Identifying needle size/type once out of packaging
11-10-2013, 09:51 AM
#14
Super Member
Join Date: Jul 2013
Location: Houston, TX
Posts: 9,782
I've done that for years with an old tomato pincushion I had. It works great!
11-10-2013, 09:59 AM
#15
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Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: Front row
Posts: 14,646
If I find a needle out of the package and I have no idea what it is, the least frustrating way for me to deal with it is to toss it. I try to keep needles in the right packages but that doesn't happen a lot of the time.
11-10-2013, 09:59 AM
#16
Super Member
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: Southwest Kansas
Posts: 4,820
Once I've taken a needle out of its original package I have a LOT of trouble reading/interpreting its size. With "cheaters" (glasses) AND a magnifying glass I might (just might) be able to read the numbers.
However, I don't know how you'd be able to tell the difference between, say, a regular size 14 needle and a size 14 topstitch. Is there some way to know? Metallic? Embroidery?
And what do "red tip", "blue tip" etc. mean?
Sometimes I use several different needles in a day, and am not careful about putting them back in their packaging...any hints to help with this?
Thanks in advance.
However, I don't know how you'd be able to tell the difference between, say, a regular size 14 needle and a size 14 topstitch. Is there some way to know? Metallic? Embroidery?
And what do "red tip", "blue tip" etc. mean?
Sometimes I use several different needles in a day, and am not careful about putting them back in their packaging...any hints to help with this?
Thanks in advance.
11-10-2013, 10:02 AM
#17
Super Member
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: Southwest Kansas
Posts: 4,820
Which is great for telling what size is in the pincushion. I never could figure out how that was supposed to tell me what was in the machine. I tossed that pincushion and the needles too.
11-10-2013, 10:28 AM
#18
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Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: Back Home Again In Indiana
Posts: 1,877
11-10-2013, 11:43 AM
#19
Senior Member
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: Minnesota
Posts: 862
My sister uses many different kinds of needles. She is way more organized than I am and uses many different types of needles. She made a needle book for sewing machine needles (Bernina has the pattern). Here's the best photo of a similar one that I could find.
In any case, she added a little plastic sleeve to her machine (glued on). When she takes the needle out of the package and puts it into her machine, she put a piece of paper into the sleeve that indicates size and type of needle currently in the machine before she does anything else.
Plastic sleeve example
This is what I use. I put used needles through a piece of wool and it sits on the top of the compartment.
In any case, she added a little plastic sleeve to her machine (glued on). When she takes the needle out of the package and puts it into her machine, she put a piece of paper into the sleeve that indicates size and type of needle currently in the machine before she does anything else.
Plastic sleeve example
This is what I use. I put used needles through a piece of wool and it sits on the top of the compartment.
11-10-2013, 04:01 PM
#20
Junior Member
Join Date: Oct 2011
Location: Morgantown PA
Posts: 223
OK, I had the same problem.....changing needles all the time. So, I took a piece of white felt (you could probably use batting too) and labeled it by brand of needle and size of needle with a permanent marker. When I use a needle, and finish with it, I just stick it in the proper place on the felt. I also have a "sticky" piece of paper attached to my machine where I write the type of needle in the machine at the current time. That way, when I want to change it out, I know where to put it on my felt "caddie". Works for me!!
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