The Best Sewing Machine Needle For Cotton

The best needles for sewing cotton fabric are medium-sized needles such as 80/12 and 90/14.

They work well with quilting pieces, lightweight upholstery, denim, cotton, silk and other fabrics of similar weight.

What a 90 14 needle is used for

90/14 needles are suitable for medium weight fabrics, slightly heavier weight cotton, polyester, linen and lightweight upholstery fabric.

Lighter weight fabrics such as silk require a smaller sized needle.

The lighter the fabric, the smaller the needle can be.

Best sewing needles to use with silk

Typically, silk fabric, and other lightweight fabrics, require a smaller needle such as a 60/8, 70/10 or 80/12.

70/10 needles work well with your fine silk and chiffon, while 80/12 needles are best for medium weight silk.

How to finish silk seams

For the perfect silk seam finish, wrap the sewn edges together by sewing them in and make sure they are flat.

Additionally, shorten the stitch length to 2mm to reduce the number of puckers you have.

Lastly, don’t pull the silk fabric through your machine, just guide it, and keep a little pressure before and after the stitch so the silk stays tight.

Needle size for sewing vinyl

Vinyl is a heavier weight fabric, requiring a larger size needle to handle thickness without breaking.

Before starting your next vinyl project, prep your sewing machine with a leather or denim needle size 90/14.

For perfectly symmetrical stitches in vinyl, use a denim twin needle.

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.

Singer sewing machines use the same needles

Singer quality-crafted machine needles are strong and durable enough for denim fabric hems or industrial zippers.

Intended for all-purpose use, with regular point needles for use on woven fabrics, Singer needles are universal, super-strong and fit all home sewing machines.

What 80 11 needles are used for

Singer regular point needles are used for standard stitching performed by a home machine.

Needles of size 80/11 are best used with lightweight woven fabrics and can be used by Singer, Brother, Kenmore and other quality sewing machines.

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.

Best stitch length to stitch in the ditch

To lock your quilting pieces together securely, the best stitch length to stitch in the ditch with is 1.5 mm.

Several layers of stitching will ensure you don’t end up with a hole in your quilt, and 1.5 mm is sufficient to keep your pieces together tightly.