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Who, other than stitchers, would think there's so much to know about the needles with which we stitch? :-) We weren't able to get through everything at either the Monday or the Friday Class Act Chat, so I'll include what we missed discussing in this article.
I'm going to be discussing needle sizes throughout this article, so the first thing I should say is the larger the number assigned to needle sizes, the smaller the needle. For example, a #26 tapestry needle is larger and longer than is a #28 tapestry needle. There are two groups of sizes assigned to needles. The size groupings do not carry over. Needles come in sizes 1-15 or in sizes 13-28.
For embroidery and needlepoint, stitchers generally use one of several types of needles. Tapestry needles have blunt points and oval eyes, and they're used primarily for needlepoint and for counted thread embroidery, including counted cross stitch. In both these needle arts, the stitcher passes the needle through holes in the fabric or canvas, and with the exception of a very few stitches like French knots, does not pierce the fabric threads themselves. The blunt tapestry needle helps the stitcher avoid piercing the fabric threads by accident. The long oval eye makes for easier needle threading, too. :-) Tapestry needles are available in sizes 13-28, although the ones most commonly used are #24, #26, and #28. Later in this article, you'll find information about when to use particular needle sizes. :-)
Crewel needles are sharp pointed with an oval eye. They come in sizes 1-13. These needles are used, generally, for embroidery techniques in which the stitcher does pierce the fabric threads--crewel embroidery, stamped cross stitch, silk ribbon embroidery, smocking, etc.
Betweens are short, sharp needles with round eyes. You'll often see them used in quilting and fine hand sewing.
Sharps, as their name implies, are sharp needles. They have round eyes and are available in sizes 1-13. I use sharps for regular sewing chores like hemming, etc. They are also good in counted thread and other embroidery for making French knots and bullion knots.
Beading needles are not assigned sizes. They are very long, thin, pointed needles whose purpose is to attach beads. If you aren't accustomed to the length of a beading needle, you may find it cumbersome to use. Many stitchers substitute a #28 tapestry needle when they attach beads.
The final kind of needle is an entity unto itself. My Favorite Needle is a very small tapestry needle produced by a company that makes a variety of "My Favorite" products. It's smaller than a #28 tapestry needle and is blunt. It's generally used for counted thread work and is more expensive by far than are regular steel needles. From what I've heard from stitchers, if you try this one, you either love it or hate it. ;-)
I mentioned earlier needle sizes range from 1-15 and from 13-28. For counted thread work, there is a traditional guideline as to what size needle to use with various fabric thread counts. In the following list, thread count means the number of fabric threads per inch.
14-count or fewer--#22 tapestry needle
16-18-count--#24 or #26
18-count or more--#26
The traditional listing came about before #28 tapestry needles became popular, so they aren't mentioned. I like using a #28 tapestry needle, especially on linen. A good rule of thumb here, IMHO, is to use the size needle that is most comfortable for you. :-) I should make the point, however, that using too small or too large a needle for your fabric and the number of strands of floss required can cause a couple of problems. If you look at pieces of fabric of various thread counts, you'll notice the holes between the threads are different sizes, too. The more threads per inch, the smaller the holes, in most cases. The purpose of a needle is twofold: to draw the floss through the fabric and to help create a hole through which the floss will go smoothly. If you use a needle too large for the fabric, it can enlarge the hole more than you want. If you use a needle that's too small for the thread count and the number of strands of floss, you may feel a little pop when the eye of the needle and the floss through it go through the fabric. The needle hasn't enlarged the hole enough. Although the floss will go through, the portion of it in the eye of the needle will tend to wear faster as you stitch because it is rubbing against fabric threas.
You probably noticed when I wrote about types of needles, I also mentioned whether they had round or oval eyes. The shape of the eye can be an important consideration you'll want to use when you choose needles. Oval eyes are longer and easier to thread with multiple strands of floss or thread. If you look closely at a needle with an oval eye, you'll notice the needle diameter is fatter at the eye end to accommodate the oval eye. Other needles have round eyes, which are smaller and not so easy to thread, especially with 2 or more strands of fiber. If you look closely at a needle with a round eye, you'll notice the needle's diameter at the eye end is much the same as the diameter of the rest of the needle itself. When the needle goes through fabric, etc., the eye end won't enlarge any hole the needle makes as much as will a needle with an oval eye. Is this important? It can be, depending upon the kind of stitch you're doing. Sharp needles with round eyes are probably the best ones to use for French knots and bullion knots. I can't speak about bullion knots because I haven't yet learned to do them, but I do French knots all the time. When you do a French knot, one step requires you to wrap the floss around the needle. Then, you draw both needle and floss through to the back of the fabric. The eye of the needle is going to pass through the little knot you made. If you use a needle with an oval eye, you'll enlarge the knot when the eye passes through. On the other hand, a needle with a round eye will not do so. A needle with an oval eye is also much easier to thread with metallic fibers like blending filament, which is best to loop directly to the needle.
