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
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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.
