All About Needles: Part One
Imagine this: you’re sewing the last few stitches on your project, when, all of a sudden, your sewing machine needle breaks. You go to a craft store, just to find yourself staring at a wall full of needles, wondering why there are so many different types. Buying sewing needles shouldn’t be a guessing game, and knowing the difference between needle sizes and styles can truly make or break your project. The first step to achieving a fantastic result is understanding the difference between machine needles and hand-sewing needles and when to use them.
Machine sewing needles, as the name suggests, are the needles in a sewing machine. Sewing machine needles mainly vary in size and durability, each designed for a specific purpose. Choosing the right needle is essential for any project, as a needle may work wonderfully on one fabric, but potentially damage a different fabric. To help you choose the right needle for your project, I have listed some common machine sewing needles below and outlined the fabrics they are best suited for.
Universal Needles: The most common sewing machine needles; they have a slightly rounded tip that allows them to sew through woven and knit fabrics. Universal needles sew well with woven fabrics, cotton, silk, and some knit fabrics.
Ballpoint Needles: Needles with a more rounded tip, which allows them to push through fibres as opposed to piercing them. Ballpoint needles work best with knit and stretch fabrics such as cotton knits and fleece.
Stretch Needles: Needles that have a ballpoint tip and also contain a distinctive scarf*. Stretch needles are ideal for hard-to-sew stretchy fabrics such as spandex and elastic.
*A scarf is an indent on the back of a needle that allows for the bobbin hook to pass extremely close to the needle to grab the thread and form a stitch. Without a scarf, needles could break or cause skipped stitches. All machine sewing needles contain a scarf.
Sharp Needles: Needles that don’t tend to cause fabric to pucker and produce an even stitch. These qualities make sharp needles perfect for working with woven fabric such as muslin and chiffon.
Jeans Needles: Needles designed for working with denim. They have a sharp point and a strong shank (the part of the needle that attaches to the sewing machine), which prevents the needle from breaking. Jeans needles can also be used with other strong fabrics such as heavy twill, canvas, and upholstery fabric.
Leather Needles: Needles designed for working with leather. They are spear-shaped, which allows the needle to puncture the leather while forming the stitch. Leather needles shouldn’t be used on faux leather, as it has a very different composition from genuine leather.
Come back for the next blog post, where we’ll explore the world of hand-sewing needles and learn how to identify different needle types while shopping. Thanks for reading!