Compare the Bohin #9 Crewel and John James #26 Chenille Needles

These are wonderful needles! I use them when I hand quilt with #12 or #8 perle cotton threads. The Bohin #9 Crewel needle is also great for other sewing tasks like hand piecing and English paper piecing. I have both of these needles in my sewing kit.
Shop Bohin #9 Crewel: pieceocake.com/collections/pi...
Shop John James 26 chenille: pieceocake.com/products/john-...
Shop needles: pieceocake.com

[@nattamused9074]

I am trying to hand quilt my first grandbaby’s quilt. I’ve hand quilted seven baby’s quilts, using various styles, some little Amish-like stitches, and some with the more modern large, embroidery/sashiko style.
I’m done with the piecing, and basting, and I’m now trying to do nice, small, beside the ditch quilting around the main designs, in plain white hand quilting thread.
I’m rusty, and my stitches are pretty bad. They’re uneven, and larger than I’d like. I’m struggling to even keep my lines straight.
My needles and thimble sure ain’t helping! Bending, breaking, slipping.
So, I’ve been watching UA-cam for advice. It looks like the Bohin sz. 10 hand quilting needle has a good reputation, but my local quilt shop only carries Dritz, Clover, and John James.
Should I buy something from their shop, or mail order the Bohin?
I think I’m going to use sashiko needles and some embroidery floss in a contrasting color for the more decorative open white areas.

[@BeckyGoldsmith]

First, give yourself time to find the rhythm again.
It is possible your batting is the problem. The thicker (and denser) the batt, the harder it is to go small. I use Quilter's Dream Request Weight... it's cotton and very thin. If your batt is too thick, it is going to be hard to get small stitches.
For the smaller stitches with hand quilting thread (glazed maybe?), try either the Clover or John James, they are good needles. I use a #12 for hand quilting with that weight thread, but if you want to go bigger, the #10 hand quilting needle will work.
Embroidery floss is not a good choice for hand quilting. It is not twisted tightly enough to hold together well when pulled through all the layers many times. If you use more strands, it gets thick and harder to pull through layers. I would suggest perle cotton instead and there are a variety of weights to choose from. The thicker the thread, the bigger the needle will need to be. Sashiko needles might work, or you may need to go to a chenille or embroidery needle.
I hope this helps!

[@nattamused9074]

@@BeckyGoldsmith Thank you! It sure does help! I have used embroidery floss in the past for my large decorative stitches, but I’ve seen in UA-cam that many large stitch hand quilters recommend the perle cotton thread. I’m looking forward to trying it.

[@nattamused9074]

@@BeckyGoldsmith Also, my batting does seem a little troublesome to me. I chose Warm and Natural cotton. It is thin, but it seems tightly packed, and has some irregularities and imperfections like little woody natural cotton fibers.

[@BeckyGoldsmith]

@@nattamused9074 Yeah... that would not be my first, second, or even third choice. It's great for some projects but not so much for hand quilting.