Tapestry Needles

[stitch_happyme]

Hi all

I'm a newbie and just getting started and gathering my tools together, I would like to know your preferences in the brands of Tapestry needles you use.

Thanks in advance

[Serinde]

I use whatever I can get my hands on -- usually Milward, Hemline or John James. Many swear by Pony or Bohin, though. I've heard excellent things about Piecemakers.

[Allyn]

My favorite needle for many years were the gold John James petites. The gold needle slipped through the fabric with such ease. Not all gold needles are equal. Some are really crappy, but the John James were wonderful. In recent years, however, the eyes in the JJ needles seemed really rough. They were hard to thread and my floss shredded where it was in the eye. On recommendations here, I switched to Bohin needles. They're not as smooth on the outside as the gold needles, but the inside of the eye is so smooth, I've had them fall off the floss when I let them dangle. Because the eye is so smooth, they're easy to thread, even the #28s (which is what I usually use) and I can still thread them even if the eye gets a little crimped. I also get better tension control because the eye is smooth.

[stitch_happyme]

Must say I've never heard of Bohin, think I may as well give them a try, so glad you told me about JJ gold needles as I was going to purchase some, so thanks for the tip, afraid I am bit of a brand name snob when it comes to tools.

[meldmac]

I love the Piecemaker ones but I've used Bohin and like those too. I can't stand the DMC brand needles at all.

[Rose]

I know I will be in the minority but I have always had excellent luck with the DMC needles and use them for years and year with out trouble.

[fccs]

I use DMC (readily available here in town), John James, Bohin, and Piecemakers. Now and then I get "duds" regardless of the brand but for the most part I can easily stitch with any of them. I think maybe the Bohin and Piecemaker needles are the ones I've had the best luck with overall as far as breakage and smooth eyes.

[Allyn]

Must say I've never heard of Bohin, think I may as well give them a try, so glad you told me about JJ gold needles as I was going to purchase some, so thanks for the tip, afraid I am bit of a brand name snob when it comes to tools.

It is possible that I had a 'bad batch' of JJ golds so don't swear off them completely. I was sad when the ones I had were shredding my floss because I had been brand loyal for so many years. What really decided me to stay with Bohin and not try to go back was the smooth eyes (even when I had 'good' JJ needles, their eyes were never as smooth as the Bohins) and the price. I can get a 25-pack of #28 gold JJ petites for $40. I get a 50-pack of #28 Bohins from Anita's Little Stitches for $12.50. Since I use up to 25 needles at a time, my much-loved golds were hitting the pocketbook a little too hard.

(Also, try Piecemakers. As you see, folks here recommend them. I bought a pack when I bought my first Bohins, but I tried the Bohins first and liked them so much, I never opened the Piecemakers.)

And I was wondering if anyone has tried these:
https://www.thecrossstitchguild.com/pro ... loose.aspx" target="_blank

[stitch_happyme]

Hi and thanks to all who replied, now that the needles are sorted the next thing is thread/floss which ones apart from DMC do you recommend....

[Allyn]

Hi and thanks to all who replied, now that the needles are sorted the next thing is thread/floss which ones apart from DMC do you recommend....

Whatever the chart calls for. DMC is cheap and easy to get in the States, but I try to use whatever floss the designer used to chart the pattern. If it's a simple design (two dozen colors or less) you can easily subsititute and use whatever. For complex designs where shading is more critical, I want to use the same color palette the designer used when creating it. Even though DMC and Anchor are both quality flosses, I have had disappointing results when trying to convert colors back and forth between them.

[Mystonique]

I'm a big Bohin fan.

Not so keen on John James - I've got acidic skin an seem to wear the shine off them very quickly.

Tried quite a few other brands but none stand out other than I've just tried DMC and found them value for money so far.