As I was responding to some of the comments from my last post, I had an "ah ha!" moment about the magic thread trick. This is a trick I haven't used very often. It requires planning ahead so that you get loops in place before you need them and I've usually been too lazy to bother, since sewing ends into the piece worked pretty well for me. I find that more difficult to do these days so I'm once again motivated to use the Magic Thread Trick. One of the mistakes I sometimes make is that I put a loop in headed the wrong way. Frustrating! I've always pulled it out and grabbed my needle, but I just realized I don't have to do that. I can pull another loop through with the first which will now be headed in the right direction!
For those of you who don't want to bother with the Magic Thread Trick, Fox tells me that she and Jane Eborall use calyx needles (which have slotted eyes) for sewing the ends back into their tatting. I just love having choices! I plan to get a few for my tatting bag for those times when I forget to add a Magic Thread loop. It will happen. :)
P.S. I got several inches done on the hanky edging last night. I'll post a picture later today.
6 comments:
I'd never heard of this kind of needle so I just looked it up. What's the advantage of this over a regular needle?
I practiced the magic thread trick while waiting in an airport once and got it, but it never appealed to me as an easy fix. It's time consuming and you have to think about it, as you said. And if a thread breaks, what do you do then? So then for many years I simply used my trusty size 14 hook to weave the ends in and out and it was quick and easy most of the time. For the past several months, I've been using an embroidery needle that was short and fine but with a long eye and it's worked quite well. I'm not sure if it looks better than the crochet hook method since I'm basically doing the same thing but since I can pull the thread tighter, I think maybe a little bit in some cases. My beading needles are too soft to get through tight spaces but I think it is largely dependent on your tatting style. I don't consider myself a tight tatter but the stitches are pretty snug sometimes.
The magic thread trick confuses me, so I sew my ends in instead. I guess whatever works is best@
Michelle, I haven't got any yet, but they are supposed to be very easy to thread--my main problem with using a needle. The eye is large and is a slit instead of a round hole. Maybe I can tell you more once I find some. You can also drop over to Fox's blog or Jane Eborall's blog to ask either of them.
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