How Often Do You Change Your Needle?
 

It's just something I think about. Also I don't pay attention to the type of needle! I do embroidery and quilting but never think about changing needles! How do you remember to change the needle?

I use Organ Titanium coated sewing machine needles and they last months longer then regular needles. I can tell when to change, my machine will make a different sewing sound. If you don't pay attention then the old needle sound will become normal sounding to you but it's not normal. I always match needle size to thread size.

I use a different needle for each project. If a quilt requires more stitching then I change between piecing and quilting. I buy them from jhittle 50 at a time at about 40 cents a needle so ... change seems easy enough.

I just changed mine because I felt like I could hear the needle going through the fabric as it sewed. That's not normal for my machine. Plus I had probably sewn 5 quilt tops with that needle.

omg, i only change when i break one!

If using regular needles I will change with every 4-6 hours of stitching. That for me is normally a queen size quilt.

i rarely change my needle !?!?

I was thinking I just changed one yesterday that was only a week old. But I put on the wrong foot and the needle broke. :eek:

I change my needle with each new project.

I use dedicated needles for each project, emroidery, quilting, regular sewing. The dealer says to only use each needle for no longer than 8 hours.

it is *generally* recommended that your needle to changed with each new project- or after 8 hours of sewing time-which ever comes first---very few people actually follow the recommendation- but if you do---you will notice a more consistent (good stitch) when your needle is bent, dull, or gets a *rough spot* it is definitely time to change it; if you are seeing skipped stitches, or uneven stitches---it is time to change; if you notice a change in sound- or find your thread is starting to break, fray or create more *fuzz* it is time to change. the needle should be the correct size/type for the thread you are using and the project you are working on- if you are unsure about that visit a thread company (Superior Threads) is a good place to start- they offer charts you can print off (free) that tells you what needle *size/type* to use for what thread you are using (weight/type) and what each is best suited for- they have a wealth of information, hints, tips, advice - they are a great resource- will teach you a lot about threads and needles.

I only change my needle when it breaks. I keep buying needles but don't change them.

I attended a seminar by a well known quilter (won't use her name) She very diligently told us how often changing needles was recommended per manufactures and other professional quilters. Then she gave us a big cheeky grin and said she always......always changes her needle when it breaks. If it's not broken don't fix it. If I'm happy with my stiches, and have no problems, I change my needles when they break. LOL

me too, I wouldn't wait until you break needles, that can be dangerous, as well as throw your machine out of timing.

BellaBoo: Thanks for the Organ recommendation. I have a Brother that came with a packet of the type needle. Seemed to me each one lasted forever. Don't know if I will change the needle as often as others have recommended but to save my machine wear and tear I will do it more often than currently.

I was changing my needles with every new quilt. I stopped doing that, now only when I see a difference. My Daughter changes hers when they break.

Funny story........there was an article in our daily newspaper a while back featuring an older man who had started quilting. He said he had always wanted a sewing machine but his wife didn't think it was necessary. After she died one of the first things he did was go out and buy himself a machine and start quilting. He lived in a retirement home and, because of thin walls, was told he couldn't sew before 6 a.m. or after 10 p.m. He had made several quilts and the comment I just LOVED was that he had sewed so much he had nearly worn out his needle!!

If I am sewing a lot, I tend to change my needles more often, as I can keep track of how much I have been sewing, and I probably change it every 6-8 hours of sewing. If I only have time to sew here and there, I lose track of how long I have had a needle in, and I know I have gone longer than 8 hours with a needle. Not a real problem, as long as you don't have any problems with your stitches. But if you hear any thumping noise, see skipped stitches,"runs" in your fabric it definitely is time to do a change of your needle.

Another one here that only changes when I break one! Unfortunately seems to be frequent enough. But thanks for this timely reminder as the last time I was digging around in the spot I keep my needles seems all I could find were ball point needles. Don't need them for quilting! Just put 'needles' on my shopping list as I'll be out in the next day or 2!

When it breaks!

On my longarm, I change before each project. However, on my Janome when I'm piecing, I change when it breaks or makes a funny noise. It kind of makes a popping sound when it's going through the fabric, so I figure it's gotta dull. I think I probably should change it more, but haven't really had a problem.

