still around!! And all those floss
> lickers!!
> Dianne
>
> Junette Keefe wrote:
> >

[Junette Keefe]

Fred, that makes me feel a whole lot better.

I wonder if I took my glasses off, would I be able to thread the needle
better. Though how would I know which needle I was threading. (I have
double vision without my glasses) 88=))

Junette

"Fred Kuhn" <bksti...@icenter.net> wrote in message
news:_tYz5.2421$fU3....@news1.mts.net...

> Hi Junette,
>
> Would you say that is as frustrating as This? There is a lady who lives in
> our neighborhood who can thread a needle faster than I can and she is
blind.
> She can really sew a pretty mean seam also.
>
> Don't backstitch to e-mail just stitchit
> Fred
> http://www.stitchaway.com
>

> "Junette Keefe" <bel...@telstra.com> wrote in message
> news:J3Uz5.58406$c5.1...@newsfeeds.bigpond.com...

[Karen C - California]

>Oh the joys of developing
>adolescents.

I shot up 3" in the legs in a very short time. We took scissors to all my
jeans and inserted a band of fabric or embroidered trim, then sewed the bottom
back on. Could you, perhaps, sacrifice an old school uniform to do the insert?

--
Finished 8/25/00 - wedding sampler
WIP: #1 - getting my health back
California Sampler, Holiday Snowglobe, America the Beautiful (Nimble Needle),
antique green doll (Vervaco), Xmas cactus
Don't risk your on-line privileges! I report all Spam.

[Junette Keefe]

Good idea, Karen, except the uniform is all in one, ie, no waistline seam or
any other place where an insert could be placed apart from the actual hem
line and it is a checked type pattern of blues and white.

Hopefully, this one will do till the end of the year. She will, of course,
expand in other directions sooner or later, so she'll need a new uniform in
any case because I won't be able to take it out at the bustline.

Thanks for your help.

Junette

"Karen C - California" <kmc...@aol.com.LuvXS> wrote in message
news:20000927002850...@ng-cm1.aol.com...

[Joyce in RSA]

I agree, but even in sewing machines there are different size eyes. I
always buy Schmetz, because they're a good price and have nice big eyes.
You also don't have an option of the wrong side to thread on a machine,
either, because it's fixed.
Joyce in RSA.

Allyson Lavigne <cna...@idirect.ca> wrote in article
<Kc2A5.34974$M%3.27...@quark.idirect.com>...

[Darla]

On Tue, 26 Sep 2000 14:16:10 GMT, "Allyson Lavigne"
<cna...@idirect.ca> wrote:

>I always wondered if it was because the machine is holding the needle
>steady, so you only have to concentrate on the hand that's got the thread in
>it. With hand sewing, you've got the needle in one hand and the thread in
>the other, leaving you with a hand/hand/eye coordination challenge.
>allyson

Hmmmmmm. (that awful smell is burning braincells) I read somewhere
once that the most difficult athletic skill (feat? activity?) is
batting--striking a moving target with a moving weapon (keep in mind,
tennis fans, that the striking part of a racket is the largest part of
the racket, and is considerably larger than the "meat" of a baseball
bat). So Allyson's theory makes sense to me. But I shake a lot and
have astigmatism.

(where else but in baseball is a 70% failure rate considered to be
very successful?)
Darla

Law of Probability Dispersal: Whatever it is that hits the
fan will not be evenly distributed.