4 Ways To Know When Its Time To Change The Sewing Needle
How often should I change my sewing machine needle?
Do we need to change the needle ? It seems fine - you may ask yourself ? It is working, unless it is broken and you have a powerful machine that will make it through any textiles anyway.
How many times you need to change your sewing needles, or how many sewing hours you can do with one needle and if you need to track the time and duration which will prompt you to make a needle maintenance ? The answer is there is no simply answer that fits to all. Unless you are a professional who is using it every day for hours you may be keenly aware of the rhythm and the practical side of things, but for anyone who is a hobbyist and an occasional sewist it isn’t something strictly kept in mind I think.. .at least not in the top 5 things.
DONT’T MAKE IT HARDER THAN WHAT IT IS
You don’t want projects to be harder than what they actually are. Sewing should be fun! Sewing is fun! It is an enjoyable process seeing your DIY fashion clothes are coming together, or your quick and easy refashion customised handmade DIYs coming to light.
Changing needles tough can make or break a sewing projects, not to mention it is crucial to study materials and learn which needles are most suitable for certain textiles, fabrics. Even if you are purely involved in beginner sewing projects like making square napkins from cotton fabrics and use the same type of needles for the rest of your sewing hobby career it is still important to pay attention to your needles and change them often.
LIFECYCLE OF SEWING NEEDLES
Although, it may seem a bit challenging to keep track of the hours you have been making with the same needle, how many metres of thread been used up especially, if the passion for sewing comes and goes just like inspirations, needles wore off.
You may have to change needles more often than you think you do.
Every time your needle goes through any textile materials it is causing micro wears and loosing its sharpness over time, the tip of the needle is getting slightly less sharp as time goes on. Due to the increasing bluntness of the point your machine needs more power and work harder to get its stitches across.
There is no one way of an answer to say how often it is recommended to make needle maintenance, however there are signs you can watch out that will give you hints, it is time to chuck out the current one to the bin and insert in a new sharp sewing needle.
SO WHEN IS IT TIME TO CHANGE NEEDLES ?
CHANGE THE FABRIC CHANGE THE NEEDLE
Although this isn’t a troubleshooting tip, this should really be the first tip. Every time your material changes you probably need to find the right needle which is right to the textile you work on. Take the time to study the variety of sewing needles as each and every fabric has different requirements, although I would be extremely happy if there was an universal needle but sadly can not use the same needle to sew a light silk and a hard denim fabric. So always use the recommended sewing needle to the fabric you making your DIY out of it.
For example my projects involves many thicker felt sewing fashion and accessory project and learning which needle works the best with sturdy felt materials turned these DIYs into fun experiments.
NEW SHINY SHARP NEEDLE CAN SORT OUT ALL YOUR ISSUES
When it gets difficult not just to your sewing machine to push the stitches but also gets harder for you to handle the details and the materials. First, you will notice something doesn’t look right, the stitches don’t look as pretty as before and you may find it more difficult for the needle to get through the fabric and so on..
I remember the first time it happened to me when my machine started skipping stitches and hence all the settings I re-fixed it just didn’t look right. This can fill you with worry when some of the preprogrammed decorative stitches stop working out of the blue!
Who would have thought that a simple needle change would fix all of my problems! Totally forgot about this crucial part not realising that the solution is actually closer than anything. If something similar happens to you, don’t panic, all you need to do is change the needle into a new shiny, sharp one!
WHEN THE MACHINE CRIES OUT LOUD
This may be a little tricky if you don’t know your machine for a long time. There can be further sign when a needle needs a change when noticeably your sewing machine works harder to work through its needle through the fabric. It can be similar to a clicky sound. It sounds much louder giving out a heavier noise than usual almost like your sewing machine mechanical bits are trying very hard to remind you that its metal parts needs a little caring & maintenance. Once you change the needle it will make such a difference and will result in a way smoother lighter noise which feels just right to your ears.
NEW PROJECT NEW NEEDLE
Needles are so inexpensive and such small investments considering the amount of time and effort goes with them. It is always helpful to change them often and this method will make you keep track of projects and draw attention to this habit.
It will help you establish a routine of regularly changing it, most probably more often than you would so. It is always advisable to change it every time you start a new promising project, it also has a secondary meaning as you respect your untouched material and start fresh. You can also make a little trial and error to see with just touching it with your finger if the needle you have is still have its sharpness or getting a bit hollow on the point, however the best commonly accepted practical guideline is to have a new set ready, to treat your new DIY with care.
It is insane how much a new sewing needle can transform your sewing experience, it can make your life easier and help massively to enjoy the process more and as well keep your machines in a good care. Hope you enjoyed these tips and I will see you soon with more helpful sewing guides.
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Hello!
I’m Dori, so glad you are here! Spice it up with Dori is a blog about bright DIY fashion, crafts & lots of colourful, fun, innovative endeavours. My aim is to be an ambassa-dor-i of creative living, thinking and making with an upbeat positive vibe so you can as well cultivate a life full of inspiration & spice things up with your personal touch.