I had the same problem, so I tried a different brand of needles.

Bohin quilting needles with the big eye, it is easy to thread.

Also, I tried a new brand of hand quilting thread that I just love. It is the Gutermann Col. 618, which is the perfect neutral shade.

I hope this helps you.

This is the thread I use. I just recently started hand stitching my binding to the back but couldn't find a needle I liked until I checked them out at my LQS. If the needle was long enough for me then it felt too thick. I found a pkg of 16 #9 straw needles for $3.00 and love them! The Americana thread is thicker than regular and that helps me alot in threading.

Don't forget that trick I recently read on this board. If the hole is too small when your first try to thread the needle, turn the needle around. Sounds ricidulous, but It works! :lol:

What are straw needles? I saw them at th LQS but had no idea what they are. Also, what is the difference between the "golden" needle and a regular quilt needle...I didn't know what to buy.
If my quilting thread is about 20 years old....should I buy new or will it still be o.k? Have been busy raising kids..

Straw needles are long needles with a round eye originally used by milliners for sewing straw hats and bonnets.

So would this be the same thing as a milliner's needle? That is what Sharon Shamber recommends to quilt with--and my local Joanne's had never heard of them. Easy to quilt with???

The Clover automatic needle threader is the best invention since toilet paper! I love, love, love mine! No more struggling. You won't be sorry if you buy one. And it threads those tiny needles. I prefer Thimble Lady's small size needles. The eye is smaller than the Clover or John James so it doesn't have to be pulled hard to get it through multiple stitches.

Knot the end of the thread that you cut. It has to do with the twist. This also prevents slip knots and twisting.

Sandy

I use #10 betweens, are yours sharps or betweens?
If you get a beeswax cake and run the thread across it you may find it easier to thread. It will help keep the thread from tangling so much, too.

Exactly the same. Although theory says that the shorter the needle the shorter the stitch many of the older quilters used a longer needle. I was recently in Wales where a lady showed me some quilts made by a professional quilter in the '30's when women went round the rural villages quilting the tops the village women made. One quilt was unfinished and still threaded in the top was a long thin straw needle. I know that my grandmother used the same. Obviously the answer is use whatever needle best suits your hand.