Tips and Tricks Regarding Needles

Needles need to be changed frequently

It's recommended that you change your needles every 8 hours of sewing time. Needles wear down over time. As the needle length gets shorter, it will cause fraying, thread breaks, dropped stitches and or looping. Ragged stitching, fraying, or multiple thread breaks may be evidence of a bur on the needle tip. Changing a needle is a cheap first step in troubleshooting a problem. If you hit a hoop, frame, pin or other object, change your needle.

Another Point

Ball point needles are used on knit to prevent damage to the fabric. A ball point will push the fibers to the side and go between them, while a sharp point will go through the fibers which may cause a small whole to form in knits. Ball points work best on extremely delicate fabrics, jersey, pique, and most interlock fabrics. Sharp or normal point needles are typically used on wovens and are best for tight weaves, canvas, twill, denim, towels, caps, nylon, and satin.

Wedge point needles are used on heavy leather. Today's soft leather does not require the wedge point as it would leave a larger hole. Heating from friction causes needles to weaken and break.

Needles covered in Teflon have less friction and heating, therefore they will last longer, have fewer thread breaks and less gummy residue buildup.

Titanium needles are covered with a thin coating of titanium-nitride. This adds 40% more strength to the needle and a golden color. The titanium coating makes this needle more wear-resistant than regular needles. The tips do not wear down as fast. The point stays sharp longer and the needle can penetrate dense or tough materials.

Eye On Selection
DBXK5 needles have a slightly larger eye and has a small eye to point ratio. DBX7ST needles have an extra large eye. DBX9ST needles have a extra, extra large eye.

Sizing It Up
For small lettering or delicate fabrics and designs, try using a small 65/9 or 70/10 size needle. For caps, try using a larger size 80/12 sharp needle. Size 75/11 is a nice standard size needle for most embroidery work.

Needles are sized by two systems, European and American. The larger numbers such as 65, 70, 75, 80, 90 are the European size, while the smaller numbers such as 9, 10, 11, 12, 14 are the American system.