Types of Sewing and Embroidery Needles And Their Uses (2024)

There are so many different types of embroidery needles and sewing needles out there, and it can get kind of confusing as to which ones you should use for different kinds of needlecrafts. I wanted to make a quick and concise guide that goes over the basics. There are plenty of other needle types out there, but I’ve found that these are some of the most common ones.

This post is part of a series of posts about hand embroidery supplies.

Disclaimer: This post has some affiliate links in it.I receive a small commission from purchases at no additional cost to the buyer.I only recommend products I would use and love and that are of good quality.All opinions are my own!

Types of Needles

It’s important to know the difference between different types of needles because each type of needle has a specific purpose, and it can make your life a lot easier when you choose the right one.

Needles have an eye (where the thread goes through) and a pointed tip at the end that goes through the fabric.

Different types of needles having varying characteristics that include:

• size or thickness of the needle
• size and shape of the eye (to accommodate for the type and size of the thread)
• sharp or blunt tip
• overall length of the needle

Embroidery Needles

Embroidery needles have a long oval eye that is somewhat larger than a standard sewing needle. This makes it easier to use with multiple strands of embroidery floss. The end has a sharp point, making it great to use on fabric with a tighter weave for surface embroidery.

Some of my favorites are DMC and gold eye clover needles. The gold plated needles are supposed to help you thread the needle more easily, which I have noticed is the case when I use them.

Tapestry Needle

Tapestry needles have a large eye and a blunt tip. They are ideally used for needlepoint or cross-stitch where the holes are large enough that you don’t have to pierce the fabric to pull the thread through. They can also be used in Hardanger embroidery, pulled thread, and drawn thread work. They are also beneficial to use with certain embroidery stitches because the blunt tip won’t snag the thread or fabric. (i.e. basket stitch for weaving in and out of the embroidery floss)

Chenille Needle

Chenille needles have a long, large eye and a sharp end. These needles are also great for embroidery where you are using a thicker thread such as wool for crewel embroidery. They can also be used for ribbon embroidery. They’re a bit heavier than embroidery needles, so naturally, they may make larger holes in your fabric depending on the size you choose. I prefer to use embroidery needles when embroidering with cotton floss, but if I absolutely have to I’ll use sizes 22-18 with all 6 strands of floss and it works perfectly fine!

Sharps and Between Needles

Sharps are needles that are of a medium length with a small, rounded eye. They’re normally used as hand-sewing needles.

A between needle is shorter in length and has a small eye and a sharp end. These are commonly used for quilting.

Beading Needle

Beading needles are long and thin with a small eye and a sharp end. They are ideally used for sewing beads and sequins onto fabric. The eye is small enough to where the bead can fit over it, and the longer length makes it easier to thread multiple beads on at once.

What Size Needle Should I Use?

Needles come in many different sizes. The different sizes are reflected by a number. A general rule of thumb (that applies to chenille, tapestry, and embroidery needle sizes) is that the larger the number, the smaller the needle is, and the smaller the number, the larger the needle is. This does not apply to all needles, but for hand embroidery, it makes things less confusing to me! For more information and details about needle sizes, John James Sewing has a helpful needles guide and there’s also this post that has a needle size chart.

Embroidery Needle FAQS

How Do I Know What Size Embroidery Needle to Use?

As a general rule of thumb, you want to choose a needle that is thick enough to make a hole in the fabric that the thread will easily go through and has an eye large enough that you’re able to thread the needle easily. Choosing a needle too thin will make it hard to pull the thread through the fabric. Selecting too large of a needle can leave visible holes in the weave of the fabric and also make it harder to work more intricate designs.

Here are a few suggestions:
Sizes 9-10: Finer threads or when working with 1-2 strands of embroidery floss
Sizes 3-8: Medium weight threads or when working with 3-6 strands of embroidery floss

What is the difference between Crewel and Embroidery?

The only difference between the two is the thread that you use! Crewel embroidery traditionally uses wool yarn that is thicker than cotton embroidery floss. The stitches that are used in crewel embroidery are the same as in modern embroidery. Crewel designs that were popular long ago included floral motifs, fruits, birds, and other animals. Crewel embroidery generally appears more 3-dimensional and puffy because of the thickness of the yarn used. You can learn more about the history of crewel embroidery here.

What are the three types of embroidery needles?

Embroidery, Chenille, and Tapestry needles are all considered needles you can embroider with!

What is the best needle for hand embroidery? What type of embroidery needles are used for most standard embroidery stitches?

This post goes over some of the best quality embroidery needles you can use.

The size embroidery needles you use depends on how many strands of floss you are embroidering with. I recommend purchasing variety packs of needles for embroidery. You’ll be using anywhere between 1 to all 6 strands of thread at a time. DMC has variety packs of size 3 – 9 embroidery needles, which should be sufficient.

Size 3 needles are good for when you are using all 6 strands of floss and the smaller sizes (up to size 9) are good for embroidering with 1-2 strands of thread.

I hope this quick run-through of different types of needles helped you find the correct needle for your next project! This is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to all the different types, so if you’re looking to read about even more, Sew Guide has a very informative post about 16 types of hand sewing and embroidery needles. Happy Stitching!

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