What Size Is My Needle?

Someone in Facebook's Needlepoint Nation asked how to tell what size their needles are if they are no longer in the packaging. Here's a nice chart, courtesy of John James.
https://www.jjneedles.com/images/downloads/JJ-Needles-Types-and-Sizes-Guide.pdf?fbclid=IwAR0yHeyOk01ko8kjQ3WC5DJRk1lMGmin3_1eFD5S75auUCPe_qvIz-bsaXM

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
© Copyright June 12, 2019 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

Confused About Ordering a Belt from Sign of the Arrow?

Belts can be confusing as some places need an edge finished with binding stitch, some don't because they want two extra tent stitches rows top and bottom.  Sign of the Arrow has a little graphic explaining how their belts work.  You can always call the shop for help as well.
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10161929251700722&set=p.10161929251700722&type=3&theater

Remember, different companies have different needs for finishing belts.  Always check with the shop or belt finisher before you stitch your belt canvas to make sure you are doing what will work for them.

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
© Copyright April 26, 2019 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

Louise's Needlework Talks Embellishment and Beads

As usual the shop newsletter for Louise's Needlework is full of good information.  I highly recommend the article on bead sizes for those who are a new to putting beads on needlepoint canvas. and Karen's article about how she created dimension on her latest needlepoint canvas is enlightening!
https://media.rainpos.com/530/february_2018_newsletter_final.pdf

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
© Copyright 2018 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

The Kreinik Emergency

Barbara Elmore's Fuchsia

My last project was Barbara Elmore's "Fuchsia," published by Sundance.  Isn't it pretty?!

Notice that the border is three gold stitches wide.  I decided to tent stitch it with Kreinik's size 16 braid in Kreinik's classic gold 002.  I had two spools of the size 16 braid and surely that would be enough, right?

[Everyone starts laughing, and with good reason.]

Sadly one of the spools wasn't totally full and I ran out of Kreinik size 16 braid when there was only about 6 inches of border to go.  What to do?!  I had a lot of Kreinik's size 8 braid in 002 gold so I decided I would use a doubled length of that to finish the border's basketweave.  The color is exactly the same and the size is exactly half of size 16 braid so I thought it might work.  After all, I cannot get Kreinik metallics locally and mail order was going to take nearly a week because of the Thanksgiving holiday.

Size 8 Doubled on Top, Size 16 Below

Sadly, the light reflection on the metallic thread is different.  If you look at the closeup of the gold border you will see the size 8 braid above the empty line of basketweave (pretty level with the top of the magnet) and the size 16 braid below the empty line.  In person the color change is not quite as obvious as in the photo but anyone looking closely will know that the gold isn't quite the same.

Gold Hiding under Lots of Beads

Fortunately for me, I had always planned to scatter beads at random on top of the gold border, thus hiding the slight difference in how the size 8 and size 16 reflect the light.  So I managed, but if you cannot distract the eye in your canvas, take the time to mail order more of the size of Kreinik you need.  You'll be glad you didn't fake it.

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
© Copyright December 19, 2017 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

Needle Size Guide

Serendipity Needleworks kindly posted this needle guide chart on their Facebook page.
https://www.facebook.com/SerendipityNeedleworks/photos/rpp.99087023055/10156362002818056/?type=3&theater

Remember, it is only a guide.  The thickness of the thread and the stitch you are creating also effect what size needle you need.

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
© Copyright July 29, 2017 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

My Toolbox (and Needle Sizer)

I have been thinking about needles and telling what size a loose needle is, and it dawned on me you might like to see my little toolbox. It has a needle sizer I made up in the lid.   The numbers are the sizes of the needles, 28, 26, 24, B for beading needle, 22, 20 and 18.

The box came from Stapes I think.  I bought several of them one year.  There is a tray inside that lifts out and I put a piece of Congress cloth in the lid (backed with blue felt you can just see peeking out at the bottom right corner) with a variety of needle sizes in it.  I used a thread from Gloriana I liked and just made up patterns.  I use it to figure out what size needle I have when I am writing a stitch guide in case I forget what I used.

My favorite scissors and laying tools, and thimble and other tools I use a lot are inside the box and it lives in a drawer next to my stitching chair.  Because the box is about six inches long and maybe three wide it can go on trips with me, too.

So what neat tools do you have by your stitching chair?

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
© Copyright December 30, 2014 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

Things You Might Need UPDATED A THIRD TIME

Suddenly this week there are a lot of online postings about various tools folks might want to use to help them stitch.   Makes me think someone turned on the big neon sign in the sky and it read Tools, Talk Tools!

