Tuesday, January 12, 2010
The Needle Knows
10:49 AM | Posted by Ellen Anne Eddy | Edit Post
The hardest working part of your sewing machine is your needle. Think about it. It's the contact point, the point to the exercise, the.heart of the issue. So it's worth knowing what needle you're using and why. Because I want to do machine free motion work with my machine, I want a needle that's going to help me do that best.
Are needles all the same?
Yes and no.
Yes, they have a shaft and a hole for the thread to go in.
No, there are huge differences in what that shaft and hole look like, that make them act very very differently.
We are, to be clear, talking strictly about home sewing machine needles. These always have a flat side in back, and that's one way to identify them.
Within that group there are several possibilities.
There are a bunch of specialty needles for certain things. I'm not going to touch on those, because they're labeled for those purposes.
Needle Brands
You can get needles that have every kind of sewing machine branded on the front. Basically Schmetz makes all of those needles. They are identical. Schmetz needles are an industry standard and well worth looking for. The only difference is Singer needles. Singer has it's own style and I recommend you use Singer needles only with Singer Machines. You can use a Schmetz needle on a Singer. But don't use a Singer needle on any other kind of machine. It may scar the hook.
Organ needles come in huge boxes and are suggested for free motion. They work quite well and are inexpensive. But they only come in point sizes and ball point/sharp variations. I think they're better used for computerized embroidery.
I remember being told not to use Singer needles in my Husqvarna Viking because Singer's are a bit longer than Schmetz. Above is a discussion on this topic. :-D