© Student Handouts, By, Sunil Talekar, Faculty, SOFT-Pune NEEDLE Contents 1. The basic functions of a needle 2. Needle Parts: Physical characteristics 3. Needle Identification 4. Round Point Needles 5. Needle Size / Thickness 6. Comparison of Equivalent Needle Sizes 7. Common Problems and Solutions 8. Needle Checklist 9. Checking a Needle that is already in a Machine Functions of the needle • To produce hole in the material • To carry the needle thread through the material and there form a loop • To pass the needle thread through the loop SEWING MACHINE NEEDLE SEWING MACHINE NEEDLE PARTS • BUTT • SHANK • SHOULDER • LONG GROOVE • SHORT GROOVE • EYE • NEEDLE POINT • SCARF • BLADE PARTS OF THE NEEDLE SEWING NEEDLE PARTS SHOULDER • Intermediate between shank and the blade • It is also called shaft SHANK • upper part of the needle • may be cylindrical or have a flat side. • larger in diameter than the rest of the needle for reason of strength BUTT • The end of the needle • The butt determine the length of the needle when it is fully inserted into the needle bar of the sewing machine. SEWING NEEDLE PARTS BLADE • Below the shoulder of the blade to the eye of the needle • Longest part of the needle. • Accommodates the groove, the eye and the scarf. • The blade reduces the fabric resistance as the needle point and its eye passes through the fabric • Greatest amount of the friction . SEWING NEEDLE PARTS LONG GROVE • Slit above needle eye, should be large enough to "cradle" thread for smooth stitches. • Provides a protective channel in which the thread is drawn through. • A Correctly shaped long groove of a depth matched to the thread diameter, offers considerable protection to the thread. SHORT GROOVE • It extends a little above and below the eye • Its function is to assist in the formation of the loop in the needle thread. SCARF • Concave section above the eye of the needle • Indentation at back of needle. • A long scarf helps eliminate skipped stitches by allowing bobbin hook to loop thread more easily. SEWING NEEDLE PARTS EYE • Hole in end of needle through which thread passes. • The hole through which the thread pass • Eye is located below the scarf • Needle size and type determine size and shape of eye. SEWING NEEDLE PARTS Point: minimizes the damage of the fabric [...]... the needle is the right size, it will slowly spiral to the bottom of the thread NEEDLE CHECKLIST INSERTING A NEW NEEDLE • Always ensure the needle is the correct needle system for the sewing machine • Make sure the needle size / eye fits the thread size being used • Make sure the needle is pushed all the way into the needle holder • Ensure that the angle of the needle is correct • After inserting a needle. .. needle in the machine turn the machine hand wheel manually to make sure the needle isn't contacting any parts CHECKING A NEEDLE THAT IS ALREADY IN A MACHINE • Is the needle inserted correctly? • Is the needle contacting any machine parts? • Is the needle bent? • Is the eye rough or blocked with melted fibre? • Is the point damaged? • When in doubt change the needle! UNIVERSAL NEEDLE Uses: Safest needle choice... size DETERMINING THE RIGHT NEEDLE FOR A THREAD Here’s a quick way to determine if the thread and the sewing machine needle are compatible: 1 Take half a metre of the thread being used on the machine and thread it through the eye of a loose needle 2 Hold the thread vertically with the needle at the top If the needle is too big, it will drop to the bottom of the thread If the needle is too small, it will... scarf to enable almost foolproof meeting of needle and bobbin hook Troubleshooting: When fabric is not medium-weight woven, consider needle specifically suited to fabric For example, size 18 universal needle works on heavy denim, but size 18 jeans needle works better BALLPOINT & STRETCH NEEDLES Uses: Ballpoint needle for heavier, looser sweater knits; stretch needle for highly elastic fabrics, like Spandex,... than pierce them (Stretch -needle point is slightly less rounded than ballpoint.) Troubleshooting: Test-stitch knits with ballpoint, stretch, and universal needles to see which doesn't cut yarn and yields best results If ballpoint skips stitches, try stretch needle MICROTEX & SHARP NEEDLES Uses: Sewing microfiber, silk, synthetic leather; precisely stitching edges; and heirloom sewing Configuration: Has... covered elastomeric threads and very coarse knitwear NEEDLE POINT NEEDLE POINT CUTTING POINTS OVERVIEW NEEDLE POINT Cutting Point Needles • Cutting point needles have sharp tips like blades • These tips are available with a wide variety of crosssectional shapes such as lens, rounded, triangular and square • They can be used while sewing dense, non-fabric based material • They pierce the material more... due to fabric distortion NEEDLE POINTS Most machine needles will look similar but they will differ in their tips: Set/Spear point - These are used for most woven fabrics Ball point - These have a rounded tip and are used for knitted fabrics The rounded end allows the needle to separate the yarns without cutting them, which reduces the chance of the fabric laddering Wedge point - These are designed to... hole as they penetrate the fabric They are used for machining leather and plastic materials SPEAR NEEDLE POINT SLIM SET POINT SET POINT HEAVY SET POINT BALL NEEDLE POINT LIGHT BALL POINT MEDIUM BALL POINT HEAVY BALL POINT CLOTH POINT NEEDLE BALL POINT NEEDLE NEEDLE POINT EFFECT OF DIFFERENT NEEDLE POINTS NEEDLE POINT Slim Set Point also referred to as acute round point (SPI) * This point is used for... thereby generating less needle heat • There are a large number of cutting points of which around 11 are in regular use NEEDLE POINT CUTTING POINTS SPEAR NEEDLE POINT CUTTING POINTS WEDGES NEEDLE SIZE / THICKNESS The size of a needle is generally represented in one of two ways (although there are others) One method is by a number metric (Nm) This represents the diameter of the needle blade in hundredths... NEEDLE POINT 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 NEEDLE POINT 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) NEEDLE POINT Special ball point (SKL) Used for medium to course . material • To carry the needle thread through the material and there form a loop • To pass the needle thread through the loop SEWING MACHINE NEEDLE SEWING MACHINE NEEDLE PARTS • BUTT •. the needle for reason of strength BUTT • The end of the needle • The butt determine the length of the needle when it is fully inserted into the needle bar of the sewing machine. SEWING NEEDLE. Talekar, Faculty, SOFT-Pune NEEDLE Contents 1. The basic functions of a needle 2. Needle Parts: Physical characteristics 3. Needle Identification 4. Round Point Needles 5. Needle Size / Thickness