Needle finish was a subject of a great deal of discussion last week. The majority of needles are made of steel. Because steel can rust, it's always advisable not to leave the needle stuck in the fabric on which you're using it, especially for long periods of time. Purists would tell you never to leave a needle stuck in the fabric, period. Many stitchers can use steel needles with no problems at all; however, some of us have a body chemistry that causes a steel needle to darken over time as we use it. If this happens to you, you'll probably also notice the needle isn't sliding through the fabric or holes as easily as it did before the dark area developed. There are several ways to deal with this problem if it occurs for you. Probably the least expensive way is simply to discard the discolored needle and use a new one. (I can imagine seeing our foremothers shuddering at this suggestion because in their day, needles were very expensive. These women guarded their needles carefully because they may have owned only one or two.) A second option is to use a needle plated with gold or platinum. These come in the most common sizes, but they're much more expensive than are steel needles. Gold plated needles range from $3.00 to about $5.00 for a package of 3. Platinum needles are generally more expensive yet, with a package of 2 costing an average of $4.00-$6.00. Many stitchers like them, even if steel needles don't discolor for them. The main reason seems to be that they run more smoothly through fabric and fabric holes than do steel needles. Several stitchers noted that with extended use, the plating can wear off these needles. If you can afford one, there are solid gold needles available at an average cost of about $40.00. It was pointed out at our Friday class that a solid gold needle may bend more easily than a steel or plated one because gold is a soft metal. I never broke a hand stitching needle until I tried #28 gold- and platinum-plated needles. Almost immediately, each of these broke in the area of the eye. I compared them to #28 steel needles and noticed the metal around the eye in the plated needle is much thinner than is the same in a steel needle.
A couple of stitchers noted the gold-plated needles will turn dark or will turn green for them. I didn't know what to say to them about why this happens, but I've had some time since chat to consider. While I have no authoritative information on the subject and am certainly not a chemist, I'd note there are several companies who make needles of all kinds. It may be that the quality of the gold plating on some needles is not good and may cause the discoloration. These stitchers told us they have no problem wearing gold jewelry, and that the discoloration happens only with plated needles. If any of you have any pertinent information in this area, I'd be most happy to hear it. :-)
Another thing noted by several of us, including me, is that our needles tend to bend the more we use them. One of the members at the Friday class whose husband is an engineer said the bending probably occurs with stitchers who use the sewing method of stitching as opposted to the poke and pull. This makes sense to me because I have to put more pressure on the needle in order to use the sewing method. My needles don't break, and the bend is bearable for me, but it may be uncomfortable for some of you. The solution to this difficulty can be one of two things. When your needle begins to bend, use a new one. To avoid having it bend at all, try using the poke and pull method.
One of the topics we didn't have time to discuss was needle storage. It seems never to fail when we lose needles, we aren't the ones who find them. ;-) Many times, they find their way into a DH or other family member, who is not happy to have been the finder. This often happens when we stick our needles in chair arms or drop them by accident into a chair or on the floor. One of the best ways to keep your needles together is to use a needle safe. These come in a wide variety of styles and materials and will hold quite a few needles. The least expensive are little elongated plastic boxes, similar to those is which leads for automatic pencils are sold. They have a tight fitting cap and will fit easily into one of the boxes often used for floss bobbins. Some have a magnetic strip on the back so you can attach them to something metallic. I own a plastic one, which goes everywhere with me, and I have a handmade wooden one I keep in my printer's drawer full of thimbles for display. I don't use the wooden one because the cap doesn't stay on. There are also wonderful metal needle safes in metals ranging from brass to gold and silver. Some of these even have a needle threader built in. One of these would be perfect on a chatelaine you've made to hold your needlework necessities. I've seen quite a few charts with directions for hand-stitched needle books, too. Ordinarily, the stitching is done, and then it's put together with a lining and a fabric like felt to hold the needles for you. Many of these have ribbons attached to tie the needle book closed. And of course, there's our old standby, the pin cushion. It's nice to have one with an emery strawberry or other emery attached because you can run your needles through it to keep them clean and running smoothly. And we can make our own pincushions if we like, too. I have a wooden one sitting here waiting for me to do the needlework. :-)
I would guess I'm not the only person who's had the following problem. Even with a needle safe, I sometimes have to empty all the needles from it to select the one I want. I do this now as I sit in a chair with a clean dishtowel on my lap so I don't lose any of them. But what if all those needles fall on the floor....or even one of them? I've seen a number of suggestions at other chats from stitchers who use very creative means to find their "needles in a haystack." ;-) It has been noted that gold-plated needles are much easier to find than are steel ones, so she uses them instead. Light seems to glint off them. Some stitchers use flashlights to discover their dropped needles before they become embedded in someone's foot. The flashlight will reflect off the needles, and they're much easier to find. For this next idea, you'll need a vacuum cleaner with a hose. Take off any attachments at the business end of the hose, and put over the end a piece of nylon stocking. You can use a rubber band to keep it where you want it. Then, turn on the vacuum and, using the hose, go over the area in which you lost your needle(s). The needles are very lightweight and will be picked up by the vacuum. They'll "stick" to the piece of stocking, which prevents them from going up the hose and into your vacuum.
Copyright 1997 Jill Martz
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