Introduction: A sewing needle, used for hand-sewing, is a long slender tool with a pointed tip at one end and a

hole (or eye) at the other. The earliest needles were made of bone or wood; modern needles are manufactured
from high carbon steel wire and are nickel- or 18K gold-plated for corrosion resistance. High quality
embroidery needles are plated with two-thirds platinum and one-third titanium alloy. Traditionally, needles
have been kept in needle books or needlecases which have become objects of adornment. Sewing needles may
also be kept in an étui, a small box that held needles and other items such as scissors, pencils and tweezers.

Sewing Machine Needle and Its Purposes:

Needle is the central feature of any sewing machine. The manner in which fabric is pierced by the needle during
stitching has a direct impact on the strength of the seam as well as garment appearance.

The purposes of the sewing needles are to:

 Make a hole in the fabric so that the sewing thread could pass through it to form a stitch without causing
any damage to the fabric while doing so.
 To carry the needle thread through the fabric to form a loop. This is then taken up by the hook in a
lockstitch machine or by means of the looper in chain stitch machines.
 Pass the needle thread through the loop created by the looper mechanism on a chain stitch machine.

Parts of a Sewing Needle:

The different parts of a sewing needle are shown in Figure-1.

 Figure-1: Parts of a sewing machine needle.

Every parts of sewing machine needle are described below: 

Shank: It is the top portion of the needle, which positions inside the needle bar. It could be designed as
cylindrical or have a flat side, based on the method of holding it on to the needle bar. It is the principal support
of the entire needle and is larger in diameter than the remaining part of the needle to give the strength.

Shoulder: It is the part in-between the shank and the blade, with the blade forming the longest portion of the
needle up to the needle eye.

Blade: It undergoes an enormous amount of friction from the fabric through which the needle passes. In case of
needles specifically designed for high-speed sewing, the shoulder is normally extended into the upper part of
the blade to give a thicker cross section. This arrangement of reinforced blade strengthens the needle and
produces the enlarged hole in the fabric while the needle is at its lowest point, thus minimising the friction
between it and the material. On the other hand, the blade could be designed as a tapered one, reducing its
diameter gradually from shank to tip to minimise the friction.

Long groove: It gives a shielding channel for the sewing thread while it is carried down into the fabric for stitch
formation thus reducing the abrasion and friction with the fabric.

Short groove: It is located on the reverse side of the long groove, that is, towards the hook or looper; it extends
slightly above and below the needle eye. It assists in the formation of the needle thread loop.

Eye: It is the hole or opening in the sewing needle, lengthened through the blade along the long and short
grooves on the needle. The profile of inside part of the eye at the top is vital in reducing sewing thread damage
and in producing a good loop formation.

Scarf: The scarf otherwise known as clearance cut is a nook across the whole face of the needle immediately
above the needle eye. Its objective is to facilitate closer setting of the bobbin hook or looper to the needle so that
the needle thread loop could be entered more easily by the point of the hook or looper.
Point: It is tapering portion of the needle created to give a better penetration of the needle on various kinds of
fabric. It should be properly selected to prevent damage of the fabric to be sewn.

Tip: It is the ultimate end of the point, which combines with the point in defining the penetration performance
of the needle.

Special Needles:

Several over-edge and safety stitch sewing machines utilize curved needles instead of straight needles. These
needles are costly though the life of the needle is lesser compared to straight needles. However, the sewing
machines utilising curved needles (Figure-2a) could achieve higher speeds than by using straight needles. Blind
stitching machines also utilise needles that are curved, but the purpose here is to avoid penetration right through
the fabric. Sewing machines (pick stitching machine) that imitate hand stitch (class 209) utilise a double-pointed
sewing needle with an eye in the middle (Figure-2b), through which is threaded the short length of thread with
which this machine sews.

Figure-2: Special needle shapes. (a) Blind stitch needle. (b) Pick stitch needle.

Identification of Sewing Needle:

Three parameters are generally used for the identification of sewing needles such as system, point and size.

System:
It describes the elements of a needle to suit the sewing machine type. Based on the type of sewing machine and
type of stitch, the needle is designed with variants in blade length, shank thickness, type of needle eye, etc. It is
worthwhile to ensure with the sewing machine manufacturer for appropriateness of needle system to machine.

Needle Point:
A needle point is broadly categorized into two types:

1. Round point needle – set or cloth points

2. Cutting or leather point needle

Cutting Point Needles:

Cutting point sewing needles have spiky tips like blades and a wide range of cross-sectional profiles such as
rounded, triangular, square and lens exist. They are normally used to sew highly dense and non-fabric based
materials. Five universal kinds of cutting point sewing needles are shown in Figure-3, along with their profile of
incision produced when used in a machine with the commonest threading direction.
 Figure-3: Cutting point needles.

The narrow wedge point needle: It cuts the material at right angles (90°) to the seam direction and permits to go
for a high stitch density (SPI) while leaving adequate material between the needle holes to retain seam strength
of material. On soft leather material, stitch densities as high as 12 per centimetre are achievable. It is the most
frequently utilised cutting point needle for stitching uppers in the shoe industry.

