What needle is best for machine embroidery? (2024)

What needle is best for machine embroidery?

For most embroidery projects on average-weight fabric, a 75/11 needle works great. For heavier cottons and linens, you might go up to an 80/12 size, and for heavy denims and fleeces you might use a 90/14 needle. Please note that the thinner your thread, the smaller the needle should be.

For most embroidery projects on average-weight fabric, a 75/11 needle works great. For heavier cottons and linens, you might go up to an 80/12 size, and for heavy denims and fleeces you might use a 90/14 needle. Please note that the thinner your thread, the smaller the needle should be.

If you have a lot of fine detail, the 70/10 needle will be a much better choice for the clarity in that detail. The finer the detail in your design, the smaller the needle you should be using.

1. Crewel Needles. Crewel needles are also called “embroidery” needles. Crewel needles have a medium-long eye, a shaft slightly thinner than the eye (the eye bulges slightly at the top of the shaft), and a sharp tip.

For both sizing systems, the lower the number the finer the needle and the higher the number the larger the needle. Most needle companies show both sizes on the package. A good rule of thumb to keep in mind: the lighter the fabric the smaller the needle size and the heavier the fabric the larger the needle size.

As I mentioned before, you can use sewing machine needles for machine embroidery too. But because the eye on sewing needles are shorter, what we usually recommend is going up a size. So if your embroidery project requires a size 70 embroidery machine needle, you can use a size 80 sewing machine needle instead.

A 75/11 needle is designed for use on high speed commercial embroidery machines. It is an ideal all-purpose needle size that can be used with standard threads like polyester and rayon, as well as heavier threads like metallic.

In the case of some types of stitches, for example bullion knots or cast-on stitches, using certain needles will make your stitches easier to create and more beautiful. In numerical order: 1 - beading needle, 2 - milliners needle, 3 - chenille needle, 4 - embroidery needle, 5 - long sashiko needle, 6 - darning needle.

As a rule of thumb, the lower the number the thinner the needle shaft. 70/10 needles are made to sew fine, lightweight fabrics like chiffon, satin, and organza. Think fabrics for formal wear. 80/12 needles are appropriate to sew lightweight fabrics like lawn, faille, and georgette.

Single needle tattoos are the finest, and most intricate form of fine line tattoos, where artists use only one needle—called a one round liner needle (1RL)—to tattoo your skin with meticulous precision and realistic detail.

What is a 90 14 needle used for?

Quilting Machine quilting 75/11 and 90/14 Quilting needles feature a sharp, tapered point and are designed to stitch through thick layers and intersecting seams. Use them for piecing quilts and machine quilting the layers together.

The best size knitting needles for beginners are small but not too small. We'd recommend 4mm, 5mm or 6mm needles paired with DK, worsted or aran yarn respectively (see our yarn weight guide for what these terms mean) as a good starting point. Don't forget to check the length of the needles too.

Choosing the right needle size means that you'll need to consider the length, gauge, and lumen. The needle gauge relates to the thickness of the outside diameter—the higher the number, the thinner the needle.

Chenille needles have sharp points, as well, but have a larger eye and thicker form than embroidery needles. They work well on the same fabrics as embroidery needles. Tapestry needles have a large eye, but a blunt point that works well with canvas work or counted cross-stitch on aida fabric.

A basic guideline that many professional embroiderers use to determine when to change needles is the three strikes rule. You should replace a needle whenever there has been three consecutive thread breaks on the needle. You should also change a needle if it breaks or is skipping stitches.

Size 11 (European 80) – Use these with light-weight fabrics such as silk, muslin, and calicoes. Size 14 (European 90) – Choose when sewing medium-weight fabrics such as rayon, gabardine, satin, chino, linen, denim; thick quilts. Use ballpoint size 14 for light to medium-weight knits such as tricot or jersey.

Double Eye 80/12 A Universal needle with two eyes, used on wovens and knits. Used with two threads for topstitching, shading and texturing effects and for embroidery.

Use needle 75/11 for embroidery. It is recommended that a 90/14 needle should be used when embroidering on heavyweight fabrics or stabilizing products (for example, denim, puffy foam, etc.).

Embroidery needles work better with embroidery thread than sewing needles. If you have standard sewing needles around the house already, they won't generally work for this kind of crafting. Embroidery needles are usually less sharp than sewing needles, with a larger eye.

What type of stitch is most embroidery?

Satin Stitch

This is the most common embroidery stitch type and is used in the majority of lettering and design outlines. In this example, you can see the center of the "O" is filled using a fill stitch. The edge of the "O" is reinforced using a satin stitch. The other text uses a satin stitch as the fill and outline.

Crewel/embroidery needles

This is the most commonly used needle for embroidery. It's a medium-length, sharp-pointed needle with a long eye. The most popular sizes used in embroidery are size 7 and 9, that's why we recommend this set from Hemline.

The most common size for embroidery is a 75/11, which would be used for average-weight quilting cotton, satin, or similar weight fabric. An 80/12 would be used for heavier cottons or fabrics with a finish like batiks, linens, and other garment-weight fabrics.

Fine needle aspiration requires a small needle (22- gauge or smaller). A 23 gauge needle (1-1.5") is successful for most palpable masses.