Don't leave your beeswax in the car during the summer... I use it with my embroidering.... thought I'd be more efficient if I left my sewing in the car and I wouldn't have to remember to take it with me ..... it melted all over my sewing bag and the embroidery I was working on. I was able to get the wax out of my work but my little bag is still stained.

THANKS FOR THE TIP . I WILL TRY THIS I ALWAYS USE THREAD HEAVEN

guess so..thanks for the tip

I too use beeswax but my quilt teacher told us that thread has a grain. When you take the thread off the spool and cut it, that cut end should be put through the eye of the needle and pulled down. This is the part you would put in the quilters knot. It works for me, I hope it works for you. The dryer tip is something knew for me but will definately try it.

I finished off a king sized hand quilted quilt, I had set it aside for several months, because my thread kept twirling, and knoting up on me. Thanks for the tip to thread your needle from the spool end first, not the cut end. It really helped. Next time I am using the wax tip along with this one. Thanks again, guys and gals.

It was so many years ago when I first started quilting. I did the whole thing by hand. It had applique, embroidery, and more. I didn't have many resources so in talking with the older lady quilters in the area I learned to use plain old bar soap on my thread. It worked!

Now ... Thread Heaven.

Though will probably try the dryer sheets relatively soon.

ali

Thank you for the tip. So far all I've used has been the bee's wax. :):):)

No this really does work. Thanks for the reminder. Some may think I am a flake but I have noticed during my 40+ yrs of hand quilting that if i get a knot in my thread it is normally in the thread opposite from me...ie: I am right handed and when I get a knot in my double strand thread, it is not the piece of thread closest to me. A dear friend is also a hand quilter and she is left handed. She about freaked when I told her this but later came back and told me discovered this once I had mentioned it to her.....
Happy Stitching!!!
*******

I'm late at reading the posts here, but if anyone is still watching this, do you have trouble with your needle unthreading? If so, after you thread your needle, put the point of your needle through center of the thread of the short tail that you have to keep your needle threaded. Yes, you will be splitting the thread with the needle. Pull the needle through the thread, and it will knot it's self on the needle. It is easier with thicker thread than thinner thread, but I use this with my regular sewing thread too. It keeps me from losing a needle on the floor, or where ever I am, and also will keep the needle easy to find in the pincushion as it won't come unthreaded and go into the pincushion. To unthread the needle, just pull on that short tail and you'll get a loop and can pull the thread off the needle. Try this, It really does work! I hope this helps! I'd like to know if anyone else tries this and likes doing it. Or am I the only one who does this?

leslie, thats how youre supposed to do it...thread the needle, then cut!

never have a problem when i use glazed hand quilting thread...tho i use thread heaven for my cross stitch

Thanks for the tip, never knew of the dryer sheet, I did the beeswax as well...

I tried this over and over and couldn't do it, even with my magnifying goggles on! How on earth do you push the needle through that skinny thread? Your eyes must be a whole lot better than mine!

Just keep trying and sooner or later, you'll be able to do it. Try it with a little thicker thread and a thin needle at first. That might help. Some threads are very thin. You could also try untwisting the thread a little where you want to put the needle through, but that way you need a little longer piece of thread at the end of where your twist is, maybe a couple of inches or so. If you do it too close to the end, the thread will untwist and will slip out of the knot. Do you have any yarn or crochet thread that you can try it with first? My old eyes are near- sighted if that helps!
Good luck!
Janis

Thanks, Janis. I'll keep trying!

When I was taught hand quilting, my instructor told us to measure our thread length from finger tip to elbow to avoid, fraying, knots and tangles.
I always used bees wax or candle wax to add glide to the thread.

I use "tacky finger" the stuff you get at the office supply store to put on your fingers when sorting paper. Keeps my thread from tangling.

I love the dryer sheet idea; and Janis, I like your idea about preventing the loss of thread from the needle....will try both! Thanks.

Nope - just couldn't do it - I gave up. I'm going back to my old method. When I'm pulling the needle (with my right hand) through the fabric to make a stitch, I just hold my left thumb over the thread as it is going through the fabric and it never tangles - works for me.

I just learned it last year..when a member of my Weds group.. showed us all !!!

Love that gardening tip... and I've discovered that used dryer sheets remove pet hair from my sofa even better than my vacuum does! It just rolls the hair up in a wad.

maybe we should start a new thread: 101 uses for dryer sheets!

Me too...and they last forever :thumbup:

That is how my mama taught me. I assume that is how her mother taught her.

In junior high home ec, the teacher said it was wrong and wouldn't let me lock the thread onto my needle in class. It was so frustrating because I was used to just dropping my needle to let my thread unwind if I had twisted it up. I must have taught half the class to do it on the sly!

I have terrible vision, 20/200 in one eye and 20/500 in the other (looking forward to cataract removal!). I was taught to lock the thread onto my needle by feel, not by sight.

How I was taught was to lightly pinch the end of the thread between the thumb and index finger on my non-dominant hand. Then, without looking at it, slide the needle between my fingers until it hits the thread. Gently slide the point of the needle through the thread.

I don't think I could do it if I looked at what I was doing! The fingers hold the thread just firm enough to hold it in place but not so tightly that the thread is squished. And I move the needle slowly, so that I don't poke myself, and so that I can feel when the point hits the thread.

If I go too fast, the needle will just push the thread out of the way. Going slowly and feeling for what the needle is doing is the key.

Oh, and using a needle with a sharp point. A dull needle doesn't do it and is frustrating to sew with because you have to use more force to shove it through the fabric, then it goes too far and either your stitches are too big or you have to pull the needle back to the proper stitch length. Lots of wasted effort that can be avoided simply by using needles with truly sharp points.

It's well worth learning just for the convenience of untwisting your thread. Just drop the needle, then pinch the thread lightly where it comes out of the fabric and run your fingers down to the needle. I rarely get knotting of the thread because I let it untwist frequently.

I'm shocked, amazed and awe-struck - your "no-peek" method actually worked for me. It's unbelievable how you can feel the resistance when the point of the needle touches the thread. Of course, I stuck the needle through the first layer of skin on my finger or thumb several times while practicing until I learned not to squeeze the thread too hard, but I think I've got it now. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

I always let my thread untwist itself by dropping the needle. I learned this as a child when I was learning to embroider. I learned to leave a good bit of distance between the needle and end of the floss so the needle didn't slip off. (I won't have to do that anymore!). This will always be one of my favorite things to do, but you can't find regular embroidery projects anymore - everything is cross-stitch which I find too repetitive and borning.

You and me both!

Well, you are very welcome.

Relatively few people do hand sewing any more, so I think it's important to share the little tips that make it easier.

And it is amazing what our fingers can do for us when we let them!