What hand needles are useful for a running stitch?
 

It finally happened. I outgrew my tools. :) My cheap hand needles are too blunt at the tips and not enough thinness to pick up running stitches on woven cotton. The shape is altogether wrong. Should I look for a particular kind of needle class? I know not to buy crewel. Or will any packet of needles from the quilt shop do the job? It is funny though. I do have some vintage needles from the 1950s or so and the shape is better. I have no idea whether they were cheap door to door sales needles or specialty needles though. And they are all too large and leave too much of a hole in the fabric. I checked.

I have these needles for my Redwork for working with perle cotton thread. They have a nice size eye for easy threading but are super sharp and thin. I use them for all my hand sewing now.[ATTACH=CONFIG]528757[/ATTACH]

I use the John James Embroidery needles, too, but in a size 10. Or sometimes if I'm just doing some detail (like leaf veins) while appliqueing, I just use the same Milliner 10 that I use for appliqué.

I hand piece and sew binding using my applique needles. I believe sharps are considered an all-purpose sewing needle.

I usually grab for the longest needle I have.

For most of my hand sewing I usually end up grabbing my betweens regardless of what hand sewing I'm doing. They are generally the handiest to me. Unless it's a really odd project. I use betweens for running stitches; quilting; stitching binding; hemming pants; you name it. I use Roxanne betweens normally either size #10 or #11. I do have some #12's but they are really, really tiny!

Agree with NJQuilter on betweens. I use them on just about everything.

I'm really happy you asked this question - I was hand sewing a binding last week and it occurred to me that there must be better needles out there than the Walmart specials that I have. Mine are getting dull, if they were ever sharp to begin with! Thanks for the info!

I usually get the variety pack of needles in the little circular plastic case.
The longer and skinnier the needle, the better satisfied I am with using it for most hand stitching.

The sharpest, slickest needles I have ever used are Hiroshima Tulips. They come in betweens and others.

Me to I love these tulip needles.

Now I will have to go to the quilt shop and see what sizes they have on hand. Thank you all!

Well that was easy. I went to the local quilt show this weekend and surprise, there were vendors there with Tulip needles. Of course I found them last after I had spent literally my last quarters at the quillt guild yard sale booth. But it was a local shop's booth. ;)

It was a sweet show by the way. Elk Grove Quilt Guild you did well. :)

I do A Lot of hand piecing. I use Sharps, Milners & Straws, and applique needles. ( Straw & Milners are same, just some manufacturers call them Straw- they are long, straight - often used in beading because they are the same width tip to tip ) John James and Roxanne's are the needles I use most often. I don't use betweens just because they are so short- I prefer longer needles. Just me. The size of the needle is dependent on the size thread being used. Visit Superior Threads website. They have free charts, help pages that explain needles, along with explaining the different Threads. The needle information covers all kinds of hand work along with domestic and longarm machines. A great resource.