How to Choose a Sewing Needle?

Probably every beginning seamstress asks herself this question. Especially when unpleasant “surprises” occur in the form of a snapped thread, a broken needle, or uneven and messy stitches. In the worst cases, choosing the wrong needle can even result in damage to your sewing machine! That’s because the sewing needle is one of the main components of the whole process. Today I’ll try to explain in detail how to choose the right needle depending on the task at hand.

Let's examine the construction of the machine needle:

Shank – the thickened top of the needle that is installed in the sewing machine. In industrial machines it is round; in domestic machines it is flat on one side.

Shaft or stem – the main narrow part of the needle. The shaft diameter = the needle size.

Point – the tapering of the shaft from the eye to the tip.

Tip – the sharp end of the needle (can have different shapes). The needles familiar to us for hand sewing have a simpler construction: eye, shaft, point and tip.

Overlock/serger needles have the same components as machine needles but are made differently. Machine and overlock needles are not interchangeable.

Now let's move on to markings.

Hand-sewing needles are not labeled. You can tell what a specific needle is for by its name: universal, embroidery, darning, leather sewing needle, beading needle… In addition to the name, the package indicates the needle size: from 1 to 15 or from 13 to 26 (different systems).

Sewing machine needles are marked with a special code, which lets you find the needed part among your supplies without keeping it in the package. The code is numbers and letters on the shank.

Numbers indicate the thickness of the part in hundredths of a millimeter or in hundredths of an inch. For example, number 60 = 0.6 mm. Sometimes manufacturers show two numbers at once, then they are written as a fraction: 80/12.

Letters orient you to the machines and materials the needle is intended for. For example, the letter H denotes a universal needle with a slightly rounded tip. A dash indicates clarifications regarding the fabric type.

Below I'll list the main variations of needle markings:

• H-J – heavy fabrics (sharp point);
• H-M – thin, densely woven fabrics (thin, very sharp needle);
• H-S – elastic and knitted materials (slightly rounded point and a special edge that ensures stitch formation without skips);
• H-E – embroidery needles (rounded point, small groove, slightly enlarged eye);
• H-Q – stitching and quilting (rounded point, special groove, slightly reduced eye);
• H-SUK – dense knitwear (rounded tip);
• H-LR and H-LL – leather (bevelled 'spade' tip);
• H-ZWI – twin needles;
• H-DRI – triple needles;
• ELx705 or HAx1 SP – overlock and coverstitch needles.

Sometimes you can find needles with a colored shank: blue marks jeans needles, magenta marks needles for tightly woven thin fabrics, yellow marks needles for knits.

We've covered the basics — now let's move on to specifics. Below I'll tell you which needle manufacturers are worth paying attention to. 😉

So, some of the best needles on the market are made by:

• Schmetz (Germany);
• Groz-Beckert (Germany);
• Organ Needles (Japan).

Yes, prices aren't cheap, but the quality is worth it! Pay special attention to their “narrow profile” needles (knit, stretch, etc.).

Somewhat more budget-friendly needles are Arti Needles (Russia) and Hemline (Australia).