I have always called them spiders. Started sewing when I was a kid...a couple days ago lol.... and have always used them.

"Bunnies." I picked up the expresssion from one of the quilt shows I watched YEARS ago. I don't remember which show that was, though.

I love all the responses! The lady that taught me called them junk - so I always just grab myself a piece of junk fabric when I start sewing and another when I end. Usually they're the ends of my strips that have a selvage.

My 4-H girls called them RATS owing to all of the tails. I really pushed the girls to use the RATS since they all had trouble rethreading the machine and I think using them is a good practice.

I have also heard them called "thread savers".

I was thinking I had heard them called bunnys or bunny foot...something "rabbitty".

I've heard them called leaders and enders, starties and stoppies, and spiders (because of all the "legs" sticking out of them after they have been used a while). I think the most important reasons for using them is to prevent the fabric from being pulled down into the needle hole; to save thread; to prevent thread bunch-ups when you start to sew; and to prevent the needle becoming unthreaded with a little brush from something-anything. And you don't have to waste time hunting for both those ends to hold onto them.

I was taught the fabric needs to be several layers. I use about four, and there is always one under the presser foot with the needle down when I walk away from my machine. . . well most of the time. LOL

Me too...hold the threads and use a straight stitch plate.

Never understood how they can be called 'thread savers' when you're sewing all those extra little pieces at each end of every seam. You still have thread tails at beginning and end plus what you used up sewing the leaders and enders. If you're using the ender as the leader for the next piece, why not just chain piece...in effect, use the last piece as the leader for your next piece. Chain piecing is the only thread saver that makes sense to me...no tails between pieces means no waste.

"spiders" although I use mine so many times that they should be called centipedes because of all the little thread "legs"

Oh, I am lost and confused. I am getting the idea that people are using small pieces of fabric to protect the first few stitches on the fashion fabric or quilt block from being sucked into the bobbin area of the machine. For the life of me I do not understand why going to that trouble is necessary and I am blank as to how you actually do it. Do you layer the small piece under the one you actually want to sew and then sew or what? And when you're finished, do you rip (with seam ripper) the leader and the keeper piece apart? Doesn't that release the first few stitches? Ad then what do you do to fix that? I am sure there is something very simple I am missing here but I cannot see it. Once upon a time I was reasonably intelligent and could visualize things; but, recently I've begun to wonder.

There are a couple of strategies going on in my sewing room for what I think is the problem being discussed. Number one is the straight stitch plate or a foot with a single, small hole in it as opposed to one with a wide opening. And do hold the threads. Next is a small piece of paper used the same way as I envisioned using an actual piece of fabric (please see above.). Paper. It rips off. You can use any clean paper that would otherwise be discarded. There are no released stitches. It works best if you rip from the "keeper" fabric toward the paper.

Thank you for your patience, reading all this. My "sewing twin" is gone and I am short of someone to work problems/questions/confusion out with. I am working on that one too.

Thanks, Pat

I use the leaders, but I am confused here, What is the purpose of the enders?? Thought back stitching to lock the stitches the thing, then use an ender??