the singer needles in stores today will work in any machine that uses standard needles. if you can use shmetz, for example, you can use singer. they will sew just fine.

the only difference i discovered was that the eye of a singer needle does not line up correctly with the little wire in the auto-threader mechanisms on my janome machines.

that, and the fact that i can buy shmetz needles in bulk to save money are the reasons i switched to shmetz.

if you need to buy needles now, then check your manufacturer's website to see which brand(s) they recommend for your model. if you happen to have singer needls already on hand i suggest you try one on some scraps to see for yourself whether or not they will work.

I buy in bulk like Patrice...if you are questioning if a needle is the same as another...lay the needle from your Pfaff down on a dark table top. Place a Singer needle next to it and examine the lenght of the shaft, the position of the eye, etc. If all is the same...than use it.
You may be thinking about the difference between home needles and industrial sewing machine needles...Industrial needles do not have a flat side on the shaft, they are round. Only home machine needles have a flat side.
The old singer #319's took an industrial needle.

I use only Schmetz or Organ needles. I love the Organ needles and am looking for a site to buy them cheap in quantity...anyone know of one?

Margie

Can anyone recommend a good place to buy in bulk? and do they sell assortments?

this is so true.

I got mine at Allbrands - dont' know if this is good price but they do have free shipping.
http://www.allbrands.com/products/abc0609.html

I buy needles in bulk from www.newarkdress.com They have a great catalog and very prompt service. Organ Brand needles come with 25 needles for $4.95 in your choice of sizes. They work just fine in both my Pfaff machines.

I also use Schmetz a lot and they fit with most domestic machines...as for different needles for different purposes (some of you mentioned this) many quilters are now using topstitch needles for all aspects of quilting and for every type of machine thread used in quilting. The topstitch needles have a larger eye and larger groove along the top of the needle with a sharp point so they accommodate all types of threads, metallics, rayon, etc. For those who use all topstitch needles, they do use three different sizes depending on the size of thread they're using (eg, 8, 12 and 16).

Superior threads now sells their own brand of needle made by Organ and the Topstitch needle is the only one they sell (in three sizes). Their needle is platinum coated to lengthen the life. and no, I don't work for them or hold stock in the company 8-)

Using the same type of needle on all quilting means, to me, that I save money because I don't need to buy separate speciality needles such as metallic, quilting, topstitch, etc. I suppose there may be some really unique stitching in non-quilting activities that might require some special feet but since I rarely go there, I don't worry about it.

This has been fascinating. I always told customers that needles were the same other than size and job--metal work etc.. A woman from a group working with the blind told me that she always suggested he clients work with Singer needles because they had the largest eyes in the industry. Don't know if its true though.

I always use what's on sale with my Singer fether weight, my Elna and my Kenmore. No problems so far and I've been sewing for 40+ years.

Mugs