Weird random questions for anyone

[dianec42]

In my capacity as know-it-all, I recently stumbled upon something I don't know, and it's driving me nuts.

I asked on Reddit, but apparently I did a terrible job of phrasing the question, so allow me a brief story time here:

Aida cloth and tapestry needles both come in various sizes/scales. For aida cloth, it's 14/16/18 etc; for needles it's 24/26/28. For both, the higher the number the smaller the thing.

And for aida cloth (or evenweave) the numbers actually mean something - 14-count aida has 14 squares to the inch, for example.

Question: What about needle sizes? Do the numbers mean anything in absolute scale? Like, you could fit 28 size-28 needles in a centimeter or something? Or are they just arbitrary and relative?

I can't be the only person who wonders about these things, right? Right? :D


Bonus question: Is "Stitch People" out of print? What's the go-to nowadays for people and people accessories? I'm too lazy to design my own (barely getting un-lazy enough to try putting something together from parts).

Comments

[dianec42]

Thanks... I know. :)

The thing I'm wondering about is whether the number (24, 26, 28...) has any meaning in and of itself!

[topaz_eyes]

Aside from higher number = smaller size needle, it seems somewhat arbitrary to me? I'm guessing it's to distinguish tapestry (blunt) needles from other common (sharp) types. The other common types use a numbering system between #1 to #12 (with a few exceptions). Tapestry needles start at #13.

(E.g., #26 tapestry and #8 embroidery needles are the same diameter (0.61 mm) and length (34 mm). #24 tapestry is the same diameter (0.76 mm) as #5 embroidery, but is shorter (37 mm vs 41.5 mm).)

The John James website has a neat needle size guide for comparison.