Who am I to not listen?  LOL

Here are the items you might want to browse.  First is Bedecked and Beadazzled talking boxes.  But they are just any box, they are elegant leather boxes and containers in all colors to hold wonderful tools.
http://www.notyourgrandmothersneedlepoint.com/2012/07/boxes-for-storing.html

UPDATE:  You can see more of the boxes here.  The second link is to the company website.  Rowallan is a Scottish firm, a specialist in leather goods.
http://nystitchingsisters.blogspot.com/2012/07/new-accessories.html

Mary Corbet has a set of needle I.D. cards that look very useful if you have a lot of needles you don't know the size or name of.  These come from Access Commodities which has donated a set to Mary to give away.
http://www.needlenthread.com/2012/07/needle-id-cards.html

Needlepoint Tool Time's blog is showing off the new tubular Sparkles and the skin thread collection from Access Commodities (which I think it hard to find, so act now).  I believe the instructions on how to use the silks for shading skin was written by Tony Minieri, so that alone is worth having.
http://stitchplaywithneedlepointtooltime.blogspot.com/2012/07/happy-4th-of-july.html

Here's their website.
http://www.needlepointtooltime.com/

Finally, here's a really good photo and description of the EZ Beader.
http://peaceloveandstitching.blogspot.com/2012/07/more-flower-progress.html

UPDATE:  A friend just sent me this link to an Italian line of automatic needle threaders.  She got hers for $5 on Amazon but shop around and make sure you get the size you will use most.  Anyone with trouble threading needles probably should look into getting one of these.  Thanks, L!
http://www.automatic-needle-threader.com/adw/automatic-needle-threader.html

UPDATE:  Bohin makes a needle threader, too.  This video talks about how it works and gives tips on how to use it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XZpRd5xGpyc&feature=youtu.be

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com

The Sequin Sizer UPDATED

Sequin Sizer (18 count)

Several folks have been asking about sequin sizes on Stitcherie, so I promised I'd look at my Sundance sequins and try to come up with a way to estimate how large their various shapes of sequins are and also how much canvas real estate each size covers.  I don't have any scraps of 13 count canvas lying around, so I am using 18 count as my baseline.  I also don't have any brands of sequins except for Sundance's.  However, if I can figure out how many threads a 4 mm sequin covers on 18 count, at least that will be somewhat helpful.  Maybe another blogger with 13 count canvas and other brands of sequins can do a followup posting.

First of all, you should know that there are 25.4 millimeters in one inch.  A 6 mm sequin is roughly 1/4 inch wide and tall while a 4 mm sequin is more than 1/8 inch but less than 3/16 inch wide and tall.  In terms of threads on a needlepoint canvas, for 18 count a--
2 mm sequin will cover about 2 tent stitches;
4 mm sequin will cover about 4 tent stitches;
6 mm sequin will cover about 5 tent stitches;
13 mm sequin will cover about 9 tent stitches.

This is approximate.  My measurements are based on Sundance brand sequins.  Their sequins are pretty uniform in shape but not entirely, plus shaped sequins like the cupped sequins or flower shaped ones will cover irregular areas on the canvas.  But perhaps this will be a rough guide for folks who have to mail order sequins and want to know the right size.

In the photo above, there are no 2 mm sequins.  The 4 mm column shows (top to bottom) Sundance's small embossed square transparent colored squares ("Etched Panel Square BDS-SQ110" which comes in a packet of assorted colors), their cupped flower sequins which are not flat but shaped ("Raised Flower BDS-SQ103") and which also come in a packet of assorted colors, and the black faceted sequins ("BDS-SQ112 Black Shimmer") which come in a packet of all black.

The 6 mm column shows (top to bottom) Sundance's large round embossed circle sequins (sorry, there is no identifying number on the packet but it comes in assorted colors) and their large wild animal print square sequins ("BDS-SQ106 Animal Square" in a packet of assorted colors).

The 13 mm column only has Sundance's flower sequins "BDS-SQ101 Opaque Flower") which have an iridescent finish and come in a packet of assorted pastel colors.

Hope this helps!  By the way, Vicky has posted a great photo of a wide assortment of Sundance sequins on her blog. You can see the possibilities here.
http://mostlyneedlepoint.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/IMG_3603.jpg

UPDATE:  I've discovered the 2mm sequins from The Collection can be held down by a size 14/0 (sometimes written as size 14) bead.  Size 11/0 beads completely cover a 2mm sequin so you can't see it.

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com