When you are sewing it is always important to use the right needles and pins. For example, you don’t want to use a big thick needle on a thin delicate fabric or a thin delicate needle on a thick, bulky fabric. Just like there are different sizes of hand sewing needles, there are different sizes of sewing machine needles. Bigger size needle (for machine needles) means that it is larger. Larger needles are used for thicker fabrics like denim. Smaller needles are for thinner fabrics like knits. Universal point needles are best for woven fabric. Ballpoint needles are better for knits because the ball point doesn’t break the threads of the knit- it pushes the threads out of the way. Universal needles are sharper and pierce the fabric. Hand sewing or sewing through a good sewing machine needles are sized differently, but the larger needles are better for thicker fabrics.
There are many different kinds of pins: dressmaker pins, flathead pins, applique pins, quilting pins, ballpoint pins, and glass head pins. Dressmaker pins have almost no head. They are thin, but can be hard to see and are used for projects you are cutting with a rotary cutter. Flathead pins have a head that looks like a flower and are good if you are ironing. Applique pins are good for things like trims, beads, and appliques. Quilting pins are long and are great if you are pinning several layers of fabric and batting. Ballpoint pins are great for knits and other fabrics because they don’t tear the fabric. Glass head pins are longer and are used for delicate fabricates that are more layers. I usually use ballpoint pins for my projects
Thanks for the tips, Rachael Hannah! Do you have a good system for distinguishing between all of the different types of sewing needles when they’re outside of their boxes? I try to color-code them, but then I forget which color means what. :)
That’s great! I have a needle case where you can pin the needle to it, but I like your idea better.