Replacing your sewing needle… · The Sewing Academy

Replacing your sewing needle…

Piggybacking off of yesterday’s post

asked a great question in the comments and I thought I’d answer it here in a regular post also.

After I posted this: The general Rule of thumb is EVERY 8-10 hours of sewing time. Less if you are sewing on thicker or more abrasive fabrics like denim or canvas. Christa asked: Do you know why we're supposed to do this? What does it change?

My Answer: Needles will get dull, blunt and sometimes just the tiniest bit bent over time. This causes a couple of problems. 1.Causes the machine to work harder than it needs to which in turn can cause excess lint/debris buildup and overheating. 2. Dull/blunt needles can cause damage and snagging to your fabric.

I will also add that a damaged needle can throw off the timing, tension and stitch accuracy of your machine and over time can cause a myriad of annoying and possibly expensive problems. A TELL-TELL way to know FOR SURE that a needle needs to be replaced is if you start hearing a thump every time the needle goes into the fabric while sewing. That means the tip is dull. Think of it like trying to cut steak with a butter knife. You will also notice your thread breaking or shredding more often.

I am posting some pics here of examples of dull/damaged needles

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