 The narrow reverse point needle: It produces cut that lies 45° to the seam direction, and produces a
seam where the thread is turned to the left on the surface of the material.
 The narrow cross point needle: It makes a cut along the line of the seam and necessitates a longer
stitch length. Heavy decorative seams could be made where thicker sewing threads are used at lower
stitch densities, that is, longer stitch length.

Numerous kinds of other point types exist for the variety of leathers, seams, sewing machines and strength and
appearance requirements that arise. This involves triangular cross sections for multi-directional sewing.

Cloth Point Needles:

These kinds of needles are used for sewing textile materials instead of the leather/sheet materials as in the case
of cutting point needles. The points have a round cross section contrasting to the various cutting profiles of the
cutting point needles and the tip at the end of the point can vary in profile to suit the particular material being
sewn.

 The contour of the tip of the needle point which attains the deflection rather than penetration is a fine
ball shape and the needle is called a light ball point needle which is utilised primarily for sewing knitted
fabrics.
 The tip of the needle point which attains the penetration has the shape of a cone and is known as a set
point needle which is utilised for sewing woven fabrics. Both ball and set point needles are available in a
number of types, illustrated in Figure-4.

Figure-4: Types of cloth point needles. R: set cloth point, SPI: slim set point, SES: light ball point, SUK:
medium ball point, SKF: heavy ball point, SKL: special ball point.

Slim set point (SPI): It is generally used for sewing denser woven fabrics and aids in achieving a straighter
stitch which could minimise seam pucker. Generally used for heavy woven fabrics, coated fabrics and
topstitching of collars and cuffs.

Medium set point needle: It is the general purpose needle in no problem sewing situations. It is commonly
used for sewing a range of woven fabrics and in many circumstances could be used for knitted fabrics also.

Set cloth point (R): It is generally utilized for sewing standard fabrics with regular seams.

Acute set point: This kind of needle is used while sewing very dense fabrics like shirting fabric and interlining
in collars and cuffs, where a straight line of stitching is required.

Heavy set point: These needles are used for sewing buttons as the button can be deflected to some extent into
the correct position; thus, the needle can pass through the holes.

Light ball point (SES): It can be used for sewing lightweight knitted fabric and densely woven material.

Medium ball point (SUK): It is utilised for sewing denim fabrics of medium to coarser weight and knits.

Heavy ball point (SKF): It is utilised for sewing heavier woven elastic materials as well as coarser knits.
Special ball point (SKL): It could be utilised for sewing heavy knits and coarse elastics.

Needle Size:
The needle size is normally expressed in two ways. One of the basic methods of representation is by a metric
number (Nm). This system represents the diameter of the needle blade in hundredths of a millimetre measured
just above the scarf area. For example, a needle size of Nm 100 is 1.0 millimetre in diameter as shown in
Figure-5. Another standard needle sizing method is the Singer system, otherwise called the American system,
which uses a number that represents a size.

Figure-5: Metric needle sizing.

Needles are offered in a wide range of sizes and the selection of needle size is based on the combination of
fabric and sewing thread which is to be sewn. If the selected sewing needle is too small for the sewing thread
size, the thread will not fit well into the long groove of the needle and will suffer from extreme abrasion. The
use of too fine a needle while sewing heavy plies of fabric could lead to the deflection of the needle, which
could influence the stitch loop pick up and cause slipped stitches or even needle breakage. Use of a larger
sewing needle for the particular sewing thread resulted in poor control of the loop formation which could lead to
slipped stitches.

Application of Sewing Machine Needles:  

General purpose needles:

The general purpose needles used in apparel manufacturing are given in Table-1.

Table-1: Application of General Purpose Needles

Needle Description Fabric Sizes

Ball-point It has a medium tip, Knits 70/10 – 100/16
rounded compared to
universal needle
Sharp It has a slim shaft and Fine woven fabrics 60/8 – 90/14
sharper needle point
Universal Needle point is Woven and knitted 60/8 – 120/19
marginally rounded; fabrics
however, it is sharp
enough to pierce
woven fabrics
Specialty needles:
The specialty needles used in garment manufacturing are given in Table-2.

Table-2: Application of Specialty Needles

Needle Description Fabric Sizes

Denim It has a thicker and stronger Denim and heavy 70/10 – 110/18
shaft and a sharp needle point woven fabrics
Leather It has a wedge-shaped needle Leather and 80/12 – 110/18
point nonwoven fabrics
Machine It has a larger eye and a special For embroidery 70/10 – 90/14
embroidery scarf to protect the sewing
thread
Metallic It has a larger eye than the For metallic 80/12
embroidery needle, and a sharp threads
point to avoid thread breakage
Quilting It has a tapered as well as Machine quilting 75/11 and 90/14
sharp needle point
Spring needle It has a shaft surrounded by the Quilting
wire coil, which acts as a
presser foot
Stretch needle It has a deep scarf to avoid Lightweight 75/11 and 90/14
skipped stitches knitted fabrics
Topstitch needle It has an extra-large eye and a Topstitching 80/12, 90/14 and
large groove 100/16
Twin needle It is constructed with two Double 1.6/70 – 4.0/100
needles attached to a single topstitching
shaft
Triple needle It is constructed with three Triple topstitching 2.5/80 and 3.0/80
needles attached to a single
shaft
Hemstitch needle It has a widened shaft and Decorative 100/16 and 120/19
produces a decorative hole in stitching
tightly woven fabrics

