All of my hand sewing needles are breaking or cutting the thread at the eye of the needle..I am using hand quilters thread so the thread is strong..But for some reason, just about every time I try to sew..The thread keeps breaking..Why are my needles doing this? They came with my singer sewing machine..It is driving me nuts!!!

I have the same trouble and when I asked a long time hand quilter , she said my thread was to long, She told me to use a thread no longer than from my thumb to my elbow.(ok smarty same thumb ,and elbow) :-D I still have trouble but if I use as she said I don't have as much. Sorry I could'nt help more.

I think I would go buy some good needles.

You may need to adjust your needle size, get a better quality needle and check your thread is fresh.

I agree. I once had a whole package of bad needles.

1. Try Schmetz 90/14 or 80/12 Quilting needles or Universal needles. There's a good chance your needles are poorly machined in the eye and have sharp edges that are shredding the thread.

2. Is your cotton quilting thread old, dry rotted, or an off-brand? Try one of the classic thread brands mentioned on this board (do a topic search), such as Mettler, YLI, Superior, Connecting Threads Essentials, Sulky, Aurifil, or so forth. Store thread out of direct light or dust to preserve it.

Jan in VA

I agree that you need to buy good needles. If they came with your sewing machine, being promotional items, they may be of very poor quality.

The thread that first comes off the spool goes into the eye of the needle and the end that you cut off the spool gets knotted. This will keep the "twist" going in the right direction for hand sewing - it lessens tangles and wear.

Don't allow the needle to stay at the same point on the thread. Start with the free end of the thread just an inch or two from the exit point on top of your work. Move the needle a little closer to the free end of the thread every few stitches. Roll the needle counter-clockwise every so often to avoid kinks.

As already suggested I would also buy some high quality needles. Normally they are a little more pricey but it's worth to spend it.

When needles are made the eye is punched in and the waste material on both sides of the eye is clipped or ground off. Sometimes it happens that a very small amount of this waste material stays in the needle's eye and this works like a very sharp knife: it cuts the thread.

Thank you all..Yeah, I think that I may have a very bad batch of needles..My thread is new, I bought Coats and Gutermann hand quilting thread and they are breaking both brands of thread..I am going to toss all of those needles away and go and get some new ones..