Knowing Needles Can Save Time and Labor

Needles can cause headaches and cost money if you use the wrong style or size, or don't replace them regularly.
April 1, 2009

Most embroidery shops can get by with the basic needle types: ball-points, sharps, large-eye needles and wedge-point needles. It's not necessary to change needles before every single job, but when it is time to do so, be sure to throw out old needles so you don't confuse them with new ones.

You may have heard the old joke about two embroiderers discussing when embroidery needles should be changed. The first embroiderer asks, "So how often do you change your needles?" To which the second embroiderer replies, "Oh, every time they break."

It's meant to be a little amusing, but it's really more of a reminder. Shop owners get so busy taking care of the many details of embroidery, the humble needle can be the last thing on their minds. Yet aside from stabilizer, probably no other component impacts quality as much as the needle used to create the embroidery stitch. Many fabrics are well-suited to embroidery using the most common needle type and size — the 75/11 light ballpoint. Yet, if this versatile needle type were suitable for all fabrics, why would needle manufacturers have developed so many different styles?

There also can be slight differences between needles of the same type from different manufacturers. You may find that a particular brand works best in your machine. Your machine manufacturer may recommend a particular brand of needle because of subtle differences in the length of the scarf, distance from the eye to the tip, or other physical characteristics. For this reason, it is recommended that you do not mix needle brands on the same head of a multi-needle machine. The needle is timed to the hook of the machine, and each different brand may require slight variations of hook timing.

Needle Types
What makes an embroidery needle different from a needle designed for sewing? In many instances, the same point type used in a needle designed for sewing a particular fabric crosses over to be the correct point type for embroidering that fabric, but not always.

It isn't so much the point type that makes an embroidery needle different from a sewing needle — there are other variables. The most noticeable difference is a larger eye that is designed to reduce friction on delicate decorative threads, resulting in fewer thread breaks. The eye of an embroidery needle is about twice the size of the eye on an equivalent sewing needle. In other words, the eye in a size 70/10 embroidery needle is similar in size to the eye in a 90/14 sewing needle. The larger eye leaves less metal in that area of the needle, making the embroidery needle more likely to break at the tip if it strikes a large ball of thread or a hard surface.

The eye and groove of embroidery needles also are highly polished to remove burrs or rough spots that could damage thread. This is particularly important for use with delicate rayon and other decorative threads. If you use very fine thread for delicate details or tiny letters, make sure that the size of the needle and eye are matched to a small thread size. If you use a needle that's too large, you won't achieve the desired precision stitching that's possible with small thread.

One type of embroidery needle is made especially for use with metallic thread. It has an even larger, specially shaped eye that reduces stress on delicate metallic threads.

It's important to match thread weight with needle size. When the needle's groove and eye are too large for the thread, the groove will not be able to do a proper job of guiding the thread, and the thread will not be controlled in the eye.

Household embroidery machines and some semi-commercial crossover machines use flat shank needles. The flat shank allows the needle to be inserted only in one position, thus ensuring that it is in the correct relationship to the rotary hook. Most commercial embroidery machines use a round shank needle that is available in a wider variety of point and blade types. Flat or round shank needles are both available in embroidery and sewing varieties.

Selecting a Needle
Blade Size. One of the first things to consider when selecting a needle is blade size, such as 75/11 or 90/14. If you have ever wondered why there are two numbers in this designation, the reason is that it is a combination of the European and American size designation numbering systems.

The first number, such as 65 or 80, is the European designation and refers to the metric measure of the blade diameter. For example, a size 80 needle has a 0.80 mm blade width. The second number, such as 11 or 14, is the American (or Asian) numbering system. This sizing system was formerly used by Singer. The numbers are arbitrary and assigned such that a smaller number indicates a smaller blade diameter.

You should choose a smaller blade on fine woven or knitted fabrics, and a larger blade for tough fabrics that could cause needle deflection. The point must also enter the fabric easily so it does not deflect when it contacts the fabric, which could cause the needle to strike the metal surrounding or inside the hole in the needle plate.

Point Types for Different Purposes
Different point types are needed to penetrate cleanly and without damage on a variety of fabric types. The needle point types used for commercial embroidery include:

Acute Round Point: designation SPI • Slender sharp point • Used to penetrate high thread count fabrics, microfibers and certain synthetics

Normal Round Point: designation R • Normal sharp point • Used for woven fabrics, including finished caps

Light Ballpoint: designation SES • Designed to spread yarn in knitted fabrics rather than piercing them to maintain the structural integrity of the knit

Medium Ballpoint: designation SUK • Spreads heavier yarns used in heavier knitted fabrics


The two most common point types used for sewing and embroidering are sharp point and light ballpoint. The others can be considered specialty needles intended for sewing specific fabric types but not necessarily when embroidering on them.

For example, cutting-point needles used for some sewing applications are not recommended for embroidery for two reasons. First, using a cutting point to apply the highly concentrated needle penetrations required for embroidery could damage the embroidery surface. Second, cutting tips can damage the embroidery itself. For example, if you embroider lettering on top of a base fill stitched area, the thread in the base fill could be cut.

A subcategory of cutting point needles — called wedge- or chisel-points — often are recommended for embroidering leather. While these needles are appropriate for sewing straight seams in leather, they make holes in leather that are too large for the close proximity of embroidery stitches.

Sharp point needles, also called round point, are generally used for woven fabrics. Use an acute round with a more slender tip to penetrate tightly woven fabrics, including microfiber fabrics and similar.

Needle Finishes
Most sewing and embroidery needles are chromium plated to enhance durability and appearance. Titanium-coated needles are more expensive than chromium-plated needles, but they can last as much as five to seven times longer than chromium-plated counterparts.

They also reduce friction on the thread, which reduces thread breakage and saves time and labor. Titanium needles are a golden color and are available in the most popular sizes.

Changing Needles
A basic guideline that many professional embroiderers use to determine when to change needles is the "three strikes" rule. Here's how it works. When there have been three consecutive thread breaks on a needle, it should be changed.

Changing a needle is one of the simplest types of troubleshooting. Set the needle aside while you determine whether a fresh needle corrects the problem. If you determine that the needle was the likely cause of the problem, discard in an old medicine bottle or other sharp-safe container.

Deborah Jones is a commercial and home embroiderer with more than 30 years experience in the computerized embroidery field. For more information or to comment on this article, e-mail Deborah at deborah_jones247@yahoo.com.

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