Special quilting thread for "lefties"?
 

My sister, who lives in Michigan, visited her LQS the other day. She is a leftie and the owner said that her daughters who quilt are also lefties. She told my sister that there is a special quilting thread for those who quilt left-handed but she doesn't carry it in her shop. What is she talking about?

I'm sitting here trying not to fall off my chair.... LOL

First of all, there is no such thing.

Second of all I think your sister should find a different LQS to shop.

There is NOTHING special about a lefty sewing anything - other than 'we' do it left handed. Sure there are lefty sissors but EVERYTHING else is the same for a lefty as it is for a righty. All the tools are the same (other than possibly sissors) and we may lay out / cut our fabric from a different angle but the end result is still the same.

What your sister's LQS said is, in my mind, equivalent to saying a lefty needs a left handed iron. Pooh! An iron is an iron. Thread is thread.

Tell your sister to find another place to shop.

LOL

Shari

There is left and right twist threads (Z twist and S twist) but they're not specifically for right or left handed use. That shop owner is real confused.

left handed thread obviously is made for the special "left hand needles"..........laughing along with the rest of you.

Think of the money to be made with this idea if it takes off!! Left hand pins all the way up to left hand sewing machines! :)

Now THERE is a funny 'lefty story' - My dear departed (very loving to everyone) MIL was left handed. She sewed (kind of). Instead of placing her fabric so the seam would be on the right side of the sewing machine needle, she placed it so the seam was on the left side of the sewing machine needle. I tried to correct her (I'm a lefty too) but alas there was no changing her method. <sigh>

Shari</sigh>

This the only left-handed item I know about.
http://www.leftyslefthanded.com/Left...r_p/605793.htm

And yet, the Olfa rotary cutter can be aligned for left or right handed users.

Shari

If I owned a store I'd put a special display of thread that wasn't selling fast and label it for left handed quilters. The ones that got the humor would love it, the others would buy it.

This is exactly what I was going to say. I think either someone sent that LQS owner on a big ol' snipe hunt, or it's a clever marketing strategy for the small segment of the population that is both left-handed and gullible.

I've never understood this thread twist thing. When I take something with a twist - say a licorice stick no matter which end is "up" the twist is the same! I always heard you are supposed to thread with the end that first comes of the spool and now many say that you cut off a length and put the just cut end through the needle! *sigh* I've never had trouble either way. :rolleyes: Like the pictures - one way the twist goes upper left to bottom right, reverse it - the same.

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Well, I got my giggle for the day! :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D

Hey, I love that idea. I'm a leftie but use right handed scissors. I do use left handed rotary cutters. I'd laugh at left handed thread.

I'm a lefty - that left handed sewing machine sounds like a great idea.

The good quality brand thread made now does not have the twist in it.

I hand applique and have found that if you put your needle on the thread, knot that end and then unwind and cut the other end, for me, the thread does not twist and knot while sewing. But if I thread needle first, then unwind and knot the cut end, I have a twisted mess as I sew, even if I use thread heaven. Think it is how I use the needle. Must twist it as I run it thru the fabric.

Was it April 1st when they went there?

oh my....of course SHE did not carry it, though she has several people who could sure use it..ehehhehe
honestly...even my left handed sister laughed at that one! She uses scissors and her rotary right handed though...

I, too, am still laughing! I'm a lefty & other than cutting from a different angle, there's no difference. The projects still come out the same.

The only thing I can think of is that English embroidery thread has a different twist to French and European threads. They are called S and Z twists and it matters which end you hold it from or you get knots and annoying twists whilst you embroider. One can tell the difference by running the thread between index finger and thumb (i.e. one direction feels smooth and the other, rough). However, I don't know that this extends to quilting thread?
More information on S and Z twists can be found at the address below. I always make sure that I do a project all in the same brand of thread in order that there is no difference in the way the stitches form.

http://www.needlenthread.com/2011/01...-stitched.html

there are rotary cutters specifically for lefties.....a friend just purchased one and said that it is WONDERFUL.

I must agree with Bella Boo too funny

I have two sewing machines. One of the machines has the needle down lever behind and I use my left hand perfectly. The second machine has the lever at the right; my left hand comes up looking for the lever; I have to stop and make myself use my right hand to use this "right hand lever." I have often wondered about a reverse throat opening and the fabric being on the right instead of the left side.

As a left handed sewer, I only know of scissors and rotary cutters, even I would not fall for the special "thread". LOL

I'm a lefty and it is hard at times because it is a right handed world. But come on left handed thread. Hahaha

I'm glad I can use either hand. I write with my left hand and use my scissors in my right. Can use my rotary in either. When I first started in school, I did everything left handed and the teacher tried to make me use my right. My mother, being left handed, jumped right in the middle of that lady. But I ended up using either hand and have the worst handwriting in the world. LOL

Thanks for the link. I have the Fiskars I bought at Walmart currently and it seems to be working fine. But I'll keep the link as a favorite for the lefty-scissors. They really do make a difference!

Wow thought I had heard all the "lefty" stories - this one is great! I may be left handed but do everything the right handed way.

What will they think of next?!

I'm left handed and have never used any special equipment, even scissors (when I was learning to cut with scissors left handed ones weren't around.) Can't believe I have been missing out all these years :O

That's a new one. I do know about thread twist, but not specifically for us left-handers. There are left handed scissors - I have a Gingher, but most of mine are universal. I use Olfa rotary cutters and change the blade to the other side. Everything else is the same.

I do need left handed scissors, though I can't cut with true LH scissors, and I do need a LH iron - one with the cord on the left or in the back center. If the cord comes off the right side, I iron the cord too often. But thread????????

Thread: Which end of the thread to thread the needle with.....

I figured out some time back, that two Very Very Famous Quilters always mention to *thread the needle with the leading end of the thread as it comes from the spool, and I thought they were saying the same thing, for a couple years, until I noticed one of them said to *tie the knot in the end of the thread you poked thru the needle*, and the other Very Famous Quilter said *to make sure the end you poked thru the needle dangles, and the knot goes in the other end LOLOL Now, I have also heard that some large cones of thread sometimes DO get rewound onto smaller spools, which would reverse the leading end.. so the end advice, I think, is, to pay attention to which end you poked thru the eye and which end you tied the knot with, and if it tangles a lot, try doing it the opposite way, for THAT spool....

Yes I have heard of Z twist and S twist but have never encountered anyone who thought one was meant for right handed people and one for left handed... hehe

Maybe she could sell left-handed chopsticks as a sideline? I recently won the Olfa self loading rotary cutter and it has protection slide for left or right handers. I think a left handed machine would be a great idea really. I'm right handed but I think most left handed people are rather dexterious -- the hand crank and buttons and all are all on the right on machines.

I my be left handed, but I'm in my RIGHT mind....LOL I want some of that thread! I'll bet it makes better 1/4" SEAMS.

Years ago, maybe 30 or so, there was a problem with Swiss Metrosene thread which did, in fact, have a left twist which caused the thread to twist and knot. The company diagnosed the problem and corrected it so that the twist was from the right (as told to me by a quilt teacher.) I, too, believe the LQS owner is mistaken.

Oh this is funny! Thanks for the laugh.

here I sit, mouth dropped open, with the ridiculousness of the LQS owner's statement!! lmbo!!

I have heard of scissors for lefties, but thread??