306 Garment Manufacturing Technology

11.8 Sewing needles

The needle was one of humankind’s first tools. Over the millenia it developed from a
simple craft item to the precision tool for modern sewing machines. The most ancient
(28,000 BC) sewing needle did not have an eye but a split end that gripped the thread
to be sewn. Needles from 17,500 BC had an eye at one end and tapered at the other end
(The Schmetz, 2001). Around 1800, Balthasar Krems from Mayen, Germany used, for
the first time, a needle that had the eye moved close to the point; this eye-point needle
paved the way for the mechanisation of sewing worldwide. The basic elements of a
sewing needle, which are constantly modified to suit many fields of application, are
the needle shank, the needle blade with one or two grooves and the needle point
with eye. Figure 11.27 shows different parts of a sewing needle; it is an extract
from DIN 5330-1. Table 11.3 also describes the different parts of a sewing needle.
The manufacturing of a needle involves almost 30e35 stages. Important stages are
straightening of wire, grinding ends, swaging, stamping and punching, marking,
groove milling, soft polishing, hardening and tempering, chemical deburring, opto-
electronic straightening, polishing and hard pointing, electroplating and final inspec-
tion (The Schmetz, 2001; Groz Beckert, 2014). Though chromium plating is one of
the most common surface finishes applied to sewing needles, other finishes like tita-
nium nitride coated GEBEDUR needles from Groz Beckert (2014), titanium coated
PD (Perfect Durability) needles from Organ Needles (2014) and diamond carboride
needles from Schmetz (2001) are offering unique properties for special purpose use.
There are three parameters used to classify sewing needles: needle system, needle
point type and needle size.

11.8.1 Needle systems

Needle systems are classified based primarily on three measurements: eye to butt
length, shank length and shank diameter, and specific to different stitch classes. Needle
systems are expressed as an alphanumeric code with a multiplication sign within. For
example, the most common needle system for lockstitch is DBX1, where eye to butt
length is 33.80 mm, shank length is 16e10.5 mm and shank diameter is
1.62e2.02 mm. Another needle system, DAX1, is also used for lockstitch machine
(for sewing lightweight fabrics) with a shorter eye to butt length of 29.60 mm, a shank
length of 14.50 mm and a shank diameter of 1.62 mm. Similarly, a DCX1 needle is
common for overlock, TQX1 for button sewing and so on. Although these alpha-
numeric codes are commonly used in industry, there are other parallel system code
numbers used by different needle manufacturers. For example, DBX1 is also referred
as 16X231 and TQX1 is also referred as 175X1. To date, there is no uniform catego-
risation of needle system numbers across major needle manufacturers, and according
to Schmetz there are around 800 different types of frequently used needles (The
Schmetz, 2001). The Organ catalogue lists as many as 28 different types of cloth-
point needles only for lockstitch, and as many as 162 types of cloth-point needles
across nine machine/stitch categories/classes (Organ Needles, 2014).
Sewing equipment and work aids 307

c
Butt
a

e
Shank

Shoulder f
C D E F
O1

Blade Long groove

Second long
d Long groove groove
g1

Land
Short groove

Short groove Scarf

Eye A B
O2
g2

Point groove
Point
Tip
Section A – B Section C – D Section E – F
shown enlarged shown enlarged shown enlarged
Eye axis Eye axis
m4

O3 m3

Figure 11.27 Different parts of a sewing needle.

From Schmetz.

11.8.2 Needle point types

Needles used for woven and knitted fabrics are called cloth points. Cutting points
are used for leather and other laminated materials.3 Cloth points are generally of
two types: round points and ball points. In general, round points are meant for
woven fabric and ball points are meant for knitted fabric. While round points
have sharp edges, ball points have rounded blunt edges to cause sliding action
rather than penetrating action. While generally needle tips are concentric, there
are instances of eccentric-point needles (The Schmetz, 2001). Depending on

3
Cutting-point needles are not discussed in this chapter as their use is outside the scope of the chapter.
308 Garment Manufacturing Technology

Table 11.3 Measurement description of needle parts

Legend Description

a Shank diameter
d Blade diameter
c Butt diameter
e Length of shank
f Length of shoulder
g1 Length of needle
g2 Length of point
m3 Remaining thickness of blade
m4 Width of long groove
O1 Butt to eye length
O2 Length of eye
O3 Width of eye

From Schmetz.

sharpness and bluntness of tip there are further sub-classification, e.g. Groz Beckert
lists a total of 36 point types (Groz Beckert, 2014), Schmetz a total of 13 point
types (The Schmetz, 2001) and Organ 9 types (Organ Needles, 2014). Different
point types are referred to by different alphabetical codes and there is fair bit of
consensus between different brands. For example, normal round point is referred
as R, light ball point as SES, special ball point as SKL and so on. There are differ-
ences, too; while Groz Beckert and Organ have an ‘extra light ball point’ (RG type),
in the Schmetz classification there are no ‘extra light ball points’. Table 11.4 shows
the basic logic of cloth point types.