I can't imagine what you all are doing to break needles. I change mine pretty regularly. I can tell when the needle gets dull by the way my machine is sewing and I change it.

Okay here's another question. If you switch between embroidery one day, piecing the next, do you change needles? That's what I'm doing and I just forget!

I change sewing machine needles when:

The needle seems dull or snagged - the machine just sounds different

When the fabric is different from what I had been working with: Example - Hemming denim jeans to sewing lace on nylon tricot - I go from a denim needle to a small ballpoint needle

I try and change with every 8 to 10 hours. I also change needles for various jobs, embroidery, piecing, quilting. It really does make a difference if you use new,job specific needles. Think about it, a needle is really the cheapest part of sewing, compared to buying a sewing machine, fabric, thread. And yet, people will keep the same needle in forever and then wonder why their machine is just not working right. A sewing machine repair person once told me that it's amazing. People will come into his store because the machine is not working, he changes the needle and the machine works fine. As sewers we really need to change the needle more frequently.

8-10 hours, as mentioned above I can hear the difference when it's getting dull.
Why be a cheapskate about a needle when we have ten billion dollars invested in fabric? :)

Such an interesting subject. I think most of us use our needles until our sewing starts changing, i.e. skipped stitches, frayed thread, etc. I always change when something is not "normal". I always change when going from sewing to embroidery. My problem is changing to the "right size" needle. If there is an 90 in it, it is a 80 I use. I have recieved free needles with orders from Nancy's notions - Klase. These I do not like. I used 3 in 2 days making a small wall hanging.

I agree!!! I change needle after each project.....having invested lots of £££s on my Janome 7700 I have no intention of damaging it for the sake of a few pence!!

I'd like to say I change after each project, but since I'm working on 3-4 things at a time that wouldn't work for me. I usually have piecing to do, applique to be sewn, and quilting to be done. Once I finish with the quilting and binding of a quilt (cuz I'm too lazy to do it by hand) I take my bobbin case out, clean the whole machine and change the needle so I can start with a "clean slate".

On my sewing machine, I'm like MICHELLEOC in that I have several projects going on at the same time and sew for different lengths of time....sometimes all day = sometimes for a few hours in the evening.

If it's a customer's item I'm working on, I put in a new needle automatically. I may continue to sew on my own projects while using this same needle. Then if there's a quality issue or if the stitching 'pops', I change the needle again and the problem is solved. So overall the needle is changed quite frequently.

On the longarm machine, however, a new needle is put in with each quilt. :thumbup:

Nan - IN

Just got my Janome 4800 back from the shop - I bought it in 2007 & was supposed to take it in for a checkup (free) a year later ... no I didn't - It kept jamming as I was trying to hem a pair of jogging pants. Got a huge lecture when I dropped it off and again when I picked it up to change the needle a lot more often than I had been doing. Repairman pointed out an article about it, cashier pointed out the same article ... the funny thing is I could have sworn that was the second thing I did after I rethreaded the machine when it started giving me problems.
I was told the machine needles are now manufactured out of much softer metal that in the old days.
I'll be changing needles a lot more often from now on ... needles are cheap!

I wouldn't drive my car with flat tyres or needing air. Nor would I drive it if the walls were damaged or showing signs of wear...

I am like Bearisgray -- I change my needles when the machine does not sound right or when I am sewing on a different fabric. I use the titanium needles for piecing so they last a long time -- I have never counted the hours on a needle -- I have a hard enough time remembering what size/type needle is in the machine (but that's another thread).

Same here. Love these needles. Will replace when I hear a little popping sound or if I do something stupid like try to to a decorative stitch with my 1/4 foot on and it breaks!

I change needles when I change the top thread.

From a hand appliqué'/quilter's perspective, I change needles when the thread starts fraying or breaking or shows signs of weakness, and also when it is so bent I can't maneuver it into the correct spot!

I change my needle when the old one tells me it's time to retire it.

with each new project.

Whenever they break or skip stitches.

It's already too late when you hear the needle making the popping sound. Needles cost more than a dollar each but the quality of one's work is woth it.