Page 2 for listings

THE SEWING MACHINE NEEDLE IS THE MOST CRUCIAL ELEMENT IN THE STITCH FORMING PROCESS.  And yet selecting a needle can be very confusing.  Perhaps we can help you with this situation with the following information.

NEEDLE PARTS

SHANK - The upper part of the needle which is inserted into the needle bar & locked into place with a needle clamp screw. The back side of the shank is flat and the front rounded. ALWAYS insert the needle with the flat side facing away from you.
SHAFT - The lower part of the needle below the shank.
GROOVE - The hollowed out area on the front of the needle just above the eye.
EYE - The opening in the tip of the needle for the thread.
POINT - The tip of the needle which punches the hole in the fabric.
     Sewing machine needles come in many different types and sizes. The one you use depends on the type & weight of fabric you intend to sew. The lower the needles number the finer the needle.

#60 - Silks
#70 - Lightweight fabrics
#80 - Medium weight fabrics
#90 - Medium heavyweight fabrics
#100 - Heavy weight fabrics
#110 - Upholstery fabrics.

WHAT DO THOSE NUMBERS MEAN?

Home sewing machine needles use a dual designation to represent the size.  The first number is the metric measurement of the diameter of the needle shaft. The second is the Singer number. So 80/12 means the needle diameter is .80 mm/ 12 is the generally known Singer size.  Just remember that the smaller the number the thinner the needle.

HOME SEWING MACHINE NEEDLE ABC.

With many thanks to SCHMETZ for the following

• ARTIFICIAL LEATHER use JEANS #90 or #100 or LEATHER #80 or #90.
• ARTIFICIAL SILK use UNIVERSAL #60 0r #70.
• BED SPREADS use JEANS #90 or #100.
• BED TICKS use UNIVERSAL #80 or #90 with a large number of stitches/cm and the bobbin thread thicker than the needle thread.
• BLOUSES use UNIVERSAL #70 or #80.
• BONDED FABRICS (artificial leather, vinyl or waxed cloth) use JEANS #90.
• CALF LEATHER use LEATHER #80 0r #90. Leather needles are not suitable for textiles.
• CAMBRIC use UNIVERSAL #70.
• CANVAS use JEANS #90, #100 or #110.
• CHIFFON use UNIVERSAL NEEDLE #60 0r #70.
• COARSE KNITTED MATERIAL use BALL POINT #80 or #90.
• CORDUROY use JEANS #90, #100 or #110. TEXT
• CURTAINS use BALL POINT #80 or #90.
• DECORATIVE THREADS use EMBROIDERY #75 or #90.
• DENIMS use JEANS #90, #100 or #110.
• DOUBLE ORNAMENTAL SEAMS use appropriate TWIN NEEDLE (only for zig-zag machines with transversal hook!).
• DRESSES use UNIVERSAL #70 or #80.
• ELASTIC MATERIAL (jersey, lycra) STRETCH #75 or #90 or BALL POINT #80 or #90.
• EMBROIDERING use EMBROIDERY #75 or #90.
• FOUNDATION GARMENTS use UNIVERSAL #70 or #80 or BALL POINT #70 or #80.
• GEORGETTE use UNIVERSAL #60 or #70.
• GOATSKIN use LEATHER #80 or #90.
• HALF-LINEN use UNIVERSAL #70 or #80.
• HEAVY WOVENS use UNIVERSAL #70, #80 or #90.
• HELANCA use BALL POINT #70 or #80.
• HIGHLY ELASTIC KNITTED MATERIAL (lycra, silk jersey) use STRETCH #75 or #90.
• JEANS use JEANS #90, #100 or #110.
• JERSEY use BALL POINT #70 or #80 or STRETCH #75 or #90.
• KNITWEAR use BALL POINT #70, #80 or #90.
• LEATHER (also hard artificial leathers) use #100 or #110.
• LIGHTWEIGHT FABRICS ( linen, poplin, silk) use UNIVERSAL #70 or #80.
• LIGHTWEIGHT JERSEY use STRETCH #75.
• LINEN use UNIVERSAL #80 or #90.
• LYCRA use STRETCH #90 or BALL POINT #90.
• METALLIC THREADS use METALLICA #75 or #90.
• MICROFIBRE FABRICS use MICROTEX #60, #70. #80 or #90.
• ORGANDY use UNIVERSAL #60 or #70.
• OVERALLS use JEANS #100 or #110.
• PATCHWORK use QUILTING #75 or #90.
• PIGSKIN use LEATHER #80 or #90.
• POPLIN use UNIVERSAL #70 or #80.
• QUILTING use QUILTING # 75 or #90.
• SAIL CLOTH use JEANS #90 or #100.
• SHIRTS use UNIVERSAL #70 or #80.
• SILK use MICROTEX #70.
• SILK JERSEY use STRETCH #75 or #90.
• SINGLE JERSEY use STRETCH #75.
• SUEDE use LEATHER #80 or #90.
• SUITS use UNIVERSAL #89 or #90.

