A sewing machine needle is a specialized

needle Needle may refer to: Crafting * Crochet needle, a tool for making loops in thread or yarn * Knitting needle, a tool for knitting, not as sharp as a sewing needle * Sewing needle, a long slender tool with a pointed tip * Trussing needle, a long sl ...

for use in a

sewing machine A sewing machine is a machine used to sew fabric and materials together with thread. Sewing machines were invented during the first Industrial Revolution to decrease the amount of manual sewing work performed in clothing companies. Since the inv ...

. A sewing machine needle consists of: * shank - clamped by the sewing machine's needle holder * shoulder - where the thick shank tapers down to the shaft * shaft - a length suitable for driving the eye and thread through the material and down to the

bobbin A bobbin or spool is a spindle or cylinder, with or without flanges, on which yarn, thread, wire, tape or film is wound. Bobbins are typically found in industrial textile machinery, as well as in sewing machines, fishing reels, tape measure ...

* groove - cut in the front of the shaft to allow the thread to lie more closely to the needle as it passes through the fabric * scarf - provides extra room for the hook or shuttle to pass close by * eye - carries the thread * point - penetrates the material by either parting the threads or cutting a hole in the fabric Domestic sewing machines, designed for use in homes as opposed to commercial sewing operations, use a common needle type (including a standardized length, as well as ''shank'' shape and diameter) referred to as "Groz-Beckert 130 / 705," "HAx1" or "15x1" needles. Needles labeled as "universal" needles are of this type and are generally the type of needles found in retail sewing supply shops. The 15x1 needle is available in different standardized ''shaft'' diameters suitable for sewing different fabrics (see the section on Size codes below). For commercial/industrial sewing machines, there are several proprietary sizes and types of needles which are not mentioned in this article.

Construction

The majority of sewing machine needles are made of various grades of hardened steel coated with either nickel or

chromium Chromium is a chemical element with the symbol Cr and atomic number 24. It is the first element in group 6. It is a steely-grey, lustrous, hard, and brittle transition metal. Chromium metal is valued for its high corrosion resistance and hardne ...

, though certain specialty needles are coated with titanium nitride on top of chromium. Titanium nitride is a reflective golden-colored ceramic material which reduces abrasion allowing the needle to stay sharper longer and last many times longer than other varieties. The titanium does not make the needle any stronger in regards to bending, however, and such needles will bend and snap just as easily as any other. Nickel plating is the least expensive and least durable form of plating. Chrome plating lasts longer and gives better abrasion resistance. Titanium nitride on top of chromium is the most expensive and is superior in performance to both chrome and nickel.

Size codes

More than a dozen modern conventions exist for numbering the sizes of sewing machine needles, though only two remain in common use: the American (established and propagated by Singer) and the international system (also called the "European", "number metric" or "NM" system). The European designation, established in 1942, corresponds to the diameter of the needle in hundredths of a millimeter at a non-reinforced point above the scarf. In both cases, a larger number corresponds to a larger, heavier needle. Most sewing machine needles will have packaging that gives both of these numbers in its size description — (e.g. as either 100/16 or 16/100). The length of all sewing machine needles has been standardized and does not require a separate code. The metric designation is the actual needle diameter in hundredths of a millimeter. The following chart gives a comparison of the two systems:Needle Size Conversion Chart
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Types

Most currently manufactured needles are designated according to "type", and fall into the following categories:

Singer number and color codes

Singer colors and numbers its needles with the following system of codes to indicate the needle point type and shaft size:

SVP Worldwide colour codes

The coloured band on some types of Inspira needles indicates the needle type.

Kenmore color codes

Kenmore colors its needles with a different system of color codes which indicate the needle's size:

Schmetz shank colour codes

The coloured top band on some types of Schmetz needles indicates the needle shank types.Schmetz Needle Chart
/ref> Schmetz needles with a universal needle (shank) have a colored bottom band indicating the (shaft) sizes:

References

{{sewing Sewing machines