Originally Posted by Merrilin
I have a question or two. 1) how long of thread do you put on your needle when you are hand quilting? 2) how loose does your quilt have to be to quilt small stitches?
Those were a coup;e of things that were never mentioed or told to me before I started quilting. And I can't find the answer in any book. Thanks.
There are probably many opinions about thread length, but I figure it's important to do what works best for you. I learned to use a piece about the length of my arm plus about another half of that. If it's too long, you risk tangling and knotting. If it's too short, you simply spend a lot of time re-threading your needle often. Pulling your thread through some beeswax can help prevent tangling, too. It helps to have as much continuous length with fewer breaks as possible to keep thread secure.