From the sewing basket of gramma:

We recall the sewing needles that they used for their Singer sewing machines.

We know that they looked different than common sewing needles, because the hole is not on the top, but right before bottom.

While all sewing machine needles look like the same, they’re not all the same. There are many determiners that decide whether one sewing needle is better than the other one or not.

Best Sewing Machine Needles 2023

In this buyer’s guide and review of 4 most famous sewing machine needles, we will get to know the most important characteristics of the best sewing machine needles.

For example, we will see why the purpose of a particular sewing machine needle makes it different from the others, and why only one particular type of sewing machine needles can be used with a particular type of sewing machine.

So, it’s all about purpose and compatibility. Here’s the review.

Singer 04808 Titanium Universal Regular Point Machine Needles

So:

Here are a few terms that must be explained before we move ahead and explain the pros and cons of this product.

A universal or regular or universal regular point needle is one that is used everywhere in the world and that can be used with any regular domestic use sewing machine.

However:

This does not mean that you can use just any size needle with any machine; all the “universality and regularity” is about the point of the needle.

You must find the needles of a size that syncs with your sewing machine.

Here’s our take on pros and cons.

Pros

Pros

• 10 Titanium coated needles
• Assorted Sizes
• Multiple Uses
• Compatible with all domestic sewing machines.

Cons

Cons

• Needles tend to break
• Needles tend to bend.

Okay, let us start with the cons. And before we start with them, it is very important to mention that the complains, although seem to be a very serious nature, didn’t come from the majority, but only a minority of the customers.

Needles tend to bread

The problem is that people expect good performance from these needles and they think that they’re made of titanium so they should actually stand some serious pressure, and when the needles break so do their hopes.

I’m not saying that titanium coated needles cannot break, but it is not the case with massive majority of people; this problem was only quoted by a few customers.

Needles tend to bend

That is actually the continuation of the same complaint. It is either people expect too much from these needles and end up mishandling them or the needles are actually not up to the mark.

But that question leads me to another question.

If this was such a bad product, why is it that over 400 people loved to buy these needles over Amazon and Amazon deemed it fit to reward this product with “Amazon’s Choice” tag?

The answer lies in the pros of this product, so let us discuss those pros.

10 Titanium Coated Needles

People who dislike titanium coated needles are those who think that titanium is strong and it can cause damage to the fabric or the machine if and when it breaks.

As a matter of fact, titanium coating makes a usual needle roughly 2x stronger and since the coating is done by machine, you notice that the surface of the needle is smooth and plain.

With a titanium coated needle you can work assured that it will not bend even when temperature hits its highest.

Also, since the material is strong, you see that this needle has a better grip on the fabric and you get a better stitching experience.

Assorted Sizes

The beauty of this package is that you get titanium coated needles in assorted sizes. You get those needles in a convenient and transparent plastic case with color marking that tell you about the size.

There are mainly 3 sizes:

• 80/11
• 90/14, and
• 100/16

Since they are color coded, you get to know as to which set of needles is exactly 80/11 or 90/14 etc.

The plastic cover keeps them safe and protects from rusting.

The colors that are assigned to all these sizes are as follows:

• 80/11 > Orange
• 90/14 > Blue, and
• 100/16 > Purple
• Multiple Uses

These needles are made for many multiple uses that a stitching or sewing savvy person can think of.

They are used for basic stitch work on woven fabrics. So make sure that you only use them on woven fabrics or fabrics that have the look and feel of woven fabrics.

The purpose of these needles is to help one with basic stitchwork – from light to heavyweight fabric.

So whether you woven fabric is lightweight or heavyweight, you have needles for them. Take a look at his:

• 80/11 > Lightweight Fabric
• 90/14 > Medium Weight Fabric
• 100/16 > Heavyweight Fabric
• Compatible with All Domestic Sewing Machines

The best thing about these needles is that though they come from Singer and naturally considered to be more compatible with Singer sewing machines, the fact is that you can use the lot of them with almost all domestic sewing machines.

Here is the list of some famous sewing machines that you can use them with:

• Singer
• Brother
• Kenmore, and
• All major, good quality brands

Singer 4758 Universal Heavy Duty Needles

This is another set of stitching needles from Singer. In this set you will find 3 heavy duty needles of same size.

The purpose of these heavy duty needles is to help you with the type of fabrics that you cannot deal with simple needles.

The uses are upholstery, shoes, decorative fashion and any case where you have to stitch on heavyweight material.

Here’s our take on pros and cons.

Pros

Pros

• 3 Heavy Duty Needles with Plastic Case
• 110/18 Size for Heavyweight Material
• For Use on Heavy Materials
• Compatible with All Domestic Sewing Machines.

Cons

Cons

• Cannot Sew Extremely Thick Materials
• Needle Eye Insufficient for Thicker Threads.

As usual:

Let us discuss these cons first, because these complaints seem to be somewhat valid and all about the process of sewing.