11.8.3 Needle sizes

The size of the needle is the diameter of the needle, which is decided based on fab-
ric to be sewn. In 1953, German standard DIN 5325 standardised the needle sizing
system (The Schmetz, 2001) with metric size designations. Number metric (under
abbreviation NM) indicates the diameter of the needle blade in hundredths of a
millimeter measured above the scarf or the short groove, but not at any reinforced
part of the blade (The Schmetz, 2001). A sewing machine needle with a blade diam-
eter of 0.80 mm therefore corresponds to NM 80. Apart from the number metric
system there are many other sizing system that are in use like Singer, Union Spe-
cial, System 292, etc. Generally in all needles, two size numbers are written today,
that is, the NM and Singer system. For example, 90 NM is equivalent to size 14 of
Table 11.4 Sewing needle cloth point types
Heavy ball point
Acute round point (SPI) Normal round point (R) Light ball point (SES) (SKF) Special ball point (SKL)

Needle point
top view

Needle point
side view

Description Tapered uniformly to sharp Convex tapered profile to Straight tapered profile to Straight tapered Double-stage tapering to
point sharp point small ball-shaped tip profile to large small ball-shaped tip
ball-shaped tip

Adapted from Groz Beckert and Organ Needle.

310 Garment Manufacturing Technology

Singer and written as 90/14; similarly, 75 NM is equivalent to 11 size of Singer and

so on. While 75/11 size needle is commonly used for sewing medium-weight fabric,
110/18 size may be used for 16-oz denim fabric and so on. There are a total of 24
sizes of needle available, with the thinnest size being 35 NM and thickest size
being 200 NM.

11.8.4 Needle selection

Almost all major brands have some sort of ready reckoner for selecting the most appro-
priate needle point type for different standard fabric types. The logic to be followed for
selection of the correct size is the lighter the fabric, the narrower the needle; however,
due to continuous development of new fabric types (and continuous modification of
point types by needle manufacturers), the process is often prone to error. All major
needle brands offer to recommend the best point type and size of needle once a fabric
sample is provided to them by the manufacturer. The selection of needle systems is a
non-issue, as the machine catalogues always mention the needle system to be used for
that machine and generally no other system would work.

11.9 Sewing threads

Sewing threads are special kinds of multi-yarns that are engineered and designed to pass
through a sewing machine rapidly. Sewing thread must be durable enough to withstand
the abrasion, stretch and needle heat that occurs while sewing, garment finishing,
stretching and recovery during wear (Coats Plc., 2014). Sewing threads are mainly pro-
duced in three-ply and occasionally two- or four-ply. Three S twisted single yarns are Z
twisted to form a three-ply sewing thread. The finishing twist is in the Z direction to
reach equilibrium and resist further tightening of twist. However, if the sewing thread
is having an S twist as a finishing twist, the thread will get untwisted by the sewing ac-
tion and may fray and break. As the lockstitch machine is the most severe in its handling
of thread, the majority of sewing threads intended for use in a sewing machine are con-
structed with a finishing Z twist.
Sewing threads can be classified based on substrate or material, for example poly-
ester, cotton, lyocell, meta-aramid, para-aramid, nylon, polypropylene and PTFE; based
on construction, for example air-entangled, braided, poly-cotton core spun, poly-poly
core spun, monofilament, spun, spun-stretch broken, textured, twisted multifilament
and monochord; and based on finish, for example bonding, non-wick, anti-fungal,
fire retardant, water repellent and anti-static finishes (Coats, 2003; American & Efird,
2014). Hundred percent polyester thread is used for sewing fabrics of all different fibre
content; this is primarily due to the fact that cotton has less elongation property and is
not suitable for high-speed sewing. In addition, the incompatibility of post-washing
shrinkage between cotton sewing thread and cotton fabric may lead to shrinkage
pucker. Hundred percent cotton spun thread is used only for garment dyeing. Poly-
poly core spun thread is 40e50% stronger, has higher abrasion resistance, has a smaller
diameter with the same breaking strength, shows optimised elongation behavior, has
Sewing equipment and work aids 311

less shrinkage, exhibits fewer knots and thick and thin parts in between, runs with min-
imal tension, is suitable for high-speed and multi-directional sewing machines and has
less fibre falling on the machine, so less maintenance compared to 100% cotton thread.

