Needles and Other Musings

Article by Bobbie Ripperger

There has been discussion in several online lists and in several classes recently that prompt me to write about this subject: the referring to a Felting Needle size as thicker/bigger/shorter/smaller/higher than other sizes.

The next logical questions inevitably became:

"But does thicker/bigger/shorter/smaller/higher mean you've changed from #38 needle to 36 or 40?"

"Does that mean I should use my #36 Triangle Needle rather than #36 Star, because #36 Tri is half an inch longer than my #38 Star?"

Let me begin by stating a few statistics.

While there are several other styles or shapes of felting needles, we'll discuss mainly the profiles of the Star and Triangle profiles.

In the normal realm of things, needles and pins are created from wire. The number assigned each size refers to the thickness of the wire, also known as a Gauge.

The thinner the wire, the higher (larger) the number; e.g., I hand sew with size 8 and 10 needles. #10 is thinner than #8. But when someone refers to a "bigger needle" it's more difficult to discern if they're speaking of:

1 - a needle that has a thicker working shaft, or

2 - a needle designated by a higher number.

Both of these points can be entirely valid and yet point in exact opposite directions.

Let's examine the profiles of both needle designs:

(Pardon my shaky freehand sketches!)

First, let's enlarge our imaginary needles to one inch across. The Tri(angle) at the top has 3 flat-planed sides that are equally 1 inch from barbed edge to barbed edge in all directions.

The Star has 4 edges: the sides are not quite one inch apart, as-the-crow-flies, though they're pretty close when compared linearly. The concave shape was designed to give strength the narrow shaft, much the way plastic milk jugs have indents and embossed areas so the sides remain flexible yet somewhat rigid to support the thinner (than the top of the) bottle's sides.

You'll note that the thickness of the center portion on each needle is about equal within each size. And even though there are 4 Star sides to every 3 Tri sides, and the length between edges is about the same with both designs, the fact that the Star needles' 4 sides curve inward make the corner points that stick out toward the edges become triangles that are narrower across than the same on the Triangle needle corners. This leaves a smaller hole in the surface of the wool that a Tri profile will, which is why many people recommend using Star needles when the surface won't progress down through the thinner sizes of 40 & 42.

An aside, addressing the 'surface hole' condition': Pinch Blade (Foster Needles) felting needles are different in that the cross section of this 4-sided blade is diamond shaped, rather than square. There are two barbed edges which are 180 degrees opposed to each other (the 2 edges that extend further from each other than the other non-barbed edges.) Rather than being intended only for holding barbs, Pinch needles are designed to give total separation of the fibers being carried by each barbed edge. With triangular blades, each barb will partially carry fibers being needled by one or more of the other barbs. These fibers are allowed to wrap around the needle and enter the barbs of two or more edges. More effective and efficient needling can be accomplished with the two edges of the Pinch Blade than with the three rows of the triangular blade. This is due to each of the two Pinch Blade barbed edges working independently of the other; each side will carry a totally separate fiber load.

When one begins to needle through a freshly carded mass of wool, the fibers are all twisty and mixed up with each other, but they're standing farther away from each other than the width of any needles' edges. When the needle is thrust into the mass each of the barbs catch a certain amount of fiber and drags it through fibers that the needle passes. The rough edges surrounding the fibers catch on each other and hook together (simplified explanation!). Withdrawing the needle leaves those fibers in their new locations.

It has also reduced a small amount of the air space between the fibers it passed on the way in. Through thrusting repeatedly from all angles, the fibers are brought closer and closer together, until the needle begins to meet some resistance to being inserted into the mass.

At this point, it's time to either use the Star shape of the same size - the smaller center profile allows it to slip more easily into those narrowed-down spaces between the fibers - or to change to a needle with a thinner working shaft, which will have a higher number.

I've heard a lot of instructors say, "Begin with your largest needle and go to a bigger one when you change sizes".

Or "Begin with your #36 and go to a higher size.'

Without explaining the way gauge is determined, and what actually happens to fibers that are being Needle Felted, do you see how easily it is to leave needlers wondering which needle to use at what stage?

The other major consideration in choosing needles is the barb placements (besides first choosing -and knowing! - the breed of fiber you've chosen,) to match each stage of needling is another important topic.

We'll discuss both barb placements and fiber choices for particular projects in future columns.

TB3 of RKR4CDS © 2007

 

 

 

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