An assortment of needle cases

Choosing the correct machine needles can be very confusing, as you need to choose the correct type as well as the correct size.choose the correct type according to the type of fabric, choose the size according to the weight of the fabric.

Often when there is an issue with your sewing machine it can simply be because of the wrong type and size of the needle. As I mentioned in previous posts needles should be changed regularly. Ideally, before you start a new project

let’s look at the different  types of needles

universal/standard point

These type of needles should only be used for sewing woven fabrics such as crepe de chine, silks, voiles, cotton, suiting. a good general purpose needle

jersey/ballpoint /stretch 

These needles have a more rounded point ideally suited for sewing stretch and knitted fabrics as it can pierce through without damaging the fibers . if universal needle was used for this type of fabric it would skip stitches, pull and  gather the fabric. for highly stretch fabric or elastic then a stretch needle would be more suitable.

jeans/denim

This type of needle has a very sharp point which can pierce through the material s without damaging the fabric.

microtex (sharp)

This type of needle is for foils, faux leather, and coated fabrics. The sharpness of this needle is ideal for precision stitching  piercing through the fabric without damaging it

metallic/embroidery

These needles are designed for metallic and embroidery threads, they have a larger eye to feed the thread through to stop the thread from snapping and breaking.

leather

This type of needle is suitable for sewing leathers and faux leather.

quilting 

This needle is designed especially for machine quilting as it is able to pierce through layers of fabric and eliminate skipped stitches.

Choosing the different sizes generally depends on the weight of the fabric

Needle chart size