Kristina asked me to talk about needles in Time Out and that’s what I did yesterday, May 19. Here it is, in case you missed it. (If there is something you would like me to talk about in time out, send me an email.
Martha Bigley commented to remind me that the needles shown in the Needle Guide are life-size. That is really helpful and I wish I had mentioned that in the video. I will add, though, that needles vary in thickness and length from company to company which means that your mystery needles may not match those in the guide. But it definitely does point you in the right direction!
Click here to find the free patterns for the needle caddies.
Piece O Cake Blog 
I’ve always been confused about needle sizing! Thank you for clearing that up!! I didn’t realize that sewing machine needles are numbered the opposite from hand sewing needles. I know the hand sewing number scheme has to do with the size of the wire from which the needles are cut and that number has to do with the length of wire that can be made from a standard weight of metal so it makes sense that the higher the number the finer the needle. (You can draw a longer wire by making it thinner. If thicker, that amount of metal doesn’t stretch as far.) But sewing machine needles can’t be simply made from a length of wire because the top is wider than the business end, plus there’s the groove down the side… it’s a completely different beast. So I assume the numbering is based on something completely unrelated to wire size.
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Hi Mary:
I do think wire might have something to do with it but I’m not sure exactly how. We could both google it… later :-).
Becky
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