Needles for sewing machines

Progress in sewing machines manufacturing and developing new sewing techniques is followed by the advance changes in parts used for sewing. We will talk about the needles for sewing machine.

Sewing machine needles are the most changeable part of your sewing machine and they can change how your machine forms stitches. Understanding how the parts of a sewing machine needle work will help you choose the correct size for the fabric and thread you are sewing. Understanding the sizing information on the needle packages will help you purchase the correct size.

Let’s learn some information about the needle anatomy. The key features of a standard machine needle are point, thinner point, eye, scarf, front groove, shaft, and shank.

Point.

It is a needle tip that penetrates fabric to pass thread to bobbin-hook and form stitch. There are points intended for textile fabrics and points for leather. The first one is round-shaped and penetrates fabric, while the second one is razor-formed and cuts the fabric. The correct point helps form a good stitch and avoid fabric damage.

Thinner point.

When a needle eye penetrates fabric, there is strongest pressure on fabric. Thinner point reduces needle pressure on fabric and its damaging at penetrating points.

Eye.

Hole in end of needle through which thread passes. Needle size and type determine size and shape of eye.

Front groove.

It is slit above needle eye, which should be large enough to cradle thread for smooth stitches.

Scarf.

It is indentation at needle back. A long scarf helps eliminate skipped stitches by allowing bobbin hook to loop thread more easily. A shorter scarf requires a more perfectly timed machine.

Shank.

It is a needle top part that inserts into machine; most often this part has round front and flat back, which seats needle in right position.

Shaft.

It is body of needle below shank. Shaft thickness determines needle size. When selecting a needle for regular sewing, start with needle size. European needles range in size from 60 to 150, which refers to the diameter taken on the shaft right above the eye. American needles are sized from 8 to 19 in an arbitrary numbering system, and paired with corresponding European sizes, for example 60/8 or 70/10; the larger the number, the larger the needle. The opposite is with thread thickness ranging from 18 to 80: the larger the number, the thinner the thread. Almost all home-sewing machines use 130/705H needle system. It should be noted, that overlocker needles differ from sewing machines needles and they are not interchangeable.

Double Eye Needles

System 705 DE

Two eyes allow unique dual thread decorative sewing. The universal needle point enables sewing on both woven and knit fabrics. Used for embroidery and topstitching with decorative threads to produce decorative seams. Two different threads can be used for shading and texturing effects. These needles work in machines that use the 130/705H system needles.

Embroidery Needles

System 130/705 H-E

The enlarged eye and groove makes this a perfect needle for trouble free embroidery with the more fragile embroidery threads. For use with rayon and other specialty machine embroidery threads including polyesters. The beautiful sheen of these threads results in outstanding embroidery work. The special scarf, long smooth groove, and large eye, of this needle protect these more fragile threads and guard against excess friction.

Embroidery Spring Needles

System 130/705 H SPR

The individual spring around each needle acts as a presser foot allowing better vision for decorative free motion and embroidery projects. The sewing machine presser foot must be removed.

Embroidery Twin Needles

System 130/705 H-E ZWI NE 2.0 / System 130/705 H-E ZWI NE 3.0

The Embroidery Twin Needle is perfect for trouble free decorative sewing of dual rows of fragile embroidery threads. Available in 2 mm and 3 mm widths, size 75/11 needles.

Gold Titanium Embroidery Needles

System 130/705 H-E Gold

The slightly rounded point and enlarged eye are perfect for embroidery on most fabrics and with the most fragile specialty threads. The titanium coating improves needle wear resistance as well as penetration of coarse or densely woven fabrics.

Hemstitch Needles System

130/705 H Wing

Sometimes called a Wing Needle. The wing on each side of the needle creates decorative open work on light or medium weight woven fabrics. It can be used to produce hemstitching and various creative embroidery effects. This needle should be used with caution as it is very sharp and is made to actually cut the fabric.

Double Hemstitch Needles

System 130/705 H ZWIHO

The Double Hemstitch Needle combines a wing needle and a universal needle with a 2.5 mm separation for decorative stitching in dual rows. Size 100/16 needles.

Jeans/Denim Needles

System 130/705 H-J

The modified medium ball point and a reinforced blade makes this needle perfect for penetrating extra thick woven fabrics or quilts with minimum deflection and reduced risk of damaged fabric and skipped stitches. This advanced point design is a Schmetz exclusive. The heavier jeans threads work best with the larger needle.

