Very Beginning Sewing Lesson #5 (Needles are Important)

I'm going to start with the very basics of how to change a needle.  Before you change the needle on your machine stick a post it note or something under the needle. Needles are often dropped and if they go down into your machine you can have a big problem.

* Remove the old needle and discard in a safe place - I keep an old plastic container where I discard sharps.
* Pick up new needle, put the FLAT side of the shank toward the BACK, rounded in front.
* Place it up into the needle bar as far as it will go, you can damage your machine if the needle is not inserted all the way.
* Tighten the screw for the needle. Don't over tighten or you will have trouble changing your needle next time.
* Using the handwheel, bring the needle down and back up to it's highest position, now you know it is inserted correctly and won't hit your bobbin.

If you want to know more about needles, keep reading.

Needles seem like such simple little things, don't they?  Not so! They are made with precision.  There are books written just about sewing machine needles, It is amazing how exact they have to be made in order to do their job correctly, and there are many different kinds with a variety of purposes.


First you need to know what kind to buy.  A Sharp needle is made for sewing on woven fabrics. It is called a "Sharp" because, of course, the point is very sharp.  A Ballpoint needle is for sewing on knits.  A Ballpoint needle has a rounded tip so it will go between the yarn making up fabric, instead of piercing it. A Universal needle is between the two, can sew on woven and knit fabric. It has a slightly rounded but still sharp point. So why not always go with a Universal needle?  If you sew occasionally,  Universal needles may be all that you will ever need, but the phrase "jack of all trades and master of none" fits the situation here. If you are sewing on a knit and you are having lots of skipped stitches and have tried re-threading, you need a ballpoint needle. I sew with knits frequently, and I always get better results with a ballpoint needle.

Needles come in different sizes, depending on what thread you are using.  Most spools of thread will tell you what size needle works best.  Topstitch thread is heavier than regular thread and needs a bigger eye in the needle.  If the eye is too small it will gradually shred the thread while you are sewing and you will get lots of thread breaks.

Start off with a pack of Universal needles with multiple sizes.  If you don't have the size needle that you need, it's better to go up in size - unless you are sewing on vinyl or leather.  You don't want to poke a bigger hole than necessary in those.  The numbers on the packages tell you the size - just remember the smaller numbers are for finer needles and smaller eyes, larger numbers for thicker needles and larger eyes. Check your spool of thread to see what will work best for you.

There are many more choices of needles, but these are the basics and should help you get started!

Happy Sewing!