Hidden Threads

So, you thought that a needle was just a thin piece of metal with a hole at the top and a pointy end. Not so. Today’s needles are sophisticated, and none are more complex than the needles we use in our sewing machines.

Sewing is great fun, and you can avoid some of the hassle of broken thread and catawampus seams if you learn about your tools. One small but important tool is your needle.

What’s the Point

You’d expect all needles to have a wickedly sharp point, the better to pierce the fabric. Nope. The needles most often sold with machines, or displayed for sale in high volume fabric outlets, are universal needles. Designed to be a ‘neutral’ style of needle that can work on a variety of fabrics, a universal needle has a minute ball-point, not a sharp tip. This is great for sewing knitted fabrics, not so much so when dealing with cotton, the fabric of choice for quilters. For your quilting projects, use Sharp needles.

Needle Numbers – What’s with all the Numbers and Slashes

There’s nothing like making choosing a needle simple, but clearly some instruction is needed if you are going to understand the numbers that identify different varieties of needles. So here’s a short primer on needle numbers and such:

European and American needles are numbered differently. Sad, I know. Needles are marked for both identification systems. This is the explanation for the slash. When you buy sewing machine needles, they’ll probably be marked something like this xx/xx. The number before the slash is the European number, and the number after the slash is its corresponding American number. As a brief example, 70/10 needles are a common quilting size. They have a European number of 70 and an American identification number of 10.

Okay, the other thing you need to know is that the lower the numbers get the finer the needle is. This is important, so I’ll repeat it: Finer needles have smaller numbers.

Machine Needle Savvy

For general piecing with *regular cotton fabric, use an 80/12 needle; for piecing batiks or other high thread count fabrics, use a 70/10; for flannel fabrics use a 90/14; and for bindings and borders use an 80/12.

The Needle Scarf

Let’s orient our needles. We’ll call the side of the needle with the flat portion of the shaft the back. The back of the needle has a depression around the thread hole called a scarf where the stitch is actually created by the bobbin and needle threads.

The Front Groove

There is a long indentation that runs down the front of the needle from near the base of the shaft to the eye (hole). This groove allows the thread to nestle into the needle and avoid excessive wear as the needle goes in and out of the fabric. The more specialized or delicate the thread, the more it needs an appropriately sized groove. Some of the specialty needles sold for specific threads varieties are modified in this area. Threads like metallics need a deep groove because they can shred if they encounter too much wear and tear.

Needle and Thread Go Hand in Glove

This is the rule of thumb with needles: You want a good fitting needle for the thread you are using. Too small a needle hole (big thread) means wear and tear on the thread. If the needle is too large, there’s a disproportionately large hole in the fabric for the diameter of the thread. This will make wobbly seams.

Final Needle Thoughts

Change your needle frequently. It’s appealing to just leave the needle alone, especially when you’re on a roll, but needles dull quickly. After eight hours of sewing time, change out your needle. Your work will benefit. It’s also a good idea to get in the habit of changing your needle when you begin a new project.

There are other needle factoids and space age needle improvements that we could discuss, but these are the basics. If you have doubts about the needle you should be using for a project, read the information on the thread spool, or visit the thread or needle manufacturer’s Website.

*Quality cotton fabric has about 68×68 threads per square inch.

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