Have you ever wondered what all those colors and numbers on sewing machine needles are for? Do you struggle to decide which needle is the best choice for your current project?
Here, I’m excited to reintroduce my Sewing Lessons series with our first lesson on Sewing Machine needles! Find out which needle to use for which project and what all those colors and numbers mean.
Sewing machine needles will either have one or two colored bands just below the shank (that’s the thicker bit at the top), or the whole shank will be one color.
Both numbers actually give you the same information; one shows the European number (most commonly between 60 and 100, increasing in 10s), and the other shows the American number (most commonly between 8 and 16, increasing in 2s).