Surface Finishing of Sewing Needles:

Sewing needles are normally made from steel and during their final manufacturing stage they are polished,
specifically in the needle eye area. They are then electroplated using chromium or nickel to provide resistance
to mechanical wear, corrosion resistance and reduction of friction during sewing. One of the main requirements
of the surface finishing of needles is it should not pick up any elements of synthetic fabric or thread which could
melt due to excessive heat generation. By considering this aspect, the chromium-plated sewing needles are
superior compared to nickel-plated needles.
Effect of Wrong Sewing Needle Selection in Apparel Industry

In readymade garments industry, sewing needle should be selected according to the types of fabric and sewing
thread. Perfect needle selection helps to achieve better output from the sewing section. The size of needle is
expressed differently by the manufacturers but metric size is the simplest and widely used in garments
manufacturing sector. In shortly, needle size is denoted by Nm and is expressed by measuring the diameter of
the middle of needle blade.

Sewing Machine Needle Used in Apparel Industry

Effect of Wrong Needle Selection in Garments Industry:

Various effects of wrong needle selection in apparel industry has mentioned in the below:

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.

All the above effects have explained in the following:

1. Effects when the needle is finer than sewing thread:

When the needle is finer than sewing thread then the thread cannot move easily through the needle eye and
thread will not take position accurately at the needle long groove. As a result more heat will generate on the
needle for higher friction which ultimately results the thread breakage and garments production loss.

2. Effects when the thread is finer than needle:

When the thread is finer than needle then it may produce slipped stitch as the needle can’t create perfect size of
loop.

3. Effects when the needle is coarser than required fabric:

When the needle is coarser than required fabric then fabric will be looked odd due to the larger hole. Here, seam
puckering may produce on woven fabric.

4. Effects when the needle is finer than required fabric:

When the needle is finer than required fabric then the 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.

Parts of Sewing Machine Needle with Their Function :

Sewing machine is one of the most important equipment in readymade garments sector. To get fault free
garments from sewing department, every garments production personnel should know the anatomy of sewing
m/c needle with the parts of sewing machine and their functions. As its importance in garments manufacturing
industries, today I will identify here all the parts of sewing machine needle with their functions.

Fig: Sewing Machine Needle (Front View)

Different Parts of Sewing Machine Needle with Their Functions:

A sewing machine needle contains the below parts:

1. Butt,
2. Shank,
3. Shoulder,
4. Blade,
5. Long groove,
6. Short groove,
7. Needle eye,
8. Scarf,
9. Point,
10. Tip.

All the above parts have explained in the following:

1. Butt:

The starting part of bottom edge of needle which can be made by predetermined shape. Butt helps for easily
attaching of needle with the needle bar or clamp of the sewing machine.

2. Shank:

Shank is the bottom part of sewing needle which is tied in the needle bar. It may be flat or cylindrical on one
side. Shank is wider than the remaining parts of needle and works as a support of needle.

3. Shoulder:

Shoulder is the part between shank and blade of sewing machine needle. When the needle penetrates through
the fabric to reach its lowest position then the shoulder also penetrates through the fabric. As a result t reduces
the friction between fabric and needle by producing a wider hole on fabric.

4. Blade:

Blade is the part from needle eye to shoulder. It is the longest part of the needle and maximum friction with
fabric take place in this area. Blade is gradually tapered to tip.
5. Long groove:

Long groove is a long and thin groove in blade from shoulder to needle eye. Sewing thread take place in this
groove during up and down of sewing machine needle through the fabric in sewing time, thus reduce the
friction between needle, fabric and sewing thread. There is lower possibility of damaging thread due to friction.

6. Short groove:

Short groove is placed in the side of needle where the hook or looper is placed. It is a small groove between tip
and needle eye. Short groove helps the sewing thread to create loop.

7. Needle eye:

The hole which is situated in the front of the needle is called eye. It is a small slot between long and short grove
of needle. Needle eye holds the needle thread and helps to create loop. The inside edge of needle eye is most
important specially when needle passes through the fabric. Because there is a possibility of damaging the
thread.

8. Scarf:

Scarf is a curved slot at near above the eye. It helps to close setting between the looper and needle. As a result,
it is easy to catch the needle loop by the hook or looper.

9. Point:

Point is the part from the needle eye to the tip. It helps to penetrate the needle into fabric without any damages.
Also, the proper care should be taken to select the needle point appropriately for the fabrics.

10. Tip:

The ending edge of needle is called tip. Tip helps to penetrate the needle into fabric without any damages. It
helps to create hole in the fabric during sewing the apparel.