Trouble with pulling needle through

[Aesandre]

Hi all,

Now that I've finished my mini HAED I have decided to try and finish the Egyptian Temple for my other best friend. The problem is, I am having the devil's own job trying to pull and push the needle through the fabric.

It is 25 count and I'm stitching 2 over 1. I have stitched this way for other projects with 25 count and I have never had such a problem. I have already snapped one needle on this project and I am baffled by why this is so hard compared to the others.

This is my progress so far:



Should I:

a) try to carry on (advice as to how appreciated!)
b) try to unpick it all (!)
c) buy the same fabric and start again 1 over 1
d) buy the same type of fabric I've used for the other 25 count projects and continue 2 over 1

Any suggestions welcome!

Thanks

[cairee]

I personally find 2 over 1 on 25 ct to be a royal pain! to bulky, and as you have noticed it can get hard to pull the needle through the over full holes, not to mention the back can be quite a mess from confetti, messy back is not a problem, unless you cant stitch through it!

if you definetly want to use 25ct you could try tent stitching, less thread in the holes means the needle will pass easier. Id suggest a restart rather than unpicking all that

my favourite fabrics for HAEDs and other BAPs are 28, 32, and 36ct 1 over 1 cross or 2 over 1 tent, and 40ct and higher 1 over 1 tent, I will also on occasion use 18ct 2 over 1 cross



Im also noticing that you are using the parking style of stitching all of the color in a 10x10 block then park it in the next block. this leaves you trying to squeeze stiches into the last spots, a tight fit on 2 over 1.
Try switching to a the scarlet quince method instead. Going row by row means your needle always comes up an empty (or near empty) hole and down an occupied hole. far easier when your coverage is dense

[rcperryls]

Been there, done that. My first HAED "Burden" had 6+ pages that were all black so wasnt much of a problem stitching 2 over 1 on 25 ct doing full crosses. then I hit confetti. I couldn't get the needle through the fabric using a tweezers as a plier to pull it through. I actually restarted it and mostly it sits in a "on hold" mode, though I have restitched some on 28 ct 2 over 1 tent stitching, which is my preferred way of stitching large projects. Now. I have several that are in progress which are 25ct 1 over 1 full crosses and I like that coverage also. I would probably start this over before you go any further and tent stitch on 28 ct or even full cross 1 over 1 if you prefer full crosses on 25 or 28 ct. You haven't gotten into that much confetti yet and I think the piece will only get bulkier. My opinion. I know there are some who can stitch the 25ct 2 over 1 full crosses. I just don't know how they do it.

Carole

[Allyn]

I was gathering my thoughts as I read your post to bring together the points/advice I wanted to make in response to your dilemma. As it turns out, it would have been a repeat of Cairee's post. She prettty much covered what I was planning to say. I also agree with Carole; tenting two-over-one is my preferred method on 25-count.

IMO, two-over-one full crosses is way too much thread on 25-count. You're putting eight strands of thread through each hole. It's a lot of bulk and if you cross-country in 10x10 squares, it makes a nightmare trying to push the needle through the mass that ends up on the back. The Scarlet Quince parking tutorial helps for the reason Cairee mentioned -- your needle is always coming up in an empty hole, or a hole that only has one other stitch's leg in it so you aren't forcing the needle through a thick mass.

You can try one-over-one full crosses. Some folks really like that. I prefer to tent as the stitching goes much faster. It only requires one action to complete a stitch -- a full cross requires two actions -- and I get full coverage so what's the point of adding more thread if the fabric is already covered? (I also do a lot of blends, so I have to use two strands.)

I'd start over with a new piece of fabric. Use the fabric you have there to test tenting and one-over-one to see which you like better.

[richardandtracy]

I use the cross country method, and found that 2 over 1 tent stitching gave fair coverage and was easy to do, but when photographing the result in dark areas some white dots of fabric were visible that were invisible to the eye. On 28ct 2 over 1 tent stitching, it was fairly easy to do except in those areas with 40+ colours in a 10 x 10 square, and didn't have any of those 'dots' visible when photographing the project.

(Reference for 25ct: http://www.crossstitchforum.com/viewtop ... &start=117)
(Reference for 28ct: http://www.crossstitchforum.com/viewtop ... &start=303)

Regards,

Richard.

