Home Sewing Machine Needle
When choosing your needle size and type you must consider the fabric that you will be sewing and the weight of thread that you are using and the technique you are doing. Needle choices will often be different for garment sewing, machine quilting and machine embroidery.
The point of the needle must be the correct shape to pierce the fabric easily without damaging the fibers.
The shaft must be thick enough to go through your fabric without bending but create the smallest hole possible.
(Too large a hole can cause the fabric to tear or wear more quickly and will allow the thread to slip back up through the hole. This will cause poor tension when sewing or pin pricking when machine quilting.)
The eye must be the correct size and shape to allow the thread to run smoothly without damaging it.
Too small an eye will cause abrasion to the thread causing it to shred and break.
Too large an eye will cause the thread to bounce in the eye of the needle also causing it to shred and break.
The groove down the front of your needle should be deep enough to allow your thread to ride smoothly inside to protect it from abrasion and give smooth stitching.
The scarf on the back allows the bobbin hook to loop your bobbin thread through the top thread to make a stitch. A needle that is too small or the wrong type can skip stitches because the scarf is not long or deep enough.
As a general rule the smaller the thread and /or the finer the fabric, the smaller the needle, the larger the thread and / or the heavier the fabric, the larger the needle.
Each type of needle has been made for a particular job and is named accordingly. They each have different attributes that should be considered along with your fabric, thread and the type of stitching when choosing your needle.
The correct needle for the fabric, thread and technique you are sewing has a huge impact on how your sewing machine can sew.
Good stitch quality and even stitching can only be achieved with the correct needle.
Change your needle often!!!!
The absolute maximum running time for a standard needle is eight hours under best conditions.
The thread you are using, the type of fabric you are sewing, the condition of your machine and how you sew all effect the wear on your needle.
A worn needle can cause broken or shredded thread, puckered fabric, damage to fabric, uneven stitching and skipped stitches.
I change my needle at the beginning of a new project or every six to eight hours for normal fabrics, every two to four hours for metallic or batik fabric.
The exception is a gold titanium needle.
Titanium is much harder than chrome or stainless steel and the gold coating makes the needle slide easily through your fabric. These needles can be run up to six times longer.
A dull needle or one with an incorrect point will make a “tucka tucka” sound as it goes through the fabric. Your machine can also feel as if the feed dogs are "slipping".
An example of a block pieced with a dull needle
Points do not match properly
Quilting 75/11 For good quality stitching and easy matching of points.
Quilting 90/14 As above for heavier fabrics such as flannel.
Microtex 80/12 Very slim with a sharp point.
Ideal for precision piecing especially where many small seams are involved.
Jeans 70/10 A reinforced blade makes the denim needle less likely to bend or break when going over multiple seams.
Jeans 90/14 My favorite for sewing flannel quilts or Minkie. Eliminates skipped stitches and reduces the fabrics tendency to stretch.
This block was pieced with a sharp needle.
The points match well.
For Thread Painting
Topstitch and Jeans 80/12 , 90/14
These needles have the strength to handle the motion of thread painting and protect delicate threads from abrasion as you build up layers of color and texture.
Quilting 75/11, 90/14
The needle I use most often when stitching medium to large designs or straight line quilting.
Gold Titanium Quilting 75/11, 90/14
As above but glides through the fabric with less resistance.
Stays sharp up to six times longer.
Very slim shaft reduces pin pricking. Small eye for less thread bounce. A wide variety of sizes available for thread weights and types from 100 weight silk to 50 weight cotton. 60/8 is my favorite for Micro Stitching.
Embroidery 75/11/ Gold Titanium 75/11
Excellent for quilting with rayon thread. Has sharp point, small eye and has deep groove in blade to protect thread.
For threads that need a larger eye or fabrics that resist needle penetration such as batiks, flannels or metallic.
For threads such as 12 and 30 weight cotton that require a large eye and very deep groove.
In Free Motion Quilting a small needle allows you to stitch a small design with smooth curves.
The smallest needle possible will help reduce pin pricking. A larger needle will help you stitch a larger design.
For Machine Embroidery
Embroidery 75/11, 90/14
Sharp point, fine blade with deep protective groove to stop thread abrasion.
As above, stays sharp up to six times longer.
Especially good quality stitches for dense embroidery or thread velvet.
For stitching through sticky stabilizer, batting or dense embroideries.
Prevents damage to fabric when embroidering on satin.
Microtex 70/10
Prevents damage to fabric when embroidering on fine silk.
For Garments and Home Decor
To have on hand for fabrics where the fiber content is not known or sewing satin.
Universal 90/14 For heavier fabrics of unknown fiber content.
Microtex 60/8, 70/10, 80/12, 90/14
Ideal for most light to medium weight fabrics.
Heavier blade for denim, chambray, coating and upholstery fabric.
Large eye for topstitching and sewing with heavier threads.
Prevents skipped stitches on knits.
Ball point prevents damage to fine knit fabrics.
Love them all for use in topstitching garments, quilting and decorative stitching.
For heirloom sewing and household linens.
Also available as a twin needle. One needle will be a wing and the other is usually a universal.
Wonderful fun! Allows you to run two colors of thread at the same time and maintain color separation. Ideal for machine quilting, thread painting and machine embroidery.
Like a twin needle but has three needles on one shaft.
Something as small as a needle will make all the difference in how easy to complete and professional looking your projects are.
Take the time to consider your needle choice at the beginning of each and every project and change your needle accordingly.
Needles, Needles, Needles is available as a Guild presentation.
Contact me for information on this and other classes;
Julie Plotniko juliesquiltclass@telus.net