Jeans Twin Needles

System 130 H-J ZWI NE 4.0

The Twin Jeans Needle is perfect for sewing double rows at the same time on extra thick woven fabrics with minimum deflection and reduced risk of damaged fabric and skipped stitches. Made especially for sewing through densely woven materials such as denim or imitation leather. It is both strong and sharp.

Jersey (Ball Point) Needles

System 130/705 H SUK

The medium ball point makes it perfect for knit fabrics and some stretch fabric. Its unique point does not damage or break knitted fibers.

Leather Needles

System 130/705 H LL

The cutting point on this needle makes it perfect for penetrating leather and similar materials. Definitely not for knit or woven fabrics and some synthetic leathers.

Metallic Needles

System 130 MET

A must for sewing with metallic threads. The elongated eye and enlarged groove makes this needle perfect for trouble free sewing and embroidery with the more fragile metallic threads. It has a double sized, polished, and Teflon coated eye to assure smooth flow of thread. If your customers have struggled with metallics before and blamed the thread, have them try again with this specialty needle for trouble free embellishment with these beautiful but fragile threads.

Metallic Twin Needles

System 130 MET ZWI NE 2.5

The Metallic Twin Needle is the perfect needle for sewing dual rows of metallic thread simultaneously.

Microtex Needles

System 130/705 H-M

The very slim acute point on this needle makes it perfect for piercing fine or densely woven fabrics, micro fibre materials and synthetic leather. Produces a great straight stitch. It was developed for the modern micro- fibers and polyesters and high thread count, high quality fabrics used today. The point is very sharp — thus the name — but because of this it is a bit more fragile and needs to be changed more regularly. This is a great needle for piecing high thread count fabrics like Batiks, silks, and microfibers. It is also used for beautiful topstitching or edge stitching.

Quilting Needles

System 130/705 H-Q

The slim acute point and tapered tip make this needle perfect for piercing tightly woven quilting fabrics without damage. Made especially for piecing and machine quilting. The thin tapered design of these needles allows them to pass through many layers smoothly to help eliminate skipped stitches and keep stitches even. These needles come in size 75 which is fine for piecing with 50 weight threads or size 90 which works well with heavier plain or variegated 40 weight threads for quilting.

Self/Quick Threading Needles

System 705 HDK

This is a Universal Needle with a small slip-in threading slot in the needle eye to make threading effortless. A general purpose needle for people who have difficulty threading needles. These needles are helpful for children, those with vision problems, or those having difficulties with fine motor coordination resulting from arthritis or other conditions.

Stretch Needles

System 130/705 H-S

The medium ball point and specially designed eye and scarf help reduce skipped stitches and make this needle perfect for both knits and elastic or stretch fabrics.

Stretch Twin Needles

System 130/705 H-S ZWI NE 2.5 & 4.0

The stretch twin is well suited for sewing dual rows of stitches on both knits and elastic or stretch fabrics. 2.5 mm and 4 mm widths, size 75 needles.

Topstitch Needles

System 130 N

The very long eye (2mm in all sizes) makes this needle perfect for all types of decorative sewing and embroidery when using heavy or multiple threads. This needle helps stitch perfectly straight lines and even stitches. It is helpful to use a straight stitch plate if you are expecting perfectly straight top stitching results.

Universal Needles System

130/705 H

The slightly rounded Universal point makes it perfect for sewing on a variety of knit and woven fabrics. This is a great general purpose needle. A casual sewer who might repair a pair of jeans today, a child’s t-shirt tomorrow, and some lingerie next month will probably use this needle most often. It will do a number of tasks sufficiently. It has a long scarf that is great for zigzag stitching and it does not damage knits. It is sharp enough to go through a lot of fabrics but it does have a slight ball point which does not make it ideal for going through many layers or high thread count fabrics.

Universal Twin Needles System

130/705 H ZWI NE 1.6, 2.0, 2.5, 3.0 & 4.0

With narrowly spaced needles, this Universal Twin Needle is perfect for sewing dual rows of stitches.

Universal Twin Needles

— Wide System 130/705 H ZWI BR NE 6.0 & 8.0

With widely spaced needles, this Universal Twin Needle is perfect for sewing dual rows of stitches with a variety of threads on a variety of fabrics.

Universal Triple Needles

System 130/705 DRI NE 2.5 & 3.0

The Universal Triple Needle allows stitching of three rows simultaneously.