By Monica Rhodes
The Agony of Choice with Ron Russell of Groz-Beckert
In this deep dive into sewing machine needles, Ron Russell of Groz-Beckert, the world’s leading supplier, gets to the point about The Agony of Choice
Have you ever been in the middle of a job and found yourself frustrated by skipped stitches, unsightly irregular stitches, or broken thread?
The sewing needle, perhaps the smallest of the tools we use every day, impacts the quality of our work in a really big way. With the wide variety available, not to mention all those mysterious letters and numbers on each box of needles, many of us either struggle to make the right choice, or flat out avoid choice by just grabbing a needle and hoping for the best. During this information packed webinar Ron Russell shares 30 years of expertise to help us choose wisely and achieve “the fewest problems possible” while sewing with our machines.
Ron walks us through:
- how to read the package to understand the quantity, quality, size, shape, and point of the needles inside
- the proper applications for standard and specialty variations titanium vs chromium coatings and their impact on performance and longevity
- point sizes and shapes and the effects they have on the appearance and strength of stitches for various applications
- and parameters for choosing the right size.
(As a bonus, Ron shares a quick and nifty trick for testing proper fit between a needle and thread.)
The webinar concludes with a discussion of Special Application Needles (SAN) that can make all the difference when sewing leather, vinyl, thick canvas, wovens, knits and bonded textiles as well as nuanced advice for avoiding the pitfalls of using a needle not well matched for the job.
Also included is a link to a handy needle size chart and an invitation from Ron to contact him anytime for needle suggestions and advice.
Missed the National Upholstery Association’s August Webinar? Click here to watch it!
