A multi-purpose needle especially good for the casual sewer who hems a skirt one day and repairing a tee shirt the next. When I was first machine quilting, I used this needle (size 80/12) exclusively. A strong, sharp needle with a reinforced blade. 1. Needles are inexpensive compared to the damage a worn or bent needle can do to a quilt or to your machine. Sewing Lycra and Spandex When sewing spandex or lycra, it’s crucial to ensure that we’re using a ball-point needle. It is designed for microfibers which makes it perfect for use on batiks, pima cottons, cotton sateens. Sewing and Quilting - All Purpose Spun Polyester Thread - Cotton Thread - … Sizes to keep on hand: 80 and 90; TIP: A jeans needle isn’t just for heavy fabrics. Beginners may find the thicker 9 to be easier to use than the thinner needles. Medium needle sizes – 80/12, 90/14 – work well with quilting cottons, lightweight upholstery, denim, silk dupioni, and other similar weight fabrics. The design keeps stitches nice and even and helps eliminate skipped stitches. Start with a 75/11 and work down to a 60/8. Dritz 156 Hand Needle Compact for Quilting; 2. This needle comes in large sizes, that are a bit too large for my taste. Regular quilt store cottons are happy with about any type of needle in between. I do most of my quilt on my Bernina and I use a 90/14 either topstitch or quilting needle and haven't had any problems. Thread your needle and tie a simple overhand knot in the end of the cotton. The rule of thumb is that the thread should fill 1/3 to 1/2 of the needle eye. Milliners Size 11 Needles Ten Piece Hand Stitching Jen Kingwell Designs; 7. Colonial Needle Pebbles Quilting Needles Size 3/9 16-Count Package; 4. It is designed for microfibers which makes it perfect for use on batiks, pima cottons, cotton sateens. What size needle should I use on this sit down longarm machine? • Janome Red Tip - is a size 14 sharp point, which is good for general sewing of medium weight fabrics. It didn't break often or leave behind large holes. Size 13 and 14 are commonly used for heavy and coarse fabrics.- See our Chenille Needles Quilting These needles are very short and fine with a round eye. Bring your needle up at your starting point. As well as quilting needles, a quilter may find specialized quilting thread, with its extra strength compared to regular thread, a necessity. Hi, You can actually use a Microtex This is a thin needle, almost like quilting with a staple but the results are wonderful! My go-to needle is a size 11 or 12 for piecing and a size 14 Universal for quilting. Tulip Long Sashiko Needles Assorted Tube of 6; 5. Needle size is not the only thing that a quilter can change about her tools. Appropriate size needles for quilting range from a 9 to a 12. Groz-Beckert Machine Needles - All styles, points, and sizes - Needle / thread size chart - Needle styles for 10,000 machines. Push your needle through the top and batting only and travel through quilt. What Needle do You use? 1/2 inch from where you wish to begin quilting. Just to make sure we’re all on the same page. Because of this, we won't discuss ballpoint needles further. Machine needles are different from needles for hand-sewn quilts. A sharp or applique needle is very thin compared to a quilting needle and is useful for more delicate work than a similar size of quilting needle. It has a special scarf, a long smooth groove and large eye which protects fragile threads like metallics from excess friction and shredding. For general piecing on quilting fabric I like to use a 70/10 or 80/12 and adjust my size depending on the project. Because the point is so fine (which makes it fragile), change this needle more often. One drawback of the smaller needles, though, is that the shaft is more inclined to bend under stress than the stronger size 9. Some kinds of needles have a gold eye, to make threading clearer, and some just have a larger eye than average. im going to start quilting a scrappy quilt using somewhat intricate. Universal Slightly rounded point. The groove down the front is deep to protect delicate threads from shredding. This post contains affiliate links for which I receive compensation. Designed with a very long (2mm) eye and large groove for use with heavy topstitching thread. I could change threads and not change my needle. Quilters, whether they stitch the material in the quilt by hand or with a sewing machine, need to know which needles to use to get the best results, and which are practical to work with. Let’s talk about what hand quilting needles actually do. Types of Sewing Machine Needles for Quilting. My absolute favorite needle to use with any thread. Schmetz makes a high quality sewing machine needle that is available at most quilt stores. The first colour shows the application and the second colour shows the needle size. Most needles use the two-number measuring system. SINGER 01125 Assorted Hand Needles; 6. They have large eyes to accommodate yarn, perle cotton or crochet cotton so they are easily threaded. Customer Service December 13th, 2019 . It comes in sizes ranging from 60/8 to 120/19-but a reasonable starting point is the 80/12 size. They work well with quilting pieces of cotton, lightweight