Here’s the cons of this product.

Cannot Sew Extremely Thick Materials

This needle, as much heavy duty it is, either breaks or bends when you try to sew some of the extremely thick materials with it.

For example:

It can do fine with leather or denim or even thicker materials, but as a customer explained, when she tried to sew a joint of polypro webbing, the needle broke.

However:

This happened to a needle that worked perfectly fine for a long time and with other thick and tough materials, so it is hard to say whether polypro is a no-go zone for this needle or the needle had completed its age.

Needle Eye Insufficient for Thicker Threads

Well:

This is not a complaint made by many, but only one of the customers who got this needles set from Amazon.

As we can see, there are hundreds of those who sewed successfully with the same set, it seems to us that either the unhappy customer tried a very thick thread or she was new to these needles and heavyweight material sewing.

Nonetheless:

We have examined the set of needles and we can say that the needle eye is definitely smaller for the required task.

However:

At the same time there are 300+ customers who figured this out.

And this is where it gets tricky.

This product, just like the previous one, has got “Amazon’s Choice” tag and 300+ customers has bought it so far.

Which actually got us thinking as to what qualities actually attracted so many customers, and the following pros answer that question.

3 Heavy Duty Needles with Plastic Case

These needles are made with heavy duty metal and the good thing about them is that whatever coating there is on them, due to that there coating, these needles do not rust.

The plastic case does not only help you to keep them in a moist-free environment and all in one place, but also the number markings on them show the size of these needles.

Since these needles are not meant to bend, break or rust before a few years, you do not need to have a handful of them.

Only 3 of them are enough for you for a year or two or more.

110/18 Size for Heavyweight Material

The size of this needle, as you can see, is a quite big one. It is made of high end metal and the purpose of this needle is to sew heavyweight fabric.

The needles are 110/18 size and this size is silver coded on them. They are definitely not for lightweight fabric, because the impact of this needle on a lightweight fabric would not be a good one.

For Use on Heavy Materials

This needle, as it has been said, is made for heavyweight materials. Unlike previously reviewed needles, this is not for lightweight or medium weight fabric.

It is only for heavyweight fabrics and this is why the heavyweight material used in making these needles is justified.

Here are the materials that you can sew with these needles:

• Denim
• Drapery
• Wool, and
• Corduroy
• Compatible with All Sewing Machines

As it is the case with the needles that have been reviewed in this review, these sewing needles are also compatible with almost all major sewing machines.

Whichever domestic sewing machine you have, these needles can be used with here. Here is the list:

• Singer
• Brother
• Kenmore, and
• All other high quality sewing machines

SASEW8012 Sewing Machine Needles

Not a big brand:

Yes, we can see that, but don’t judge a book by its cover.

To start with, these needles made by Organ have got 500+ customers only on Amazon and as expected, this needle got “Amazon’s Choice” tag because of scoring so many good reviews and sales.

Here are the most important pros and cons of this product.

Pros

Pros

• 10 Pack of 10 Needles = 100 Needles
• All Purpose 80/12 Size Needles
• Flat Back Needle Shank
• Good for All Domestic Sewing Machines.

Cons

Cons

• Very Small Needle Eye
• Tends to Break Easily.

Just like the needles mentioned above:

This one also has the usual and common issues. However, this must be mentioned that with the same common issues, this is one of the most highly sought after needle sets on Amazon.

Let us discuss these cons now.

Very Small Needle Eye

The problem with this needle is not a new one. These problems are with almost all other needles and with the needles in this review as well.

It is actually more like something out of habit; when people are used to sewing with a particular type of needles, they always mess up with new lot and then find such issues.

This can be an objective objection, but let us consider the fact that this complaint was not made by more than one or two customers.

Tends to Break Easily

This is yet another very common problem. Here’s an interesting observation; many of these needles take long time, many warehouses and stopovers to reach to the customers.

During all that time they often catch mist or rust, and thus they become easy to either bend or bread.

However:

This might be just a speculation. What we really care about is that out of 500+ customers only a few complain of this.

Here is the detail about the pros of this product.

100 Needles

Unlike the needle boxes that we have reviewed above, this one does not have only 3 or 10 needles.

This packages comes with 100 high quality, general purpose needles.

The needles are packed in an airtight pouch in which they cannot possible catch rust. All needles are good for daily, domestic sewing and stitching challenges.

All Purpose 80/12 Size Needles

The size of these needles is 80/12.

Although the description makes a case of them to be used as standard everyday needles, when we compare them to the Singer 04808 set of needles, we see that 80/11 (in this case 80/12) is only good for lightweight fabric.

So it is safe to say that these needles are best for lightweight stuff, and all you can do is use them on a little bit medium weight stuff, but in case of full medium weight stuff, there are more than good chances of you breaking these needles.

That actually explains the reason why one or two customers complained of how these needles are very easy to break or bend.

