Hand embroidery needles are very important for your embroidery activity. Your needle helps you to guide your thread from one side of the fabric to another. In this case, you have to use the needle with the right size. If your needle is too small, you may damage your thread.
On the other hand, if your needle is too big, you may leave a hole in your fabric. Therefore, choosing the right needle size is very important to make your embroidery activity more fun. In this case, you have to select the needle with a small size that will not leave any hole to your fabric. Before you buy any hand embroidery needle, you have to know the following facts
1. Type of hand embroidery needle
Different types of needles used in hand embroidery. Crewel needle has slightly elongated eyes with a sharp point. This particular needle usually used in crewel work. Just like crewel needle tapestry needle has elongated eyes but with a blunt point. Other types of embroidery needle are Chenille needles. This particular needle has elongated eyes with a sharp point and suitable for wool embroidery and crewel work. If you want to make bullion knot or French knot, you will need milliner or straw needle. This needle has a shaft and an eye that are equal in thickness.
2. Size of the needle
When it comes to needle size, the higher the number, the smaller the needle will be. The embroidery needle size range from one to twelve. The size for chenille and tapestry needle range from 18 to 28. In this case, number 28 is the smallest one.
3. Needle size relativity
In embroidery, your needle should pass through the fabrics with less abrasion. If your needle is too big, you will leave a big hole in your fabric. Choosing the right size of the needle is very crucial. Both embroidery needle and thread, they should be in the right size. For example, fine silk will require the smaller size of a needle than crewel yarn. This is because silk is thinner than crewel yarn. Choosing the right needle is very crucial especially if you want to have better embroidery result.
4. The eye of the needle
Sometimes you will have difficulty inserting your thread to the needle eye. In this case, you have to turn around the needle and insert your thread from the other side. Most of the machine-made needle has a different eye size in both sizes. One size is larger than another. This is because the needle eyes were bored or punch from one side pass through another side of the needle. On the other hand, the handmade needle has perfectly smooth and round eyes on both sides. Therefore, inserting your thread to the handmade needle is easier than entering the thread to machine-made needle.
Threading is a really fun activity. However, it is important to mention that you have to do it in the correct way. The fact is that you are not supposed to lick your thread. Licking your needle can rust the eye of your needle.
In conclusion, those are 4 things that you have to know about the embroidery needle. This information may help you choose the right embroidery needle according to its size and type. If it is possible, you can buy an embroidery needle set that consists of several needles types and various sizes.