Thread Picker

Thread Picker is the tail-burying tool of longarm finishing — the fine pick that pulls every start-and-stop thread tail into the batting, the difference between quilted and finished.

Product Details

• Job: Pulls top and bobbin tails through the layers and buries them in the batting — no visible tails on either face
• Technique: Leave 4–6" tails at each start/stop, catch with the picker, pull through, trim flush
• Threads: All weights — 40wt Glide/Omni through 50wt So Fine! and heavier
• Workflow: Bury as you quilt or after unloading — as-you-go prevents losing stop points on complex work
• Also for: Domestic free-motion finishing — same tails, same tool

Frequently Asked Questions

Why bury tails at all?

The professional line — clipped-flush tails eventually work loose and stitching unravels from the ends; knotted-and-visible tails read as unfinished. Buried in the batting, the tail is locked and invisible, which is the standard client, show, and gift quilts are judged by.

How many tails is a real quilt?

Pantographs run 4–8; dense custom work runs 50–100+ — which is why the dedicated tool exists. At volume, seconds per tail with a picker versus a fumbled hand needle is an hour per quilt.

Picker or self-threading needle?

Both bury — the picker's point drives through compressed layers easier and catches the tail without threading an eye each time; hands that bury dozens per quilt migrate to the picker.

The as-you-go argument?

On custom work, stops hide inside dense stitching — burying before the quilt advances means never hunting for a tail across a finished queen.

Companion practice?

Consistent 4–6" tails at every start — too short to grab is the one mistake the tool can't fix.