Home Embroidery Needles- Home embroidery needles, or flat shank needles, are needles that are made especially for home embroidery machines like Bernina, Brother, Elna, Husqvarna, Janome, Juki, Melco, Necchi, Baby Lock, New Home, Pfaff, Poem, Riccar, Simplicity, Singer, Viking, White & more. These needles have a flat side ground on the shank to assure proper alignment with the point of the hook.

Chrome embroidery needles- Chrome embroidery needles are the industry standard. Most machines considered a commercial embroidery grade use needles with a DBXK5 prefix. These needles are sized 60/8 to 90/14. The numbers to the left of the slash signify the European embroiderer’s measurement and the numbers to the right signify the American embroiderers’ measurement for the gauge of the embroidery needle.

Titanium embroidery needles- Titanium embroidery needles are the longest lasting commercial and home embroidery needle. Needle makers Schmets, Groz-Beckert, and Organ have found coating the standard steel needles with titanium dissipates heat better and because titanium needles are harder than chrome needles, the point stays sharp up to five times longer. Titanium embroidery needles have a yellow look for easy Identification. These needles are typically priced somewhat higher than a standard chrome embroidery needle, however the higher cost is well worth the duration of life compared to chrome needles.

Teflon embroidery needles- Teflon embroidery needles are designed specifically to reduce friction. Synthetic, chemically treated or extremely dense fabrics have a tendency to resist embroidery needle penetration. This resistance causes needles to heat up. Excess heat will shorten the life of the embroidery needle and may lead to needle breaks. The Teflon coated embroidery needle will not melt synthetics during high stitch per minute sewing; these needles reduce thread breaks when embroidering on foam or rubber. Other materials to embroider with Teflon coated embroidery needles are; vinyl, chemically treat fabrics, glued materials, rubberized goods, nylon, foam and canvas.