11.9.1 Sewing thread performance

Sewability is defined as a thread’s ability to perform on the sewing machine. The
thread must perform flawlessly at high machine speeds without breaking and without
skipping stitches. The critical factors necessary for good sewability are thread strength,
optimum twist levels, low fault levels, low and controlled elongation, tenacity and
lastly even lubrication (Jana et al., 2008). While spun threads are the most common
types, core-spun sewing threads are produced to achieve optimum strength-with-
fineness of continuous-filament threads together with sewing performance and surface
characteristics of spun-fibre threads. Continuous-filament threads are plied and corded
thread produced from 100% synthetic filaments; they are twisted, set, lubricated and
bonded with synthetic polymer. Multifilament single-ply threads are produced from
a single ply of multifilament polyester yarn, suitably twisted and then treated with light
bonding finish. Textured sewing threads have minimal ‘S’ twist, soft handle and are
beneficial when used as underthreads where a particularly soft seam is required,
such as the bottom-covering thread in 406/407/607 stitches in undergarments and
serging overlock application in formal trousers.
Sewing threads are packaged and handled in different forms like cones, vicones and
cops (Figure 11.28). Cones are more accurately described as frustrums of geometric
cones onto which thread is cross-wound for stability and good off-winding perfor-
mance. Vicones are parallel tubes or low-angle cones with an additional base in the
form of a raised flange that may incorporate a small lip. Vicones are designed to
contain any spillage, which may occur during unwinding of these smooth threads,
with no snagging or trapping when the slag thread is taken up. Cops are small cylin-
drical, flangeless tubes onto which thread is cross-wound for stability. Apart from
cones, vicones and cops there are spools, cocoons and pre-wound bobbins that are
prepared for specific use but rarely used in the industry.

Figure 11.28 Different thread packages.

Reproduced with the permission of Coats Plc.
312 Garment Manufacturing Technology

11.9.2 Sewing thread count and numbering system

Thread sizes are communicated through various numbers and numbering systems,
which are derived by relating unit length and weight. All numbering systems used
to indicate thread size are either fixed-weight or fixed-length systems. In fixed-
weight systems, the number of hanks of 840 yards in one lb (Pound) is equal to one
English Count (Ne). Similarly, the number of hanks of 1000 m/kg is equal to one
Metric Count (Nm). In fixed-length systems, weight of 9000 m or 1000 m in grams
is equal to Denier or Tex, respectively. As count number increases the yarn becomes
finer in fixed-weight systems and the yarn becomes coarser in fixed-length systems.
Generally, metric count is used to describe synthetic, spun and core-spun thread,
while filament threads are normally expressed with Decitex or Denier. As more than
one ply of yarn is twisted into a thread, the resultant size of the thread can be derived
by dividing (in the fixed-weight system) or multiplying (in the fixed-length system)
individual yarn count by number of plies. Ticket numbering is a commercial
numbering system, merely the manufacturer’s reference numbers for the size of a
given thread. Ticket number value can be calculated by dividing 1000 by the Tex num-
ber and multiplying by 3. Ticket numbers resemble the fixed-weight system; the higher
the ticket number, the finer the thread, and vice versa. Finer sewing threads are
preferred over coarser threads. Finer sewing threads can better fit into the fabric sur-
face, hence, are less prone to abrasion. The seams that are subjected to higher stress,
should be constructed with coarser sewing threads and vice versa. A ticket number in
one type of thread will not be the same as in another. For example, ticket 40 cotton is
not the same as ticket 40 core-spun.

11.10 Future trends and conclusions

The bed type, feed type and stitch type cannot be altered in a conventional sewing
machine. However, currently convertible bed types (submerged to raised in eyelet
buttonhole machines), convertible feed types (unison to top and bottom feed by
Typical), convertible machine types (bar tack to button sewing by Typical), dual-
feed types (drop feed and needle feed), and light- to medium-duty convertibility
features are aiming to offer flexibility to users. Even automated workstations, which
used to address a specific operation, are now offering flexibility (StitchWorld, 2009;
Anon, 2012). Newer feed types like X-feed (Typical) and improvised differential
feed (Megasew) are addressing the fabric feeding at an advanced level. The modular
structure of machine heads by Typical Corp (Vetron) (Figure 11.29) and Duerkopp
Adler (M-Type) will enable the use of exchangeable common parts between different
machine types, resulting in easy repair, lower inventory and reduced cost of owner-
ship. Fewer moving parts will reduce failure rate, increase ease of repair and lessen
downtime (AMF Reece eyelet buttonhole machine).
In value-addition sequential and programmable sequin sewing, decorative effects
achieved by multi-needle chain-stitch machines, multi-colour and multi-stitch
overlock and flat-lock stitches (zebra stitch from Pegasus), jig-assisted quilting of large
components, multi-head quilting machine and three-hole or six-hole button sewing are
becoming product differential factors. In the area of information technology (IT)