Needle Size For Sewing Vinyl
When sewing vinyl, it’s best to use a larger, sharp needle. A size 90/14 or 100/16 needle is a good choice for most types of vinyl.
These needles are strong and sharp enough to pierce the thick vinyl material without breaking or bending.
It’s also a good idea to use a longer needle, such as a top stitch needle, to help prevent the needle from breaking or bending as you sew.
It’s important to use the correct thread. For vinyl, it’s best to use a high-quality, high-strength thread such as polyester or nylon.
These types of thread are strong and durable, and will hold up well when sewing through thick vinyl.
Avoid using cotton thread, as it can break easily when sewing with vinyl.
Also, It’s always a good idea to test a few different needle and thread combinations to find the one that works best for you.
What the numbers on sewing machine needles mean
The numbers assigned to sewing machine needles represent the fabric thickness they are able to sew.
Larger numbers are capable of sewing thicker fabric. Smaller numbers are for sewing lighter weight fabrics.
Care must be taken to match needle size with project material for best results.
How to know what sewing machine needle to use
As a general rule: smaller needles are best used on lighter weight fabric, and larger needles work best on heavier weight fabric.
The thread used for your sewing project will determine the size and type of needle you choose. In general, product labels will tell you which fabric type they were designed for.
Sewing machine needles that work on leather
Cutting point sewing machine needles work well on heavy leather materials.
For lighter weight leather, something like an R point Groz-Beckert sewing needle works well.
R point needles are considered sharp enough to punch through light leather quite easily.
Different sizes of sewing machine needles
The numbers on sewing machine needle packages represent the thickness of the fabric you are able to sew with those specific needles.
The larger the number, the thicker the fabric you can sew. Smaller needles are for sewing finer fabrics.
How to tell the difference between sewing needles
Larger needles have a smaller number, while smaller needles have a higher number.
An example, a size 18 needle is thicker and longer than a size 24, which is shorter.
To discover which you like best, try a variety of brands, types, and sizes until you find one you are most comfortable using.
The best universal sewing needle size
The slightly rounded points of the best universal needles are sharp enough to pierce woven cotton fabrics, but not so sharp as to damage knits.
They come in sizes ranging from 60/8 to 120/19, however, a good starting point is the 80/12 size.
To save money, look for assorted needle packs that include two or three different needle sizes.
The best machine quilting stitch length
The best stitch length for machine quilting is 2.5 to 3.0 which will give you 8 to 12 stitches per inch.
Adjust your stitch length based on fabric thickness and weight, Stronger fabrics often require fewer stitches per inch, but pieces with heavy padding require more.
About size 11 sewing machine needles
Size 11 needles work well on light-medium weight knit fabrics and are the recommended needle size for light to medium weight embroidery.
Size 11 works especially well when quilting with polyester thread. A size 11 needle should be part of a good basic sewing kit.
Sewing machine needles to use (and when)
The larger the needle number, the larger the blade of that needle.
Both needle sizing numbers are typically marked on the package, such as 60/8 and 70/10.
Home sewing machine needles are classified as 130/705 H system, which means they should be used in home sewing machines rather than industrial machines.