upholstery, denim, silk dupioni, and other fabrics with similar weight. ... machine, you will be able to choose your preferred needle size. Designed for use with rayon and other specialty threads. Quilting Thread ... Thread Characteristics Understanding Thread Weight Adjusting Bobbin Tension Bad Quilting Habits About Egyptian Cotton Decoding Needle Numbers View All. Sharp needles with acute points are needed for high thread count fabrics like batiks. The extremely sharp point makes for nice straight stitches. The eye is the same size for all metallic needles. O'Keeffe has a Master of Arts in journalism from the National University of Ireland, Galway and a Bachelor of Science in microbiology from University College Cork. A slim needle with a thin shaft. I use a Fons and Porter Utility Needle for hand quilting with perle cotton. How to Tell the Difference in Cotton Thread Weights, Copyright 2020 Leaf Group Ltd. All Rights Reserved. Universal needles have an all purpose point that works for piecing. Match your needle to your chosen thread. These needles were specifically designed for Big Stitch Quilting. Use this needle for quilting with 100wt silk. The needle scarf is larger and designed to prevent skipped stitches. Move to a larger needle size if this is happening. 70/10, 75/11, 80/12 and 90/14 cover most of the range of quilt fabric types, with the smaller needles, such as the 70/10, more appropriate for delicate work on thin fabrics than the larger needles, like the 90/14, which can stitch through several layers of material. The thumb and the first two fingers on the non-dominant hand are the ones that are most at risk, and as they usually fit different size thimbles, three separate thimbles may be a good investment. This is a thin needle, almost like quilting with a staple but the results are wonderful! Assorted needle packs that include two or three different sizes often are available. And what hand quilting is. This needle is well worth the extra price. The relaxing aspect of quilting can also be adversely affected if a quilter finds a particular needle size too awkward to work with, so personal preference also comes into play. All needles shown at actual size Quilting / Betweens Specifically designed for quilters, the short length of these needles ... Cotton/Short Darners - JJ145 Size Length mm Diameter mm Diameter Thousandths of an Inch 1 57.5 1.02 0.040 3 51 0.86 0.034 5 49 0.76 0.030 7 47 0.69 0.027 9 45 0.61 0.024 These features vary across manufacturers of the same size needles. This concludes the Sewing Machine Needle Guide for Quilters. Use with decorative machine quilting threads that need some babying like metallics. Needle Sizes. Not to mention the frustration and time suck of breaking thread, shredding thread, batting pokeys, poor tension, or skipped stitches because of a worn needle. It has a very large (2mm) eye that is polished and Teflon coated to help thread flow smoothly through to prevent breakage. Move up a size. These needles have a skinny point and are less likely to bend from the stress of stitching layers of fabric. General Quilting I prefer the Microtex Sharp needle for both quilting and piecing. FMQ. Quilting requires a variety of tasks. The eye is the same size in all topstitching needles. Larger needles leaves larger holes. Although needles that fall into the "universal" range for sewing machines are usable for quilting, special quilting sizes are available. The needle you want for hand quilting pieces together is not the same needle you would want to tie Perle Cotton or yarn to hold the quilt together and that would not work for burying threads or doing the bindings. Quilters also like it for high thread count fabrics like batiks. Engineered for use in both piecing and machine quilting. I like to stitch with size 8 perle cotton and the Fons and Porter needles are easy to thread when using size 8 or size 12. The higher number relates to the metric system and defines the needle shaft diameter in hundredths of a millimeter. It is the recommended needle for quilting with cotton threads. // Leaf Group Lifestyle, Quiltbug: Choosing the Right Sewing Machine Needle, Generations Quilt Patterns: Sewing Machine Needle Guide for Quilters, Connecting Threads: Hand Sewing Needles 101, Sewing Needles and Threads: Quilting Needles and Quilting / Betweens. The best needles for cotton fabric are medium-sized needles like 80/12, 90/14. As well as needles, a quilter may find her work becomes quicker and more comfortable if she protects her fingers from accidental pricks with thimbles. Machine quilting When using on your domestic sewing machine: Use 50wt for the bobbing thread Reduce your sewing speed Needle size: 100/16 machine embroidery 90/14 machine quilting I have also used 12wt cotton for hand sewing buttons on my Cathedral Window Pincushions. My colleague Nina McVeigh (BERNINA’s quilting expert) uses a Jeans 70 needle for piecing on plain cotton fabric. This Sewing Machine Needle Guide will help you through the maze of needle types you're confronted by in the quilt and sewing stores. Breaking needles? Needles are intuitive-- the bigger the number, the thicker the needle. Ballpoint needles are for knits. Thus, it’s