NEEDLES AND TOOLS FOR HANDICRAFTS

NEEDLES AND TOOLS FOR HANDICRAFTS

Needles for embroidery with beads or threads are the most important tools for the crafter. So small and inconspicuous, yet worthy of great attention. After all, the right needle will not only help you enjoy the embroidery process more, but it will also make your product neater and add beauty to it. Therefore, choosing a needle is a quite important stage in preparing for work, and one should approach it with an understanding of the purpose of different types of needles and select the most convenient one to facilitate the process.

Nowadays, there are dozens of types of needles, depending on their purpose, whether for bead embroidery, cross-stitching, or darning.

They vary in length, thickness, with sharp or blunt tips, by eye size, and with gold plating on them, universal or depending on the type of fabric. Durable steel is used for needle production, minimizing breakage and bending. To reduce resistance when passing through the material, they are chrome-plated, and gold plating is applied to the eye. Gold plating also helps thread to pass through due to contrast.

When working with beads and threads, it is better to use a thin needle with a small eye for dense fabrics, and a thick one for coarse fabrics. Also, many embroiderers use short needles for satin stitch, a few centimeters long, which allows for even stitches. For cross-stitching on canvas, a needle with a blunt tip is used to avoid damaging the fabric, and with an enlarged eye, for the reasons mentioned above.

CHARACTERISTICS OF NEEDLES

Needle size - the larger the number, the smaller its diameter, which often confuses embroiderers. From 1 to 12 is for sewing, and from 13 to 26 is for embroidery. The length can vary by manufacturer.

Needle Length

long are used for bead embroidery, as they are convenient for picking up beads, also long ones are used for basting;

medium, or so-called universal ones are used for sewing and darning with threads, also medium ones can be tapestry needles;

short are convenient for embroidery with threads and creating stitches. They speed up the process due to their length.

Needle Thickness

Choosing thickness depends on the fabric density for embroidery; it is important to choose a diameter that does not leave a large hole after passing through the fabric and enters easily;

thin are suitable for bead embroidery, as they must pass through a small hole in the bead;

medium are used for sewing and darning, also include tapestry needles;

thick are used for embroidery on thick fabric and for coarse work.

Sharp and Blunt Needles

sharp are used for sewing, darning, and embroidery with both threads and beads. The choice of sharp is for dense fabrics;

with blunt or rounded tips (tapestry needles) are used for cross-stitching on canvas. The rounded tip allows passing between the fabric threads without splitting the fibers.

Needle Eyes

small are used in bead needles to pass thin thread and go through small holes in beads;

medium diameter are used in sewing needles for basting and quilting;

larger diameter are used in embroidery needles for threading DMC Mouline folded several times or thicker threads;

double is chosen for convenience or by people with vision impairments, as the thread is threaded from the top of the eye and does not require aiming;

Needles also differ by material. Some are flexible, while others are not. Some have additional treatment and pass more smoothly through the fabric, while others squeak and catch on fibers. Some may have gold plating on the eye - this also ensures easier passage through the material.

TYPES OF NEEDLES

• for hand bead embroidery use quite thin needles with a sharp tip that can pass through the small holes of beads and with a small eye for DMC Mouline thread. They should also be long for convenient bead stringing. For bead weaving, the needle does not need to be sharp;


• tapestry - medium or short needles with an elongated eye and blunt tip for hand counted embroidery with threads on canvas. This allows not to split the canvas and thread DMC Mouline folded several times. Using blunt needles is safer for children and easier for those just gaining skills in embroidery;


• sewing (universal) are distinguished by medium length, sharp tip, and small eye. Length is chosen depending on tasks, while diameter depends on fabric density. Thus, it is more convenient to process small details of clothing with short ones, while long or medium ones are better for darning;


• for quilting - very short, with a sharp tip and small eye. Such are convenient for making short and neat stitches and sewing layers of quilting. With them, the work becomes more precise and faster.


• for basting (for milliners, hat making) - long with a sharp tip and small eye. Basting fabrics is very easy due to their length.


• for satin stitch and decorative non-counted embroidery with threads - medium length, have a sharp tip and elongated eye. They allow for faster embroidery, threading DMC Mouline folded several times;


• with a double eye - the thread is threaded from the top of the eye with light pressure, and does not require aiming. They are also used by visually impaired people;


• with an eye in the middle and two ends - used for embroidery with threads. The convenience lies in the fact that the fabric is stretched on a frame, one hand is placed above the fabric, and the other under it. With two ends, the needle does not need to be flipped, and the embroidery process is faster.