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groz-beckert needles

We sell popular needles for embroidery, home sewing, quilting, industrial sewing, leather work, lock stitch, and bag closing. The Needles Buying Guide explains needle systems, needle sizes, and gives size guidance for industrial and embroidery needles.

The Easy Way - Buying the right needle may be easier than you think. If you are happy with your current needle and are not doing something new, find the system needle box or the the needle shank. Then, enter the needle system in our SEARCH box. If we have the needle, or its equivalent, we will take you to it.

Needle Systems - "Needle system" is another way of saying "needle type". Every needle has a needle system code stamped on its shank and printed on its box cover. We often say "needle xxxx" as shorthand for "needle system xxxx". Manufacturers use different system codes to identify the same needle. For example, Organ's HAx1 needle is the same as other manufacturers 15x1 and 130/705H needles. It is also common for a competitor's needle system to be compatible with two or more Organ needles; and for two or more Organ needles to be compatible with each other.

The link between needle systems and specific sewing machines is complicated. Your manual recommends needle systems and sizes for machine. But, these might not be the only choices and there may be compatible needles that are not mentioned. Dealers, customer support lines, and chat rooms can also be very helpful. When a needle system is designed for a specific machine, we share this information.

Needle Size - Size refers to a needle's thickness. It is stamped on the shank and printed on the box. Our product listings show each needle's metric and U.S. (a.k.a. Singer or Organ) sizes. For example "Size 110/18" means that its metric size is 110 and its U.S. size is 18. Actually, there are at least fourteen needle size conventions. Here is a conversion table for popular metric and U.S. sizes:

Metric	U.S.	Metric	U.S.	Metric	U.S.
60	8	80	12	120	19
65	9	90	14	125	20
70	10	100	15	130	21
75	11	110	18

Needle size selection is a balancing act as summarized below. A larger needle makes a larger hole and this weakens the material. But, a larger needle has more strength that lets it go through through thicker, denser material, and it is able to sew stronger seams by using thicker, stronger thread. Ultimately, it comes down to matching needle size with material density and thickness, seam strength, machine capability, and the look of the finished product.

	Smaller Needle	Larger Needle
Hole	Makes a smaller hole	Makes a larger hole
Material	Less damage / less weakening	More damage / more weakening
Needle	More likely to break	Less likely to break
Thread	Uses thinner / weaker thread	Uses thicker / stronger thread
Seams	Weaker seams	Stronger seams
Machine	Less powerful	More powerful

Both needle size and thread size depend on the material, the "look" sought, and the sewing machine's capabilities. Needle size generally increases as thread sizes increases. But, there are exceptions, such as large eyed needles, where this is not so.

Needle Sizes for Industrial Thread - Nylon, Polyester, Kevlar, and Polypropylene

Thread Size	Needle Size Range	Thread Size	Needle Size Range
Size 15 / Tex 16	70/10 to 80/12	Size 207 / Tex 210	140/22 to 180/24
Size 33 / Tex 35	80/12 to 90/14	Size 277 / Tex 270	180/24 to 220/26
Size 46 / Tex 45	90/14 to 100/16	Size 346 / Tex 350	220/26 to 260/28
Size 69 / Tex 70	100/16 to 110 /18	Size 415 / Tex 410	260/28 to 330/30
Size 92 / Tex 90	110/18 to 125/20	Size 554 / Tex 600	330/30 to 360/32
Size 138 / Tex 135	125/20 to 140/22