The best sewing machine needles: which packs to buy for your fabric and machine

Twenty needles in the one size you'll use most. The 80/12 universal is the default for quilting cotton and poplin, and Brother's fabric chart puts medium-weight fabrics in the 75/11 to 90/14 range, with 80/12 right in the middle. Schmetz describes the point as slightly rounded, so it handles wovens and some stable knits without snagging.

Buy the single size rather than an assortment if most of what you sew is cotton. Assortments leave you with 110s you never touch and no 80s by spring. It's also one of the top-rated packs in the category, at 4.9 stars on 3,496 ratings.

• Size80/12
• Count20 (2 cards of 10)
• Pointslightly rounded
• Fitshome sewing machines (listing)
• Other sizes60/8 to 120/19

The most-bought name-brand needle pack on Amazon this month, at 4,000+ purchases and 13,662 ratings. Singer pairs two point styles in one case: blue needles with a sharp, slender point for denim and heavy wovens, and a brown needle with a triangular point that cuts a clean hole in leather and vinyl. That's the right mix for hemming jeans, a canvas tote and the odd vinyl repair.

One caution the listing makes clear if you read the colors: the brown leather needle cuts. Keep it out of woven fabric, where a cutting point weakens the seam. Singer's own FAQ recommends size 16 or 18 for heavy fabrics, which this pack covers.

• Count5
• Sizes2 x 90/14, 2 x 100/16, 1 x 110/18
• Pointssharp (blue), triangular leather point (brown)
• Casesizes marked by slot

Singer's machine FAQ says to use only Singer needles in Singer machines, and this is the easiest way to follow that advice. Each pack of ten holds four 80/12s, four 90/14s and two 100/16s, which tracks how a typical home sewer moves between quilting cotton, heavier cottons and the occasional denim seam. The needles are color-coded, so you can tell a 90 from a 100 without a magnifier.

If you go through the 90/14s first, Singer's style 2020 universal also comes as a 10-pack of 90/14, one of the best sellers in our search at 2,000+ a month. Our Singer threading guide covers the rest of the setup after a needle change.

• Count20 (2 packs of 10)
• Sizes4 x 80/12, 4 x 90/14, 2 x 100/16 per pack
• Pointregular

Janome designed this one for a specific headache: skipped stitches on knits and across thick hems. The listing describes a ball point plus a "cobra" head shape that reduces the fabric flagging that causes skips. Janome owners buy it at a steady 1,000+ a month, and it's rated 4.9 on 1,923 ratings.

Janome says the needles are made by Organ and stamped "Organ" with the size, which is how you spot a genuine one. Janome also sells a Blue Tip needle that the listing says fits all Janome models. If you own another brand and fight skipped stitches, start with the steps in our skipped stitches guide before buying specialty needles.

• Size90/14
• Pointball point
• Design'cobra' head
• Made byOrgan
• Janome part202122001

Where the Singer pack gives you two of each, this card gives you five of the heavy one. Schmetz specifies a reinforced blade that resists deflection, which is what keeps the needle from flexing into the needle plate when it crosses a flat-felled seam. The 110/18 is the size for heavy denim and hem crossings.

For most jeans weights, the 100/16 is the better daily size; Brother's chart pairs denim of 12 ounces or more with a 100/16 and 30-weight thread. Schmetz sells this card in 70/10 through 110/18, so buy the size your fabric needs. For the machine side of heavy sewing, see the best heavy duty sewing machines.

• Size110/18
• Count5
• Pointmedium ball point
• Bladereinforced, designed to resist deflection
• Other sizes70/10 to 110/18

The ball point slides between knit loops instead of piercing them, which stops the small holes and runs that a universal can leave in jersey. Singer splits the five needles across 80/11 for light knits, 90/14 for medium and 100/16 for sweatshirt weights. Singer says the titanium coating makes them last up to four times longer than its regular needles; that's the maker's claim, and we haven't measured it.

One oddity: the spec table on the listing ticks "woven fabric" and leaves knit blank, while the title and bullets say knit. Go by the bullets. If you'd rather have five of one size, the SCHMETZ Jersey Ball Point 90/14 is a single-size card. For very stretchy fabric like swimwear, use a stretch needle instead; our needle chart explains the difference.

• Count5
• Sizes2 x 80/11, 2 x 90/14, 1 x 100/16
• Pointball point
• Coatingtitanium

Brother's operation manual recommends a 75/11 home sewing machine needle for embroidery, and this is that size with an embroidery eye. Schmetz widens the groove and enlarges the eye so rayon and polyester embroidery thread runs with less friction, which is the fix for shredding thread on dense designs. Twenty-five needles is a sensible supply if your embroidery machine runs weekly.

Brother adds two notes worth knowing: try a 90/14 if the machine isn't stitching well on heavy fabric, and use a ball point embroidery needle for short stitches such as small letters. Heavy users can buy Brother's own SAEMB7511 75/11 needles in a 100-pack, made by Organ. Pair the needle with the right thread from our embroidery thread guide.

• Size75/11
• Count25 (5 cards of 5)
• Pointmedium ball point
• Eye and grooveenlarged and widened
• Also in90/14

Schmetz tapers the point on its quilting needle so it goes through several layers of cotton and batting cleanly, and the listing pitches it for both piecing and free-motion work. The 90/14 is the size for quilting through a sandwich; drop to the 75/11 version for piecing if you like a finer hole. It ranked #2 in Amazon's quilting machine needle category on October 21.

Many quilters piece with a Microtex instead, for its very slim point. The SCHMETZ Microtex 90/14 is also good for batiks and crisp topstitching. If you're choosing a machine to go with it, see the best sewing machine for quilting.

• Size90/14
• Count25
• System130/705 H-Q
• Pointslim, slightly rounded, tapered
• Also in75/11