Selection of Needles and Thread
Sewing thread should blend as nearly as possible with the fabric in color, fiber and size. Silk and wool fabrics are stitched with silk thread. Cottons, linens and some blended fabrics are stitched with cotton thread or mercerized thread. The synthetic fabrics and blends of the pure and man-made fibers may be stitched with silk, mercerized cotton, nylon or Dacron (DuPont) thread. The needle is selected with consideration to both the thread and the fabric.
With fabrics used for glass curtains and for sheer curtains, such as organdy, voile, “Dacron,” dotted Swiss, marquisettes, batiste and sheer linen, use a fine cotton thread, size 80 or 90, or a mercerized thread. Use a size 14 needle for mercerized thread and a size 11 for finer threads, including “Dacron” for “Dacron” fabrics, organdy, “Dacron,” marquisette, dotted Swiss, lawn, batiste and rayon lend themselves beautifully to the use of sewing machine attachments for ruffling, tucking, hemming, etc. Fiberglas stitches well and is best suited to straight panel type curtains with pleated headings. Use a mercerized thread and size 14 machine needle for Fortisan, synthetics and the many blends.
The average machine stitch length for these fabrics should be about 12 stitches to the inch and the tensions easy enough to prevent puckering the fabrics, particularly sheer fabrics, such as batiste, nylons, ninons and soft rayon blends.
For Damask, brocades, taffetas, satins, etc., use silk or mercerized thread, size 14 or 11 needles of 12 to 14 stitches per inch.
Heavy weight fabrics, namely, linens, cotton Damasks, sailcloth, ticking, denims, etc., require a heavy-duty thread, a size 16 needle and a 12 stitch length.
For light or medium weight fabrics comparable to polished cottons, Chintz, linens, Glosheen, percale, antique satin and faille, use a mercerized thread, a size 14 needle and a 12 or 14 stitch length.
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