Study on needle

Needle: Needle is used to sew the fabric by thread. The speed of needle is controlled mechanically in
sewing m/c. Needles for sewing m/cs are manufactured normally from steel with a great variety of point
shapes.
Way of needle movement is related to:
Seam strength
Seam appearance.
Seam durability.
Functions of needle in the sewing m/c:
To make a hole in t he fabric without damaging the threads of the fabric so that the needle strand
can pass through the fabric.
To make a needle thread loop after penetration of the fabric by the needle will be picked up by
the rotating hook or lopper.
To pass the needle thread loop through the loop or loops of the looper thread, in case of other m/c
than lock stitch.
History of sewing needle
28000 B.C.- The earliest known sewing needle is developed in Aurignacia. Hand crafted and
made of bones, the needle has a split head instead of an eye.
17500 B.C The first needles with eyes and tapered point emerged. Also made from available
materials like bones, antlers etc.
7000 B.C Copper needles were produced in Armenia.
2500 B.C Bronze needles were born.
60 A.D Phrygier is credited with discovering embroidery.
1200 A.D The needle is advertised for the first time in China.
1496 Leonardo da Vinci constructs a machine to point sewing needles.
1615 Aachen shows the way by making needles from fine, pure steel.
1730 Stephan Beissel founds a needle factory in Aachen, Germany.
1755- Weisenthal discovered a two point needle.
1800- Balthasar Krems from Mayen, Germany used a needle, for the first time which had the eye
close to the point.

Different components of needle and its function

Butt: It is the 1st part of a needle which is specially is specially shaped so that the needle can
easily set in the needle bar or clamp.

Shank: It is the upper part of the needle which is tied in the needle bar. Shank may be cylindrical
or one side flatted. It is the coarser and stronger part of the needle than rest of the needle and it
supports the needle.

Shoulder: the middle part of the shank and blade is shoulder. It helps to make the hole of the
fabric by needle bigger. So friction between needle and fabric reduced. Moreover shoulder helps
to strengthen the needle blade.

Long groove: The long and thin groove between shoulders to needle eye in the blade is called
long groove. When the needle penetrates the fabric with needle thread, needle thread takes
position in the long groove. As a result friction between fabric and sewing thread reduced.
Possibility of damage reduced due to less friction.

Short groove: Short groove present in the needle in that side where the looper or hooker is
present. It extends little above and below the needle eye. It helps to make the needle loop.

Eye: The hole present in the front of the needle is called eye. It extends from long groove to short
groove. Eye size is very important because it is related to the fabric damage and needle thread
loop making. Buldged eye, coarser needle eye portion than blade acts as a shoulder. It damages
the fabric if the fabric is finer.

Scarf: The groove of the needle above the eye is called scarf. Its purpose is to enable the closer
setting of hook or looper to the needle. Thus the needle loop is easily caught by the looper or
hooker.

Point: The portion from the eye to the tip of the needle is called point. Needle point is so shaped
that it cannot be damaged the fabric. Point should be different for different type of fabric.

Tip: the last (extreme end) part of the needle is called tip. It helps to create hole in the fabric
during sewing.
Needle point

Needle point: Two types of needle point

1. Cutting point.
2. Cloth point.
i. Ball point.
ii. V Point / set point.

1. Cutting point: Cutting point needles are used for sewing of sheet type materials like leather, plastic
etc. In these mtls, there is no gap within the structure. So the needle point must prepare sufficient hole in
the mtl so that the needle blade and thread can pass through it without excessive friction.
Three types of cutting points:

2.Cloth point: Cloth point / Round point needles used for sewing cloths. The point of cloth point needle
is round and may vary to suit the particular mtl being sewn.

i. Set point: Set point needles used for sewing woven fabrics. Less possibility of fabric damage with set
point needle in woven fabric instead of knitted fabric .
3 types of set points namely:
Slim set point: For sewing densely woven fabric or top stitching like collar, cuff and pockets.
Set point: for sewing most types of woven fabrics, medium types of set point needles used.
Heavy set point: For sewing buttons ( attaching buttons)

ii. Ball point: Ball point needles used for sewing knitted garments the finer the fabric the finer should be
the ball point needle. Ball point needles are of 3 types:

Needle size expression:

Metric system (Nm): Easy process, most usable, based on blade diameter.
Needle size = Blade dia in mm X 100
= 0.8 mm X 100
=80 Nm.

Singer system: 5, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17.
Needle system number more, needle coarser.

Choosing needle according to fabric

Needle finish:
Needle is made of stainless steel. Sometimes needle is electroplated with Nickel or Chromium so
that it may be corrosion resisting, abrasion resisting.
Friction between Nickel electroplated needle and fabric produces more heat during stitch
formation.
Friction between chromium plated needle and fabric produces less heat than Nickel plated needle.
What Causes Needle Heat?

The friction between the needle blade and the fabric creates needle heat. The following
factors can have an impact on the amount of heat that is generated:
Fabric thickness
Fabric finish or density
Fabric color or density (darker colors normally are worse than lighter colors)
Sewing machine speed
Needle contact surface
Needle Size or diameter
Needle length
Type of needle blade
Type of needle finish

Maximum wear Resistance: PD Plating

PD/Perfect Durability: Titanium Nitride Finish Assures Greatest Wear Resistance.