best to opt for the most high-quality tools when dealing with it, like a 70/10, 65/9 or 60/8 size needle and fine cotton or cotton-covered polyester thread. Universal Needle - As the name suggests this is a multi-purpose needle that is good for a variety of projects however this is not the one to handle lots of layers. I like that bit of extra needle strength for FMQ— I’d rather a slightly larger hole as I stitch than having to dig a broken needle … Needles range in size from very fine 55/7 to a heavy duty needle 120/19. It's my choice for any piecing. The shaft is thin and tapered to pass through many layers of fabric smoothly. Go to the top of Sewing Machine Needle Guide for Quilters, Return to the Generations Quilt Patterns Home Page, Copyright © 2008-2020 Generation Quilt Patterns, LLC, 60/8, 65/9, 70/10, 75/11, 80/12, 90/14, 100/16, 110/18, 120/19, Small ball point prevents damage when stitching through embroidered areas. • Janome Purple Tip - is a size 14 ball point needle specially designed for Janome machines. For regular sewing it is recommended that you match the size of the needle with the size of the thread. First things first. I’m using warm and natural batting. Use this needle for quilting with 100wt silk. Her work appears in regional Irish newspapers including "The Connacht Tribune" and the "Sentinel." A size 80 jeans needle will not be any larger than any other type needle. A size 10 or more does, however, produce smaller holes than the 9 and gives the quilt stitches more delicate stitches. For example, some quilting needles have very small eyes, and this can make it harder to thread them. A sharp or applique needle is very thin compared to a quilting needle and is useful for more delicate work than a similar size of quilting needle. Sizes range from 13 to 26; the most popular sizes are 16 to 26. John James Quilting/Betweens Size 3/9 20-Count Package; 3. Produces a very small hole and less puckering. Special quilting needles are shorter than other needles, for ease of use, and stronger than other needles to give them strength to push through layers. If you are only going to use one type of needle for quilt projects, make it a Universal. In a bind, go ahead and piece or quilt with this one, but there are better choices. The solid shaft makes way for the yarn etc through the quilt layers,and is sturdy enough to keep them from bending. Always choose the point style (type of needle) based on the fabric you use in your quilt. Start with a 75/11 and work down to a 60/8. Confused about what size needle to get? Go to Sewing Machine Needle Sizes. This needle is best for heavy weight knits and dense embroidery designs. The eye of the needle is sized for general sewing threads such as all-purpose polyester and 50-weight cotton. This needle is designed for use on tightly woven fabrics. The needle types discussed here are all from the Schmetz line. Stock up when they are on sale! Only the groove, eye and point will differ. Size 20 = 120: No 60 = Silks, cotton lawn, organza and sheer fabrics: No 70 = Cotton lawn, lining fabrics: No 80 = Cotton shirting, quilting cotton, No 90 = Linen, linen union curtain fabrics, cushion fabrics, cotton sateen curtain linings, No 100 = Denim: No 110 = Upholstery fabrics and canvas weight fabrics, leather, pvc and vinyls: No 120 = As well as the basic array of quilting needles, an experienced quilter, who likes to add detail such as embroidery into quilts, can also opt for needles that are optimized for certain purposes. Jillian O'Keeffe has been a freelance writer since 2009. Hand quilting, at its core, means sewing running stitches through your quilt sandwich (the quilt top, batting, and backing fabric) with a needle in your hand. Do not use on high thread count fabrics or for stitching through many layers. The slightly rounded point of a universal needle is sharp enough to pierce woven cotton fabrics, but not so sharp it will damage knits. It can be used on woven fabrics as well as knits. The sheet is a prewashed 200 count cotton sheet. Quilting needles are also known as "betweens.". These needles have a large eye and a sharp point and are used in the art of crewel embroidery and ribbon embroidery. Start by inserting the needle approx. The point style is slightly rounded and does not have a color code. thanks I do use a 12 for piecing with 50 wt thread on my vintage machines. Move up a size. So if you're using an 80/12 and your thread is shredding, change to a size 90/14. Longs/Tying needles are used for tying quilts. An embroidery needle, of a medium size like a 10, typically has enough space in the eye to fit more than one type of thread, and is capable of delicate work. The eye of the needle is sized for general sewing threads such as all-purpose polyester and 50-weight cotton.. What Are the Differences Between the 10, 20 and 30 Crochet Threads? General-purpose needle suitable for a wide range of fabrics. In order to help identify the needle size and needle type, certain BERNINA needles have a colour code. Needles. Breaking needles? An embroidery needle, of a medium size like a 10, typically has enough space in the eye to fit more than one type of thread, and is capable of delicate work.