The document provides an overview of sewing machine needles, detailing their essential functions, parts, and types. It emphasizes the importance of selecting the appropriate needle size and type for different fabrics to avoid issues such as thread breakage and seam puckering. The document concludes with a guide on needle identification based on system, point, and size, including an explanation of different point types for various sewing applications.

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Contents…… . . .
The basic functions of a needle
Needle Parts
Needle Selection
Types of needle
Needle Size / Thickness
Md. Masudur Rahman
Department of Textile Engineering
4th Batch
National Institute of Textile Engineering and Research (NITER)

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A sewing needle is a long slender tool with a pointed tip. The first needle were made of bone or
wood; modern ones are manufactured from high steel wire, nickel or gold plated for corrosion
resistance. The highest quality embroidery needles are made of platinum
The central feature of any sewing machine is the needle or needles. Very many needle types
(systems) have been developed over time to ensure each sewing machine that uses them performs
at its best.
Needle systems may be introduced for a number of reasons such as the introduction of new or
specialized fabrics, new sewing machinery or even increases in machine speed.
Needle size is denoted by a number on the placket. The convention for sizing is that the length and
thickness of a needle increases as the number decreases. For example, a size 1 needle will be
thicker and longer, while size 10 will be shorter and finer.
1. To create a passage in the material for the thread to pass through.
2. To carry the needle thread through the material and form a loop which can be picked up
by the hook or looper mechanism.
3. To pass the needle thread through the loop formed by the looper mechanism on machines
other than lockstitch.
 Introduction
 The basic functions of a needle
 Needle Parts:

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1. Butt
The starting part of bottom edge of needle. Helps for easily
attaching of needle with the needle bar or clamp
2. Shank
The bottom thicker part of the needle which is tied in the
needle clamp or the needle set screw. It may be cylindrical or
flat in size. It supports the needle as a whole by providing
additional strength
3. Shoulder
The intermediate section between the shank and the blade of
needle. When the needle penetrate through the fabric to reach
its lower position, then the shoulder also penetrates through
the fabric. As a result it reduces the friction between needle &
fabrics by producing a wider hole on fabric.
4. Blade
The needle portion extends from the shank to the eye. This is
subjected to the greatest amount of friction and hence heat
when it passes through the material. Blade is gradually
tapered to tip
5. Long groove(s)
It is a long and thin groove, presents in one side of the
needle blade . During up and down of needle through
sewing, the sewing thread take place in this groove and
reduce the frictions between fabric, needle and thread. It
provides a protective channel and reduce possibility of
damaging thread due to frictions.
6. Short groove
It is formed on the other side of long groove, towards the
shuttle, hook, or looper and it assists in throwing the loop of
needle thread
7. Eye
The eye of the needle is present in the bottom end of the blade.
Needle thread allowed through this eye is taken to the bottom
area. It helps to create loop
8. Scarf (Clearance)
It is a curved slot, a clearance cut in the needle blade just
above the eye to permit a closer setting of the shuttle, hook,
or looper to the needle. As a result, it is easy to catch the
needle loop by the looper hook.
9. Point
It is the part from needle eye to the tip. The point of the needle is shaped to provide the most
suitable penetration of the material being sewn according to its nature and the desired stitch
effect

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10. Tip
The ending edge pf needle is called tip. It helps to penetrate the needle into the fabric and create
hole during sewing.
There are various sizes of needle and needle should be select according to types of fabrics and
sewing thread. The size of needle is expressed directly by a number on the manufactures but metric
size is the simplest and widely used. Shortly it is denoted by Nm. Needle size is expressed by
measuring diameter of the middle of the needle blade. For example, the diameter in the middle of
a needle blade is 0.9 mm, and then the needle size would be 90 Nm. If the diameter of the middle
of a needle blade is 1.2 mm then the needle size would be 120 Nm. Generally for finer fabric,
sewing thread and needle should be finer.
Various effects of wrong sewing needle selection in apparel industry has mentioned in the below:
1. When the needle is finer than sewing thread
2. When the thread is finer than needle
3. When the needle is coarser than required fabric
4. When the needle is finer than required fabric
 Selection of Needle
 Effects of Wrong Needle Selection in Apparel Industry

