Using a double needle in quilting
 

I was watching It's Sew Easy and she was using a double needle for hemming napkins, and it occurred to me to ask if y'all have ever used one in quilting or if it is a good idea? I was thinking to use it to have equal stitching on each side of a "ditch", in particular.

Does this sound possible? Like a good or bad idea? I guess I could try it, but, sewing machines not set up for it right now.

My question regards how close together/far apart your needles are. The ones I had for my machine were only about 1/8" or maybe even 1/16" apart. To my thinking that would be too close together. If yours are farther apart I think it could effective.

The back side of my double needle shows a zig zag. If you like the look, go for it.

I use double needles but don't thread one of them for stitching in the ditch and also for straight even top stitching. I learned this trick at a quilt seminar.

very interesting concept :thumbup:

Exactly. I did it with a minky back so the zig zag wasn't quite as noticeable. I wanted double stitching on the front on both sides of the seam line because it was flannel and I wanted the seams 'stablized' with quilting. Here's a picture of the front and the back.

I will say one thing that I liked about it ... if you make a mistake, it's dead easy to rip the stitches out from the back. Just put your ripper in the middle of those zig zags and let er fly!

Thanks for asking your question. I have wondered what might happen if I used a double needle in quilting and now, thanks to DogHouseMom I know.

Same here. I use the 1/4" twin needle and sew with the unthreaded one in the ditch so I get a 1/4" outline stitch.

I saw a blue and white quilt John Flynn did. He said he used the closest twin needle sold. He put blue thread in 1needle and white in the other then did diagonol lines. Looked really neat. the white thread showed on the blue fabric and blue only showed on the white. Normally the backside doesnt look good with a double needle but with the tight one it looks just fine. Wont look too good on curved stitching

Would love to see a picture of this!

People on QB are always presenting new ideas. Way to go!

If the quilt is in competition at a show, judges don't approve of zigzag on the back. What would they say on an art quilt? Don't know, since art quilts break rules.

I like the look of the double needle.

The width of the double needle to use is determined by the DSM. Some will take up to 9mm, while others only take 4mm.

One other thing is that double needles cost more. So when I use them, I'm very careful to put little stress on them.

Well, I now know that what it would look like to use a double needle. The only question I have is where do you get them. My machine will work with one but it didnt come with one in the accessory package. I have looked at the local stores and some online but havent found one for my machine. Are the double ones just like regular ones or do you have to one specifically for your machine.

It wouldn't matter on the back of a wall hanging. It could look quiet cool.

there are various sizes of double needles, some close together, some 1/4"-3/8" apart...I've used double needles for stitching stained glass blocks- went ahead & sandwiched my blocks & quilted them as I stitched down the 'leading' black bias- then put them together *quilt as you go* method. worked out fine- it does give you a zigzag on the back- but the project I used it for was fine with that- my bobbin thread matched so well it wasn't really noticeable unless you really got close & inspected it- since they were kids quilts the kids don't care a bit.