Hand-Sewing Needles

How to choose hand-sewing needles

You are buying a packet that costs less than a coffee, so the useful question is which assortment saves you from buying a second one next month.

1. 1Buy an assortment, not a size — Nobody knows which needle they prefer until they have sewn with a few, and a mixed pack of sharps in several sizes costs about what a single-size packet does. The size you keep reaching for will make itself obvious within a month.
2. 2Eye size against fabric — A big eye is easier to thread and leaves a bigger hole. On quilting cotton that does not matter; on a fine woven or a silky lining it does. If threading is the problem, an embroidery needle with a long eye is a better answer than a fatter needle.
3. 3Whether a threader is included — A wire threader costs almost nothing, breaks eventually, and makes the whole business quicker. Several assortments here include one or two, and a packet of spares is the cheap way to always have one that works.
4. 4Something to keep them in — Needles in a drawer become needles in a carpet. Packs that arrive in a case, a tin or a needle book are worth the small premium, and a pincushion does the same job for the two or three you have in use.

Often overlooked: a bent needle is a finished needle. Hand needles pick up a slight curve from being pushed through heavy fabric, and a curved needle wanders off the line you are aiming at and drags at the cloth. They cost pennies each — change one the moment it stops going where you point it, exactly as you would a machine needle.

Which hand-sewing needle do you actually need?

Hand needles are sorted by shape and by number, and the number runs backwards: the higher it is, the finer the needle. An assortment of sharps in the middle sizes will sew almost everything a beginner does by hand — a hem, a button, a seam you would rather not drag across the machine, the last four inches of a cushion closed from the outside.

Shape is what changes with the job. Sharps are the general-purpose needle. Embroidery or crewel needles are the same length with a long eye, which is why people who cannot thread anything buy them for ordinary sewing too. Betweens, sold as quilting needles, are short and stiff for small even stitches. Darners are long for weaving through knitwear, and a tapestry needle has a blunt point for going through holes that already exist rather than making new ones.

These are not machine needles, and they do not substitute for each other in either direction. A machine needle has its eye at the point end and a flat-sided shank made to be clamped; a hand needle has neither. If what you are looking for goes into your sewing machine, that is the machine needles shelf, not this one.

Frequently asked

What size hand-sewing needle should a beginner buy?

An assorted pack of sharps in the middle of the range. Hand-needle numbering runs backwards — a higher number is a finer needle — and rather than guess, most people find the size they like by sewing with a mixed packet for a few weeks. A middling sharp handles a hem, a button and a seam repair without complaint.

Can I use machine needles for hand sewing?

No, and it is not a matter of preference. A machine needle's eye sits at the point end and its shank is flattened on one side so a machine can clamp it, which makes it awkward to hold and impossible to sew a normal running stitch with. Hand needles and machine needles are two separate purchases.

What is the difference between sharps and embroidery needles?

The eye. They are the same length and sharpness, but an embroidery — or crewel — needle has a long eye sized for thicker thread or several strands of floss. Plenty of people who do no embroidery at all keep a packet because a long eye is far easier to thread.

How do you thread a needle without a threader?

Cut the end at an angle with scissors rather than biting it, flatten the end between your fingers, and bring the needle down onto the thread instead of aiming a limp end at a hole. Holding the eye against something white or against a lamp helps more than better eyesight would.