Needle

A sewing needle is a long slender tool with a pointed tip. The first needles were made of bone or wood; modern ones are manufactured from high carbon steel wire, nickel- or gold plated for corrosion resistance. The highest quality embroidery needles are made of platinum. Traditionally, needles have been kept in needle books or needle cases which have become an object of adornment. A needle for hand sewing has a hole, called the eye, at the non-pointed end to carry thread or cord through the fabric after the pointed end pierces it. Hand sewing needles have different names depending on their purpose.

Sharps are needles used for general sewing. They have a sharp point, a round eye and are of medium length. The difference between sharps and other sewing needles can mainly be seen in their length. Embroidery needles, also known as Crewel needles, are identical to sharps but have a longer eye to enable easier threading of multiple embroidery threads and thicker yarns. Betweens or Quilting needles are shorter, with a small rounded eye and are usually used for making fine stitches on heavy fabrics such as in tailoring, quilt making and other detailed handwork. Milliners' needles are longer than sharps, are useful for basting and pleating, and are used in millinery work.

Knitting needles come in various types. Perhaps the most common is a pair of long, straight, rigid needles that are capped at one end. A circular needle is another type, in which two tapered rigid ends are connected by a long, flexible cord; the tapered ends are used for creating new stitches, whereas the flexible cord holds the active stitches. A third type is a shorter, straight, rigid needle that is tapered at both ends; such double-pointed needles are usually used in sets of four or five, and most often for circular knitting in which the diameter is very small, e.g., sweater sleeves or socks. A fourth type of knitting needle is the very short, double-pointed cable needle, which is used to hold stitches while the order of stitches being knit is permuted in cable knitting.

An upholstery needle is a needle used for upholstery. There are a variety of sizes, but they are usually thick and curved. The curved needle allows for repairs on finished items where only one side of the fabric is accessible. Another type of needle used by upholsterers is the button needle, which is a very long needle used to install buttons with heavy twine through pillows, cushions and furniture backs. An upholstery needle is also used by cosmetologists for the installation of hair weaves.