Sewing Needles

A sewing needle is a long slender object with a pointed tip. The first sewing needles were made of bone or wood; modern ones are manufactured from high carbon steel wire, nickel- or gold plated for corrosion resistance. The highest quality embroidery needles are made of platinum. more...

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Traditionally, needles have been kept in needle books or needle cases which have become an object of adornment.

A needle for hand sewing has a hole at the non-pointed end to carry thread or cord through the fabric after the pointed end pierces it. Hand sewing needles have different names depending on their purpose.

Needle size is denoted by a number on the packet. The convention for sizing is that the length and thickness of a needle increases as the size number decreases. For example, a size 1 needle will be thicker and longer, while a size 10 will be shorter and finer.

Types of Hand Sewing Needles

These come in 10 sizes, ranging from No.1: very heavy to No.10: very fine.

Sharps are needles used for general sewing. They have a sharp point, a round eye and are of medium length. The difference between sharps and other sewing needles can mainly be seen in their length.;

Embroidery needles, also known as Crewel needles, are identical to sharps but have a longer eye to enable easier threading of multiple embroidery threads and thicker yarns.;

Betweens or Quilting needles are shorter, with a small rounded eye and are usually used for making fine stitches on heavy fabrics such as in tailoring, quilt making and other detailed handwork.;

Milliners' needles are longer than sharps, are useful for basting and pleating and are used in millinery work.;

Easy- or Self-threading needles, also called Calyx-eyed Sharps, have a slot, rather than an eye for the thread.;

Special purpose needles

These needles come in various sizes so numbering will differ from the needles described above.

Ballpoints have a rounded point and are used for knitted fabrics. Sizes 5-10.;

Beading needles are very fine, with a narrow eye to enable it to fit through the centre of beads and sequins. They are usually long so that a number of beads can be threaded at a time. Sizes 10-15.;

Bodkin. This is a long, thick needle with a ballpoint end and a large, elongated eye. They can be flat or round and are generally used for threading elastic, ribbon or tape through casings and lace openings.;

Chenille needles are similar to tapestry needles, but with large, long eyes and a very sharp point to penetrate close weave fabrics. Useful for ribbon embroidery. Sizes 13-26.;

Darning needles are longer and heavier than sharps, Yarn Darners being the heaviest with large eyes to thread yarn. Various types, with sizes ranging from 1-18.;

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