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Machine embroidery needles come in sharp points for piercing heavy, tightly woven fabric and ball points,
which glide between the fibers of the knits.
The size of yarn being pushed aside with the ball point determines the size of the needle. Light ball points
(SES) are good for polo shirts, medium points (SUK) are good for fleece. The SKF or heavy ball point is
seldom used except for elastic goods.
You should always select the proper needle for the job. The target material and the thread help determine the
needle to be used for the job. If the proper needle is not used problems, including but not limited to looping,
and thread breaks, can occur. Most materials call for ball point needles.
Needles are classified by system type, blade size, and type of point. Blade sizes range from 60/8 to 110/18
depending on the system.
Keep a large eye needle for metallic thread on the machine at all times. You can designate needles
for different thread weights as well. For faster production work, thread jobs on neighboring
needles to minimize machine movements between colors.
Combine cotton bobbin thread and a small sharp needle with 60 weight thread for sharp, crisp
lettering.
TIP
Place your commonly used threads on the thread posts that are hardest to access-
in the center of the rack. Place the colors you change most often on the posts that
are easiest to reach. Consider keeping different size needles in a multi-needle
machine. Put ballpoints in half and sharps in half to be ready for all jobs. You
can place threads used in a job on neighboring needles to minimize machine
movement between colors.
