Met a lovely lady in Jo-Ann's the other day and was complaining about my sore fingers from trying to hand quilt. She is a quilting teacher and she suggested using Milliner's needles instead of the tiny needle that I have been using. She also suggested buying "Thimble-It" - little adhesive finger pads - instead of a thimble.

Somehow I bought the wrong needles. I switched to a longer needle which worked much better than the tiny one. The "Thimble-It" pads are great! They are small enough so they are not in the way, and they work just like a thimble.

What a difference in my quilting, and no more sore fingers.

thanks for letting us know the tip

Great tips- thanks!

Thank you for the information.

Love the idea of those thimble things. I just looked it up b/c I haven't seen them.
Thanks for the tip!! My fingers get sore too.

Good to know! Thanks!

I never could get the hang of those teeny tiny needles. Gee, just threading them will give you a headache. People who can manage those things have my respect - I can hardly keep a hold on one, much less sew with it! :lol:

I've heard that the milliner's needles are favored for applique so I bought some of them - maybe I will try them for hand quilting, too. Thanks! :)

I use a nickle plated dimple with sticky underneath that adheres to your finger. I tried the thimble it first, but had trouble with it sliding. When I get a chance to unpack tomorrow, I'll let you know the name of this stuff, but it is hard to find, and I had to order it online. They carry the ones without dimples, but once again, your needle slides. This is great cuz it's like having a thimble that doesn't encase your hand.

I took a suggestion with those teeny tiny needles and threaded them five at a time and stuck them to a magnet on my Ott lamp. It took me over an hour to do just 5 of them cuz you can't even use a needle threader since the eye is so small. Forget that one! :roll:

cannot get on with a thimble love the pads -- if you use size 9 milliners needle[sometimes called straw] they will take a lot of the beads ---i bend a beading needle very quickly but not the milliners-- my favorite is---richard hemming & son large eye needles made in england black with a red lable and what looks like a phoenix on it

i much prefer longer needles than those tiny ones...i do much better with my quilting. i am so glad you tried those finger tabs! i have probably 2 dozen different types of thimbles all of which i do not use...but have tried. i was wondering if maybe those were more along the lines of what i should be trying for my 'style' of sewing. now i'm going to go buy some and give them a try :thumbup:
seems like alot af trial and error finding the notions that work best for each of us individually, so happy when we find something that is the answer and can share :thumbup: :thumbup:

Another thing that I can't seem to do without is a balloon.

I use it to pull the needle when going through the thick parts of the quilt - and if you ball it up you can use it to push through, too.

I use a thimble with a lip on my middle finger and a latex finger on my index finger. I bought a box of cheap latex gloves (the kind that is used in doctor exam rooms) and cut off the index, middle, and ring fingers. On my underneath hand, I use "Marian's Magic Quilting Thimble". It took me a little while to get the hang of it but I never have sore fingers even after quilting for several hours at a time.

I used to use Milliner's needles all the time for craft sewing. I too prefer their longer length!

And, being bigger, if you drop them on the floor they are a little easier to find. :-)

The only thing I wonder about is the stitches using longer needles. Anyone know if they can make small quilt stitches??

Thanks!

I just came back from Joanne's and couldn't find the thimble its. I was so mad b/c I can never seem to find what I'm looking for in that store and it's huge!
It was a madhouse- glad I wasn't buying fabric :D

So...... went to ebay and bought them. Should have thought of ebay first !!