This question came up in the store the other day: Why are hand sewing needles sized differently from machine needles?
Hand sewing needles have been made for thousands of years, and the kind we are familiar with are based on wire. First you make the metal into wire, then you flatten one end and punch a hole. That's a needle!
Because they started out as wire, hand sewing needles use a sizing system similar to wire gauge sizes.
The important thing with hand needles: bigger number = smaller needle.
In the pack of needles pictured, the size 3 are the big ones in the middle, and the size 9 are the little ones on the ends.
Machine sewing needles are the opposite: bigger number = bigger needle!
And if that's not confusing enough, there are two different systems for sizing machine needles! That's why we get numbers like 80/12 and 90/14.
SCHMETZ is a German company and uses the metric system. To determine needle size, SCHMETZ measures the diameter of the blade resulting in numbers like 80, 90, etc... But SCHMETZ is not the only needle manufacturer. Other companies use sizing systems often referred to as Asian, International, or Singer sizing. Years ago the needle manufacturers standardized the sizing so a metric size 80 always equals a size 12, 90 = 14, etc.
We hope that clears it up for you!
There's more to choosing the right needle than the size! Click here to see our post on needle selection!
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