[cristaltipps]

Good advice from everyone else but I thought I might add are you using as thin a needle as possible? I am doing one on 22 count fabric I work cross country 2 threads and am using a size 26 needle, I think you can even get 28's but worry you may not be able to thread 2 strands through. A bit of trial and error maybe.

Good luck with it.

[Aesandre]

Hi all,

You've raised an interesting point about needle size. I am currently using a John James Quilting needle, size 5/10. I have no idea whether or not this is suitable for what I'm doing. Does anyone have any advice?

Another point some of you touched on is the parking method. I haven't really used parking before and this project is the first one I've really attempted it on. I think I will attempt to complete another 10 x 10 (at least) WITHOUT using the parking method and see if I still have trouble pulling the needle through. If I do, I will give it up and start again on a new piece of fabric, probably using tent stitch.

I'll let you know how I get on.

Thanks.

[rcperryls]

Good point about the needle. I use a size 28 needle for most of my projects and recently have been using 28 petites and rarely have trouble threading with 2 strands. On those occasions that I do, a needle threader works fine. When stitching on 18 ct afghan fabric I will use size 26 or 24 needles.

Carole

[fccs]

I use either size 26 or 28 tapestry needles.

[Allyn]

Hi all,

You've raised an interesting point about needle size. I am currently using a John James Quilting needle, size 5/10. I have no idea whether or not this is suitable for what I'm doing. Does anyone have any advice?...

A sharp needle isn't suitable. Use a tapestry needle instead. Sharp needles pierce the threads where tapestry needles that have a dull point push the threads aside instead of peircing them. I use 28s. If the eye is rough, you might need the assistance of a needle threader on some occasions. If you use smooth-eye needles, it is easy to thread the eye with two strands even if it gets a little bent out of shape.

[Serinde]

All of the above, and I was going to ask about needle size, too. Your 5/10 from John James is an embroidery needle, I think -- a sharp, probably (as opposed to a blunt tapestry needle, size 22-28)? Your pack has 5 different size needles, I suspect, and the 10 is a very fine needle indeed -- you might struggle to get two threads through it at the same time.

[cairee]

Hi all,

You've raised an interesting point about needle size. I am currently using a John James Quilting needle, size 5/10. I have no idea whether or not this is suitable for what I'm doing. Does anyone have any advice?

Thanks.

oh dear! a quilting needle is not what you need. switch to a tapestry needle, you will find it much better. I use a 28 for all my cross stitching. you will find no problem using 2 threads in one.

[Aesandre]

I always thought a sharp needle was best for penetrating the material with more precision... if you see what I mean. Had a long day at work, that may not have been phrased correctly, lol.

I know absolutely nothing about needles (clearly! ) so when I bought the one I'm using I chose it because it was relatively small in length and had a small eye. I really hate larger eyes because the threads can so easily slip through and I hate having to continuously stop to re-thread. That's the only thing I noticed about the 28 needles I've just bought on Amazon - the eye seems huge.

Really interesting discussion here - even though I've been stitching for over 10 years there is always something new to learn

[Allyn]

... when I bought the one I'm using I chose it because it was relatively small in length and had a small eye. I really hate larger eyes because the threads can so easily slip through and I hate having to continuously stop to re-thread. That's the only thing I noticed about the 28 needles I've just bought on Amazon - the eye seems huge. ...

Tapestry needles have a much larger eye than needles intended for other uses, that's true. You hold the thread in the needle; the eye doesn't hold the thread. When you grasp the needle, hold the eye not the shaft. That keeps the needle from unthreading and gives you better thread/tension control.

If you prefer short needles, get petites. You might have to look a little harder for them, but you can get 28 petites.

[richardandtracy]

Sorry, for a moment there I was imagining the reason you had to look for them a little harder was that the #28 petites were so small you couldn't see them easily.

Regards,

Richard

[jocellogirl]

Sew and So sell petite needles(and just about everything else you do and don't need!!!)

[Aesandre]

My new 28 needles have arrived today. I'll give them a test drive soon

[tiathyme]

I hope the new needles are helping!

I love stitching with John James Petite needles, but I know a lot of HAED stitchers swear by Piecemaker tapestry needles.