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 When the sewing needle is finer than sewing thread cannot move easily through the
needle eye.
 The thread will not take position accurately at the needle long groove.
 More heat will generate on the needle for higher friction.
 The ultimate results the thread breakage and garments production loss.
 When the thread is finer than sewing needle then it may produce slipped stitch as the
needle can’t create perfect size of loop.
 The fabric will be looked odd due to the larger hole.
 Seam puckering may produce on woven fabric.
 During sewing needle will deflect and become curve with the action of the throat plate.
 This type of curve needle will produce slip stitch as the looper may not catch the loop
needle thread.
A sewing machine needle is identified with three parameters and they are:
 System
 Point
 Size
A needle system defines the dimensions of a needle to suit the machine type. Depending on the
machine and its stitch type, the needle is designed with variations in length of blade, shank
thickness, type of eye etc. It is advisable to check with the machine manufacturer for suitability of
needle system to machine.
A needle point is classified broadly into two types:
1. Cutting Point or Leather Pont
2. Cloth Points or Round Set
 Needle Identification
 1. System
 2. Point
1. Effects when the needle is finer than sewing thread:
2. Effects when the thread is finer than needle:
3. Effects when the needle is coarser than required fabric:
4. Effects when the needle is finer than required fabric:

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Cutting point needles have sharp tips like blades. These tips are available with a wide variety of
cross-sectional shapes such as lens, rounded, triangular and square. They can be used while sewing
dense, non-fabric based material like plastic, leather. Because, there is no gap in these types of
materials. They pierce the material more readily than the round point types thereby generating less
needle heat. There are a large number of cutting points of which around 11 are in regular use.
But mainly cutting point is divided into three types:
a) Wedge Point
It produces most durable seam on leather. It resists great stress, the incision lie at right
angle to the seam direction and high stitch density can be achieved
b) Cross Point
Here strength is considerably weakened. The material is likely to tear if stress is at the right
angle. The incisions lie parallel to the direction of the seam.
c) Twist Point
The strength is intermediate and the incisions like 45 deg. to the direction of the seam.
1. Cutting Point Needles

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Cutting points spear
Cutting Points Overview

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Cutting point wedges
These are used for sewing textile materials like fabrics. The point of needle should be round in
cross section. But tip depends on fabric like knitted or woven. There are believed to be around
twenty different round points available out of these six are in common use. These are mainly
divided into two types.
a) Ball Point Needle
b) Set point Needle
The thread in the knitted
fabrics are bounded in loop
from. If any thread of loop is
drawn-off due to any reason,
then the hole structure of the
fabric starts to be opened out.
For this reason the point of
needle should be as to prevent
the opening of structure of
knitted fabric. As a result ball
point needles are used for
sewing knitted fabric.
Generally three types of ball
point needle are used
2. Cloth Points or Round Set Needles
a) Ball Point Needle

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I. Light Ball Point (SES)
This point is used for sewing
lightweight knitted fabric. It is
sometimes used for fine denim
and light, densely woven material to avoid damaging the material.
II. Medium Ball Point (SUK)
This point is used for sewing
medium weight knitted fabric. It
is also used for medium to coarse
denims, particularly sand-washed and stonewashed grades.
III. Heavy Ball Point (SKF)
This point is used for coarse
knitwear and for sewing dense
woven elastic (it won’t push the
elastic yarn through).
IV. Special ball point (SKL)
Used for medium to course elastic
materials with covered elastomeric
threads and very coarse knitwear.
Generally set pointed needles are used for sewing woven fabrics. Mainly set point needle are
three types:
b) Set Point Needles

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1) Slim Set Point also referred to as acute round point (SPI)
This point is used for dense woven fabrics
as it causes less damage, helps set a
straighter stitch and minimizes seam
pucker. Commonly used for micro fibre and densely woven fabrics, coated materials, topstitching
of collars and cuffs in shirts.
2) Medium Set Point Needle (R):
Most of the fabric can be sewn by this type
of needle and knitted fabric can also be sewn
3) Heavy Set Point Needle:
Generally heavy set point needle is used for sewing button. There is a less possibility of button
deflection due to use of heavy point needle
The size of a needle is generally represented in one
of two ways (although there are others). The
European metric sizing system for sewing machine
needles is numbered from 60 to 110. The American
sizing system is numbered from 8 to 18.
By metric number or European number (Nm)
represents the diameter of the needle blade in
hundredths of a millimeter measured just above the
scarf but not at any reinforced part of the blade.
For example, a Nm 110 needle is 1.1 millimeter in
diameter, while a Nm 50 needle is half a millimeter
in diameter.
For both sizing systems, the lower the number the
finer the needle and the higher the number the larger
the needle.
The thickness of the blade on the right is 1.1mm
wide which is shown in Nm as 110.
The alternative standard needle sizing method is the Singer/Asia numbering system sometimes
referred to as the American system that uses a number that represents a size.
 3. Needle Size / Thickness

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 Sewing Machine Needle Chart

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