If you are a certain age – a bit older than I am – you probably learned hand sewing in school or from a parent. In some Asian countries, they still teach it. Not just to girls, but to everyone. I can’t remember who first taught me to sew, but I think it was while I was growing up in Spain in the 1960s. And strangely, it sticks with you a long, long time. Including some of the bad or useless info.
One of the reasons I hated hand-sewing is because, by the third stitch, my thread is already twisting around itself, making knots as I pull it through the fabric. I was spending half my time trying to keep the thread untangled or trying to undo the knots it was making. I often resorted to using my machine just to save me the grief. Even when I knew the thing I was sewing would look far better done by hand.
Then it occurred to me that people who sew by hand a lot cannot be suffering this shit all the time. They must be sewing differently, or doing stuff differently, in order to be able to do that quick efficient hand sewing. So I did a little digging, and found out some stuff. I was doing it wrong. I was relying on 50 year old, hazy memory, and still applying some of the rules I learned all that time ago.
Thread length
I was taught that you should pull off and thread your needle with enough thread to last you the entire seam you wish to sew. This was probably fairly good advice in the days when hand-sewing thread was common, and when you were a proficient hand sewer, but I’m not. Most of us don’t start out that way.
The longer the thread, the more it is likely to tangle anyway, and since most of us don’t have access to hand-sewing thread anymore, we use the stuff on spools that is primarily manufactured to be used in machines. Since this stuff is literally stored coiled on a plastic spindle, it’s not all that surprising that, if you pull out a length of it, it twists around itself like crazy. But I also suspect it’s actually part of the manufacturing process. In any case, the first thing I figured out was that there’s an optimal length of thread for hand sewing, quite specific to the sewer, that puts you in the zone for stitching smoothly and fast. You’ll know what it is for you, because it’s the amount of thread on the needle where nothing seems to go wrong and you start to think: oh, actually, this is pretty cool and easy. Body memory kicks in, and you’re stitching comfortably. Whenever that sensation kicks in, that’s the length of thread you should have on your needle. Don’t worry that you may need to get more thread, or that you’re having to knot more often. You can hide all that. Also, no more ridiculous arm gestures just to get the thread out of the way. When the length is right, your pulls will feel graceful, like a bit of ballet, not like grand opera.
Needles
The second myth I learned was that all you need is any needle and some thread. No. You need good needles. Those plastic round things with 100 needles for a dollar… fuck them. They’re awful. They’re made of shit metal and they bend very easily. They’re often blunt and rough and the eye has been punched and half the eyes are such a crazy shape that threading them is almost impossible. But worse, the eye has sharp edges, and it degrades your thread as it flows through it. So, buy yourself some good needles. Both the UK and Japan make really high quality needles. Sadly, because of Brexit, getting good English needles in Spain is now really hard. But luckily, it’s easy to get Japanese ones. If you know of high quality needles made in your country, please leave details in the comments!
John James is a very old needle manufacturer in the UK, and they make amazingly good needles, and even have a very handy guide here to help you decide which kind to buy. But, as I said, don’t feel dictated to. Use the needle that feels good to you and suits your sewing style. I use milliners needles instead of sharps because I prefer the length.
Another famous UK needle manufacturer is Richard Hemmings and Sons. However, they have stopped making their needles in the UK. Now they’re made in China. I don’t know if this has affected the quality or not. Finally, there is S. Thomas & Sons.
I have heard that France and Germany both make good needles. I just haven’t used them and don’t know anything about them, but please do let me know if you like them in the comments below.
I buy Japanese needles. Partly because I am mostly sewing Japanese style garments, and partly because they are easy to get in the EU. Misuya needles are considered very good, but distribution in the EU is meh, so I usually just settle for Tulip or Clover. They make a very good, very wide selection of needles, and they’re high quality.
In the grand scheme of things, even the most pricey needles are not all that expensive, and the pleasure, efficiency and longevity you will get from them will make you really enjoy the hand sewing process. It’s not worth the savings to suffer bad needles.
A good needle should go through your fabric like butter. But even the best needles get blunt. If you are feeling a little ‘pop’ as you push your needle into the fabric it’s either because you’ve chosen too thick a needle for your fabric, or because the needle is blunt. You could, if you’re very worthy, sharpen your needle on fine emory paper, or you could be lazy like me and throw it away. The one thing you shouldn’t do is to put it back in the pack and hope it will heal itself while you aren’t looking. You’ll inevitably pick it again, thread it, and suffer the consequences at a later date.
Thread Wax
If you can find professional hand sewing thread in the colour you need, good for you; I can’t. I’m stuck with what I can get, and the best I can get is Gütermann 100% cotton spools. They are manufactured for machine sewing, and so the only thing that I have found that truly stops the thread from twisting and knotting while I’m working is this: thread wax. This is sometimes called thread conditioner. There are very few things in life that provide a perfect fix, but this is almost it. Unravel and cut the length of thread you need, then just pull it through the wax. Remember to wax the tail you had to hold to pull the length of it through, too. It makes threading your needle much easier also.
The alternative, I have read, is to iron your thread. Just drape a long length of it over your ironing board, and holding on to the end, pull it between the iron and the ironing board. I’ve never tried this. I just don’t see myself ironing thread. Sorry.
But, like all things, it has a downside. You can’t use it on silk. The oil from the wax will ooze into the silk fibres and stain them, and unless you don’t mind washing your silk in water, you’ll have to get your creation dry cleaned after you finish it. The good news, however, is that since you should be using silk thread for a silk garment, silk thread is meant for hand sewing, and doesn’t twist or tangle as badly as cotton or polyester.