TO AVOID PUCKERING

     Apart from tension, you can help eliminate puckering, especially in fine fabrics, by using a fine sharp needle and a straight stitch throat plate. The fine sharp needle will punch through the fabric with less drag and the straight stitch throat plate will give more support to the fabric as the needle punches through it. A straight stitch throat plate has a round hole for the needle as opposed to the wide hole designed for zigzag sewing. This is often an optional accessory for your machine. You will get the best, even seam using a Jean/Sharp needle with a straight stitch throat plate.
 

As well as a straight stitch plate, a straight stitch foot is also recommended because, like the throat plate, it has a small round hole instead of a wide rectangular one.

In machine embroidery, it is important to use a thick enough needle to punch a big enough hole to allow the embroidery thread sufficient access to prevent damage to the thread and thereby shredding and breaking.

SCHMETZ EMBROIDERY NEEDLES
These needles are designed with a special scarf and large eye to virtually eliminate shredding and breaking, especially for rayon embroidery threads.

 SCHMETZ JEANS NEEDLES
These needles have very sharp tapered points and are designed for denim and similar densely woven fabrics or multiple layers of fabric.
Also good for artificial leather, waxed cloth and vinyl. The point and shaft are designed to penetrate these dense fabrics without pushing the fabric down into the hole in the needle plate.

SCHMETZ LEATHER NEEDLES
These needles have a knife edge cutting point to punch through the thickness of the leather and makes a hole as it does so.
They are also suitable for synthetic leathers.
DO NOT USE ON TEXTILES.
When embroidering leather it is not advisable to use dense designs or satin stitch because the needle will literally cut out the design.

SCHMETZ METALLICA/TOPSTITCHING NEEDLES
These needles have been specifically designed to accommodate all the metallic threads being introduced into today's market. With an extra large eye to make threading easier and take heavier thread. This large eye also helps prevent shredding and breaking. They have a large groove to make the stitches with delicate metallic threads with less friction, again to prevent shredding.
They are the only needle to use for the new flat metallic like Sulky Sliver and Madeira Jewel threads. Large topstitching needles may look very thick, but are ideal for dense embroidery & touchy threads. Are available in packs of 5 in size 90/14 for topstitching.

SCHMETZ QUILTING NEEDLES
These needles are designed with a special taper to the point which assists in successfully sewing the thick layers and crossed seams in any patchwork or quilting project

SCHMETZ STRETCH NEEDLES
These needles are thinner, have a special rounded point & are Teflon coated for smooth penetration & to prevent cutting the fine threads in highly elastic synthetic knitwear, lightweight and silk jerseys. The special point tends to go between the threads rather than through them and prevents skipped stitches. If a Ballpoint needle is skipping stitches try a Stretch needle

TWIN NEEDLES

Are two needles on the one shank to sew parallel lines of stitches.  They come in varying widths and sizes. Their use depends on the fabric weight and the type of sewing machine you have. To use these needles your machine should have zigzag capability and a throat plate that has a hole wide enough for the needle (s).  Also, you will need more than 1 spool of thread. The numbers on these needles are a little different.  The first number is the space or distance between the needles, the second is the needle size.  You can also find triple needles usually labeled “drilling needles”

Page 2