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I have been using john james 28 petites, I love the size but they bend really easy, Im not especially rough on them but just runnimg the thread under the stitches in the back bends the eye. is there a brand that makes 28 petites or even just regular 28s that are stronger?

I think you would have this with most 28's as its the diameter of the metal that may be too thin. And all 28's would be the same diameter. Have you thought of trying a 26? I probably have a petite 26 I could send you. I switch between 26 and 28.. regular and petites.

I agree with Maggie. I can't speak to other brands because I only use John James 28 petites. I like the gold plated ones because they glide through the fabric (and under the stitches) so smoothly. The platinum ones are supposed to be even smoother, but they're more expensive and I'm happy with the gold ones.

Are you using the 'regular' JJ 28 petites or the gold plated ones? Maybe if you switched to the gold or platinum needles, you wouldn't have to work as hard anchoring the tails and the eye wouldn't bend so much -- not that you're working 'hard'....it's just that if the needle passed through smoother, it would make it easier.

You could use a Star De Tailer nstead of the needle (I had the problem of bending needles too and I love my De Tailer now).

Bohin tend to be a bit stronger IMO but still bend.

Ill try the gold ones, I have never seen the reason to spend more, but if they actually do glide through better than I may just spend the extra
thanks

I tried John James regular and petite, gold plated and not, the 28 was always ending up bent.
I now own a pack of six Piecemaker 28, they apparently do not have petite but the regular are shorter than most. I have been using the first one for four months and it is still perfect! Smoother than any other I used before, easy to thread and perfectly straight! I will never buy another brand again.

cairee wrote:Ill try the gold ones, I have never seen the reason to spend more, but if they actually do glide through better than I may just spend the extra
thanks

Try them. If you don't notice the difference, than you don't have to get them again. That's my philosophy -- I'll try anything once. If I don't like it, I won't do it again. Also, evaluate your tension. If it's too tight, it'll be harder to get the needle under the stitches.

Ages ago, I used to use the most inexpensive needles I could find, or I'd use whatever was available in the store I was in. A bunch of us were in our LNS just standing around talking and the subject of needles came up. The store owner went on and on about how much she liked the JJ gold-plated needles. I just shrugged and said that I used whatever. She pulled a JJ gold-plated needle out and gave it to me. She told me to try it and see if that wasn't a lot better than the regular needles. I tried it and I was hooked from that day forward. They're gold-plated, so the plating does wear off after a while. I don't have to look at the needle to know when it's worn. I can tell by the way it feels going through the fabric.

I've been using the DMC needles forever. I tried the JJ gold 28s and was really disappointed at how fragile they are and didn't notice much of a difference in how they felt. They're kind of a pain. DMC works just fine and I haven't bent one yet.

dawn0621 wrote:I've been using the DMC needles forever. DMC works just fine and I haven't bent one yet.

me too and I use them just because that is what the big box stores near me carry.

I've always used the needles in kits with no problem. However they were mostly small projects. My current project is not a kit. This is also the first time I've used a hoop. The hoop makes it much harder to run the thread under the stitches on the back, due to the tautness of the fabric. I also started with packaged needles. I broke one 26 at the eye, bent another 26 at the eye (it was ready to break) and bent 3 28's. The 26's were both rough inside the eyes, one worse than the other. The bending was my fault, I was trying to pull through to finish ends too close to the hoop, and also frogging with them. The 26's were Boye and the 28's DMC.

I'm going back to working in hand on my next project. Eventually I may buy better needles, but I have a lot of needles on hand to use first.

maemae0410 wrote:

dawn0621 wrote:I've been using the DMC needles forever. DMC works just fine and I haven't bent one yet.

me too and I use them just because that is what the big box stores near me carry.

me too. Since I keep the needles threaded when I'm working on a project I sometimes need a lot and DMC is available and not expensive. I must not be that sensitive to the issue because if they get mixed up (which they always do), I can only tell petites from the others and sometimes can't really tell if it is a 28 or 26. Most of what I use is 28's. Maybe mine last longer because I'm not rethreading as much. Rethreading is my most least favorite task.

Carole

rcperryls wrote:

maemae0410 wrote:

dawn0621 wrote:I've been using the DMC needles forever. DMC works just fine and I haven't bent one yet.

me too and I use them just because that is what the big box stores near me carry.

me too. Since I keep the needles threaded when I'm working on a project I sometimes need a lot and DMC is available and not expensive. I must not be that sensitive to the issue because if they get mixed up (which they always do), I can only tell petites from the others and sometimes can't really tell if it is a 28 or 26. Most of what I use is 28's. Maybe mine last longer because I'm not rethreading as much. Rethreading is my most least favorite task.

Carole

Exactly me too. When I buy my needles, I usually buy enough so that I have one for almost every color in my project

I recently bought a BUNCH of different kinda of needles, I figured they were inexpensive enough, why not try them?! I have JJ 28 petite & reg gold plated, DMC 26s & 24s, Mary Arden 28s as well, and I'm liking the gold plated ones the best so far (note, I haven't tried the Mary Ardens, I just got them). I would suggest trying some out and seeing what you like best! I do think I'm going to switch back to 26s though, I just like them better.

Just my two cents!

I use Boyle by Wrights. I get 24 and 26 in them. When I started this hobby 30 yrs. ago, I saved my needles in the kits. Than I started to teach our 3 girls and that's when needles started to "disappear. So now they have their own stash, being oldest is married, middle is divorced and youngest, who broke off the 4 1/2 yr. engagement, is single "again."
I keep the needles in the original package and separate them with a rubber band around them and they are stored in their "own" thread case drawer, in my rolling stacking cart. That way, when I "loose" a needle, I know where to get another 1.
I have "never" had one to "break" at the eye, but have "bent" them "slightly" when I work on pot holders for the grand girls. They like a design on the pot hold and I have to use waste canvas to put it on.

HAPPY STITCHING IN STITCHING LAND.

I discovered Bohin needles and I'm never using anything else again. They are tres smooth and have a nice weight to them. I mainly stitch kits on 14ct aida, so I use size 24. There are no burrs in the eye so my threads don't fray, and they don't break.

(and there you have another 2cents worth -lol)