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Susan · Senior Member

Starter kit: Basic rooting

Mo · Senior Member

The Needles that come with it are 38 gauge 3-barbs, i bought this kit, the needles are very good!

Hope that helps lol

Susan · Senior Member

thanks Mo. =)

I think that for a start those needles are ok, but what are the best needles?

Mo · Senior Member

Well for a more experiance reborner is 42 gauge 3 barbed needles, these needles are good for micro rooting, but i used the 38 gauge ones are best to start out with

The Baby in my avatar, her hair was rooted with the 38 gauge needles

They are best to start out with

hope that helps again lol!

Susan · Senior Member

ok thanks Mo..!

shakyhandsme · Senior Member

Susan, the needles come in a variety of sizes and shapes, triangle, star.. etc. If you look up needle felting you will find many dealers who have the many different sizes and shapes, just look for felting needles. They will tell you the size and shape, number of barbs on the needles... Weir Dolls and Crafts carries the best selection I have seen so far, but choose your own.

Pat C.

Susan · Senior Member

Oh thanks Pat C... I was so confussed about the needles.

bandycoote · Veteran Member

It is my understanding that with regular felting needles (not the German barbless needles) they come in a whole range of varieties (triangle, star, number of barbs, etc.). The general rule on gages is that the higher number gage, the finer the needle. For example the 38 gage is a thicker or bigger needle than a 42 gage, and 43 gage is smaller than the 42. The gist of it is higher gage number is a finer needle & lower gage number is thicker/bigger. This is just MY understanding... Please ladies if I'm incorrect, by all means set me straight! I'm certainly not an expert!

shakyhandsme · Senior Member

Bandycoote, You have that part right... the higher the number the smaller the needle... as for shapes, it seems to be a personal preference. The number of barbs on the needle also determines how much "hair" the needle will grab. That's kind of why I like triangle needles, they usually have fewer barbs...

Pat C.

Buffington · Guru

I too like the triangle needles and they come in 40-42 guage I believe. I like them because yes, they do have 3 barbs but they also only have one of those barb per edge (triangles have 3 edges) and it's almost like using the German no barb as it only puts in 1-2 hairs at a time. They are the most sturdy needle of any I have used.

When you hold that needle, make sure you have 1 edge down to grab the hairs, the flat side of the needle will be pointing up. You have to make sure that flat side is up or the edge you are rooting with won't be on the bottom touching the head. I usually tell people to take a peice of paper and fold it like a triangle, then practice holding it so you get the hang of how it's supposed to work. The edge of each fold of the paper is where your barb (or cut in the needle) is so you can see on a larger scale how it would work.

Hope I'm making sense. If not, get back to me and I'll explain more. :)