Flat Back Needle Shank

These needles have flat back shanks.

Flat back needle shank helps you better to install a new needle, and the grip of these needles is reportedly better than those that do not have a flat back shank.

Shank, just for your information, is the part of need that comes right after the butt. On one end of needle there is a shank and on the other side of it, there is the butt: shank is in the mid of the upper part.

Good for All Domestic Sewing Machines

As a matter of fact:

And as the Amazon page of the product suggests, these needles are made for Brother sewing machines.

However:

Since they are so universal and so general, in their shape and style, they can be used with almost all domestic sewing machines that you know.

This most definitely includes Singer and Kenmore and others.

SCHMETZ Universal (130/705 H) 5 Household Sewing Machine Needles

SCHMETZ sewing needles are made for domestic machines, but again these are claims that cannot be verified unless we take a look at the number.

The size of these needles actually explain the ambit of the clothes and objects that one can stitch with them.

These needles come in a box and a big quantity comes at a very affordable rates.

How good are they? Well, there are 100% people who bought these needles from Amazon and it is the only product in this review with 5-star review.

It is needless to say that this product has got SOME value to offer to the sewing and stitching enthusiasts.

Here’s what we think of the pros and cons of these products.

Pros

Pros

• 130/705H Universal Sewing Needles
• 90/14 Size
• Medium Sharp Point
• 100 in a Box.

Cons

Cons

• Compatibility Issues
• Limited Application.

Here you go:

We got two really interesting cons to toy with and dissect.

Here are the cons of this product – discussed in detail.

Compatibility Issues

Well:

To be honest, this is the first time that I get to know that a needle being reviewed here is not compatible to all machines, but then there is no such claim on the Amazon listing for this product.

While these needles work for most of domestic sewing machines, they get rejected by a few. This means that within the range warranty, you would have to check the product and return to Amazon, in case it is not compatible with your machine.

Limited Application

To be honest:

This is not a con that I took from personal examination or reviews, but based on the specifications of this product.

The size of this sewing needle is 90/14.

Well, if this is true, we must know that this is the exact size that is considered good only for lightweight to medium weight fabrics.

This means that you cannot use these needles for thicker and heavyweight fabrics.

However:

The pros of SCHMETZ needles outshine the cons.

130/705H Universal Sewing Needles

First question:

What is 130/705H?

Well, all home sewing machine needles are internationally classified as 130/705H system.

This means that this is a set of needles that can be used with most of the home or domestic sewing machines.

This actually discriminates this type of needles from the industrial purpose and industrial machine needles.

This type of needles usually have flat-back needle shank and a scarf.

We call it universal, but this system, classification and type of needles is universal – universally used at domestic machines.

90/14 Size

As it has been mentioned above:

90/14 size is the perfect example of a needle that is used for lightweight to medium weight fabrics.

It is not made for heavyweight fabrics, which actually confirms that it is a needle made under 130/805H standard.

Also:

The Singer 04808 needle with size 90/14 is also considered unfit for heavyweight fabrics, and fit only for lightweight and medium weight fabrics.

Medium Sharp Point

A 90/14 or 130/805H needle mostly comes with a medium sharp point.

The purpose of medium sharp point is to help with a type of cloth that leans from thin to somewhat thick, but one that is neither too tough nor too heavy.

Since this is a needle that can maximum be used for medium weight cloth, a medium sharp point is the most appropriate point for it.

100 in a Box

This needle comes in bulk packaging.

In an airtight packaging, there come 100 needles per box.

Their affordable price and bulk quantity make them a perfect deal for the people who want cheap priced needles for their domestic machines.

Frequently Asked Questions on Sewing Machine Needles

Which sewing machine needle should I use?

First of all, the American and European sewing sizes differ with each other. In America, 8 to 19 size is being used with 8 being the finest and 19 being the thickest. While 60 size is fine in Europe and 120 is considered as thick.

Are sewing machine needles brand specific?

Sewing machine needles do come in different brands but they all serve the same purpose and they do not differ much based on their brands.

When should I replace my sewing machine needle?When should I replace my sewing machine needle?

After after every 3 full bobbins used or every 2 pre-wound bobbins used, or if you change the fabric, it is suggested that you need to replace your sewing machine needle.

Additional Resources

• Portable Sewing Machine
• Best Mini Sewing Machines
• Best Embossing Machine
• Computerized Sewing Machine
• Sewing Machine For Industrial Leather

Verdict on Sewing Machine Needles 2023

Before we go on and give a verdict about which of them is the best product, here is a table to put everything in perspective.

As per these facts and figures, here is the sewing needle that we consider one of the top sewing machines needles.

Titanium Universal Regular Point Machine Needles

We selected it because it offers needles for all kinds of fabrics, it is hard to break or bend, it works on all domestic sewing machines and there are good number of needles in a free plastic case that comes with it.