I love to hand quilt and I learned the hard way not to use those high thread count sheets for backings. I hadn't even considered that the needle breaks the fabric, thus weakening it. My problem is that you don't get even stitches when quilting with a tight weave. I figure if I'm putting all those hours into hand quilting it, I want it to look nice and uneven stitches (mine, not other peoples) drive me batty!