By Lindsay Conner

Your sewing machine probably came with a few replacement sewing machine needles. But once those get dull or (gasp!) broken, what’s a sewist to do? In this quick guide, we’ll teach you how to shop for sewing machine needles like a pro, depending on the type of sewing you do!

Replacing Needles

Experts say it’s important to replace your sewing machine’s needle before each new project, or after about 8 hours of sewing. This will help make sure your stitches look straight and you don’t have any skipped stitches. Also, if your needle becomes bent or develops a burr (or nick), change this right away so you don’t do extra damage to your sewing machine or fabric!

Needle Brands

Because machine needles are standardized across all the brands of sewing machines, you can buy any brand of sewing needle that you’d like, from Pfaff to Schmetz, Klasse, and Singer. Needles are often sold in 5-packs, but can sometimes come with more or less per package.

Needles Sizes

Have you ever wondered what those numbers mean on the sewing needle’s plastic case? If you see 80/12 on needles, the larger number is the European size and the smaller number refers to the American size. European sizes range from 60 to 110, while American sizes go from 8 up to 18. Smaller numbers are generally used for sheer fabrics and larger numbers are used for heftier fabrics.

Do you know what thread you’ll be sewing with? The smaller the number in the thread’s weight, the thicker it actually is. If your thread breaks or stitches are skipped, try going up a size with the needle.

• A fine 50-weight thread goes well with a 75/11 or 80/12 needle.
• A medium 40-weight thread, try going up to a size 90/14. (This is the most popular thread weight, by the way!)
• A thick 30-weight thread goes well with 100/16.

Types of Sewing Machine Needles

If the sizes of sewing machine needles have you tripped up, don’t worry! Needles also come with a name in addition to their number that tells you what purpose it’s for. This might have to do with the type of thread you are using and/or the fabric you are sewing with. Here’s a quick rundown of needle types to look out for!

Universal needles: The most commonly used needle, universal sewing machine needles can be used with any type of fabric for any type of sewing. If you don’t want to change your needle between different steps in your project but are working with different types of fabric, this might be a good choice! If you tend to specialize in one type of sewing, let’s look closer at some different types of needles below that might better fit your projects.

Ball point needles: With a rounded tip, a ball point needle is perfect for working with a variety of knit fabrics. If you like to sew apparel with rib knits, interlock, cotton knits, or fleece, check out this needle, which will gently push through the fibers of the fabric without tearing into them.

Stretch needles: Are you working with super-stretchy knit fabrics such as Lycra, silk jersey, spandex, or even elastic? Pick up a set of stretch needles, which allow extra room for the hook to pass by, preventing skipped stitches.

Sharps needles: Quilters, this one’s for you! When sewing through several layers of fabric and batting, a sharps needle comes in handy. This needle, with a sharp point and a strong shaft, is also the right choice for densely woven fabrics like silk. This needle is a great choice for topstitching bags and other projects.

Quilting needles: These are similar to sharps, in that they can sew through several layers of material at once. But they are shorter overall, making them a good choice for quick and even quilting stitches. Use this for piecing quilt tops and quilting through all the layers.

Denim/Jeans needles: Who here is a fan of denim? Jeans needles are the best choice for sewing denim and other heavy, woven fabrics like twill, canvas, and imitation leather. The sharp point and strong shank can cut right through thick materials without bending or breaking.

Leather needles: Sewing bags or accessories with genuine leather or suede? Pick up leather needles with excellent chiseled points to help you sew difficult materials. (But, if you’re sewing with imitation leather, a jeans needle works best.)

Metallic needles: Do you like to sew with metallic threads? Check out the metallic needles, which have an extra-large eye to let these “slippery” threads slip feed through freely without unnecessary tension (which can shred your thread).

Embroidery needles: Like metallic needles, embroidery needles have a larger eye to allow your specialty threads (rayon, polyester, or cotton machine embroidery threads) to feed through easily. These also help prevent skipped stitches during embroidery.

Topstitch needles: Do you sew bags, baskets, or apparel with decorative topstitching to give it that professional finish? Use a topstitch needle for this step along with a thicker thread to have clean and well-defined topstitching! This needle has a larger eye and an extra sharp point.

Twin needles: It’s a two-fer! A twin needle actually has two needles coming connected at the base so you can sew parallel lines of decorating stitching. It can be used to easily hem knit or jersey fabrics.

While this is not an exhaustive list of all types of sewing machine needles, this will cover most of your bases for beginner-friendly sewing projects.