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Domestic Sewing Machine
Needles & Embroidery Machine Needles
The correct size and type of
needle is essential to the production of quality embroidery.
There is no such thing as a cheap needle, just needles of
inferior quality. The needle is the first point of contact
between the machine and your work, so never compromise on
quality. It really is not worth it.
Over the years we have had
many embroiderers using many different needles, but always one
name has been associated with quality and that is ORGAN of
Japan. Organ Needles was established in 1920 and has
manufactured to the highest possible standards to offer
unrivalled performance in just about every application.
All about the needle.
There are so many different
types of Organ needle that it can be quite daunting. We stock
needles for both industrial and domestic machines. If you
require industrial needles with a round shank, please contact us
for further information and advice. Industrial needles will not
fit domestic machines. Domestic machines require a needle with a
flat back on the shank
The Shank is the upper part of
the needle, inserted into the needle bar & locked into place
with a needle clamp screw. The needle should only fit in one way
for perfect alignment with the flat side facing away from you.
Moving down from the shank, the lower part of the needle is
called the Shaft. The Groove is the hollowed out area on the
front of the needle just above the Eye and the Point is the very
tip of the needle that punches the hole in the fabric.
Point Styles
Basically there are four main
point styles.
Standard Point for most
general sewing applications where needle damage is not a problem
– These are sometimes referred to as ‘Sharps’.
Light Ball Point, used
generally in fine and medium needle sizes to prevent needle
damage and laddering in light and medium weight man-made and
knitted fabrics.
Medium Ball Point used
generally in medium size needles and medium weight knitted
fabrics to prevent needle damage to the fibres.
Organ Cutting Point
used in the sewing of Leather, PVC, Plastics and similar
materials. This cutting point needle makes a small incision when
the needle penetrates the fabric making an area in which the
thread can travel freely in the sewing cycle. Some points are
angled to allow decorative stitching and topstitching of the
work piece.
Needle Breaks
Needle Technology has become
so advanced now that the Organ actually produce specific needles
for actual applications. One of the main problems and causes of
breakage is the use of an incorrect needle. Needles break
because they are too fine for the fabric or have the wrong
point. If you are breaking needles, check it is the correct type
needle breakage does tend to lead towards component damage and
expensive repairs. Generally if you follow these simple
guidelines you should reduce your instances of breakages.
There is no such thing as a
cheap needle. Cheap is exactly what it means. The needle is one
of the most important components in your machine, use a good
one, manufactured by Organ.
Always use the correct needle
size and point style for the job in hand.
Change your needle regularly,
the point and the blade can be easily damaged, especially in
difficult applications.
If ever you have a stitching
problem, the first thing you should do is change your needle.
Thread Breaks
Some machine embroiderers find
that even when using high quality threads they experience the
thread snapping or shredding. The usual advice given is to
‘change the needle’ and usually it works. However, if you
understand why you change the needle, the advice makes much more
sense.
Whilst in use a machine thread
runs through the eye of the needle very fast, creating a groove
which is unique to that thread. As each type of thread has it’s
own unique weight and twist, when you change to a different type
of thread the groove in the eye of the needle does not match the
thread and trouble ensues.
The best needles come in neat
plastic boxes and if you stick a label across the box you can
note which needle you used for which thread, keep a separate
needle for each type (Not colour!) of thread that you use.
Taking the extra few seconds to change to it’s special needle
will make life much easier!!
Thread tension is also a prime
cause of thread breakage. Puckering is a sign of bad tension and
you can help eliminate puckering, especially in fine fabrics, by
using a fine sharp needle and a straight stitch throat plate.
The fine sharp needle will punch through the fabric with less
drag and the straight stitch throat plate will give more support
to the fabric as the needle punches through it.
A straight stitch throat plate
has a round hole for the needle as opposed to the wide hole
designed for zigzag sewing. This is often an optional accessory
for your machine. You will get the best, even seam, using a
Jean/Sharp needle with a straight stitch throat plate. As well
as a straight stitch plate, a straight stitch foot is also
recommended because, like the throat plate, it has a small round
hole instead of a wide rectangular one.
Remember, In machine
embroidery, it is important to use a thick enough needle to
punch a big enough hole to allow the embroidery thread
sufficient access to prevent damage to the thread and thereby
shredding and breaking. Therefore the thicker the thread the
thicker the needle should be.
Needle Sizes
The size of a needle is
calculated by its diameter, thus a 90 needle is 0.9mm in
diameter. You will see that the higher the number the thicker
the needle will be. A previous method of numbering was from 8 to
20 and those numbers equate to the current system as follows.
Size 8 = 60, Size 10 = 70,
Size 11= 75, Size 12 = 80, Size 14 = 90, Size 16= 100, Size 18=
110, Size 20 = 120.
Quick Guide
No.60 - Silks
No.70 - Lightweight fabrics
No.80 - Medium weight fabrics
No.90 - Medium heavyweight
fabrics
No.100 - Heavy weight fabrics
No.110 - Upholstery fabrics.
No. 120 – Denim and Heavy
Canvas
If in doubt, its cheaper to
buy some new needles than repair your machine!
Specialist Organ Needles.
We carry a comprehensive range
of specialist needle. Here is a quick preview.
Stretch needle for highly
elastic synthetic knitwear like lightweight or silk jerseys.
Microtex for silk and
microfibre fabrics.
Jeans for denim and similar
densely woven materials, artificial leather, waxed cloth and
vinyl.
Leather For leather and
artificial leather.
Quilting made stronger to be
able to cope with layers of fabric and wadding, the quilting
needles are also longer from the tip to the eye.
Titanium coated needles give
great durability when handling extreme fabrics and yarns.
EBBR needle, developed by
Organ specifically for the Brother PR-600 embroidery machine
series.
Twin needles are great fun.
Before ordering check that the hole in the base plate of your
machine is wide enough to take the needle. Use the twin needle
for tuck-piping and ornamental seams. |
