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@floppy_loops ·

Why are my punch needle loops so big?

Started punch needle in January and I still cannot get even loops. I flip the hoop over and the back is a mess of long floppy loops at wildly different lengths, more shaggy than carpet.

Every guide I find is about loops pulling out, which is not my problem. Adjustable needle, monk's cloth, worsted yarn. What am I doing that makes them long rather than short?

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  • @drum_tight · 2h ago

    Check the fabric tension too. Punch needle wants drum tight, and monk's cloth that has relaxed in the hoop lets loops slip and shift, which reads as uneven length.

    And look at the yarn feed. It should flow into the needle freely, so pull a generous slack length off the ball and make sure it is not catching. Any tug on the yarn and the needle drags loops back and forth as you work.

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  • @drum_tight · 2h ago · 2 replies

    Start with the needle, because an adjustable one is the only part of this that sets loop length directly. A longer setting makes bigger loops, and plenty of people never touch it after unboxing. Shorten it, test on scrap, and find out whether that was the whole problem before changing anything about your technique.

    The other half of your description, wildly different lengths rather than uniformly long, is a technique thing and it has two usual causes.

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    • @floppy_loops · 2h ago

      What are the two? I assume one of them is me.

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