135 – Threading The Needle

Tweezers are my best friend for threading a needle! I’ve gotten so used to tweezers for holding the thread close to the end to guide it through the tiny hole of the needle that I practically can’t do it without! My favorite is: Famore Cutlery 3.5″ fine point tweezer, it’s one of my best tools!

My first stitch allows me to pull the bobbin thread up to the top – I don’t want it to get tangled up in my sewing. I have learned to eyeball exactly where the needle will go but starting with one small stitch makes sure that I am correct in it’s placement. Then I follow the fabric edges. I will stitch over almost all the edges of my fabric collage. Yep, that’s a lot of work! I get into a zone and happily stitch away.

The letters in this post’s photo are a good example of how the work looks in progress. All the starts and stops will eventually get pulled to the backside, but while I’m working they remain on the front. I used the same yellow on all the letters, but shifting from one letter to the one right next to it would not leave enough of a thread end, so I move to an adjacent letter – that explains the connecting threads that you see between letters. I leave about a 2’’ tail of thread to pull to the backside – it’s easier to handle when I use a self-threading needle to pull the threads, and there is more to anchor it when the whole backside gets covered with fusible web which will secure it in place. I never knot the threads.

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