I'm starting to quilt my latest quilt, my first batik. The salesperson at the sewing machine store told me I need "sharps" to quilt a batik. So I took my universal needle out, put my new "sharp" needle in and had to do numerous tear outs before finally getting rid of the sharp and putting a new universal needle back in. Argh, that was a waste of money. I'll have to look for metallic needles and give them a try!