Originally Posted by
Cecilia S.
...So is there a rule of thumb with a round shank needle? Is it always long groove towards the front, and thread therefore -in- the long groove side of the needle?
Actually I was told that the "rule of thumb" is that "the Long groove ALWAYS goes away from the hook".
The purpose of the short groove is to allow the thread to get pinched between the fabric and the needle and upon uplift of the needle the loop is formed (below the fabric) that the hook passes through. The long groove makes sure that the thread has a place to hide and therefore does NOT make a loop upon uplift.