Hand embroidery guide
Hand embroidery needle sizes
On this page 6 parts
For hand embroidery with stranded floss, embroidery needles (also sold as crewel needles) do most of the work. Three sizes, 7, 9 and 10, will take you through most everyday stitching. The numbers run backward: the bigger the number, the finer the needle.
How hand needle sizes work
Within one type of needle, a higher number means a finer, shorter needle. A size 10 embroidery needle is much smaller than a size 1.
The number only compares needles of the same type. Embroidery needles run from 1 to 12. Tapestry and chenille needles use their own scale, from 13 to 28.
Neighboring sizes are often very close. In John James's chart, sizes 6 and 7 are the same thickness, and so are sizes 8 and 9.
Makers do not agree exactly either. The same number can be a different needle:
| Embroidery needle size | John James | Clover |
|---|---|---|
| 3 | 0.86 mm | 0.99 mm |
| 5 | 0.76 mm | 0.84 mm |
| 7 | 0.69 mm | 0.69 mm |
| 9 | 0.61 mm | 0.53 mm |
So treat every chart, including the ones on this page, as a starting point. There is no fixed formula for which size goes with which thread.
Types of hand embroidery needle
| Needle type | Sizes | Point and eye | Use it for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Embroidery (crewel) | 1 to 12 | Sharp point, medium-long eye | Most surface embroidery with stranded floss |
| Chenille | 13 to 26, and 28 from some makers | Sharp point, long eye, thick shaft in the big sizes | Wool, ribbon and heavy threads, coarse fabric, and any time you want a long eye with a sharp point |
| Tapestry | 13 to 28 | Blunt point, long eye | Counted work such as cross stitch, and whipped or laced stitches where the needle slides under other stitches |
| Milliners (straw) | 1 to 10 or 11, plus two larger sizes numbered 15 and 18 | Sharp point, long shaft, small round eye | Wrapped stitches such as French knots and bullion knots |
| Sharps | 1 to 12 | Sharp point, shorter eye | Plain hand sewing. An embroidery needle is much the same needle with a longer eye |
Embroidery needles are the place to start. John James makes them in sizes 1 to 10 and 12, and Anchor and Bohin in sizes 1 to 10. Sizes 11 and 12 are harder to find than the rest. Mixed packs usually hold sizes 3 to 9 or 5 to 10, and John James names 7 and 9 as its most popular sizes. In its chart a size 3 is 0.86 mm thick, a size 7 is 0.69 mm and a size 10 is 0.53 mm.
On a milliners needle the eye is no wider than the shaft, so the needle slips through wraps of thread without the eye catching. That makes the French knot and the bullion knot easier. An ordinary embroidery needle will still make a French knot.
A tapestry needle is useful for whipped back stitch and whipped running stitch, because the blunt tip does not snag the stitches already on the fabric. No tapestry needle? Pass your sharp needle under the stitches eye first.
A chenille needle has the long eye of a tapestry needle and the sharp point of an embroidery needle. The long eye is easy to thread and gentler on the thread. It is the wrong needle for bullion knots and other stitches wrapped on the needle.
What size needle for how many strands of floss
These are embroidery (crewel) needle sizes for six-strand cotton floss. Two published charts are shown because they do not match. The first is DMC's needle guide. The second is the set of working sizes given by a long-running embroidery teaching site.
| Strands of floss | DMC's needle guide | Second published guide | Chenille needle, if you want a longer eye |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Size 10 | Size 10, or 9 | 26 |
| 2 | Size 9 | Size 9, or 7 | 26 |
| 3 | Size 8 | Size 7 | 24 |
| 4 | Not listed | Size 7 will just manage it | 24 |
| 5 | Not listed | Not listed | Not listed |
| 6 | Size 3 | Not listed | 22 |
For four or five strands, neither chart names an embroidery needle. The sizes between DMC's three-strand needle (size 8) and its six-strand needle (size 3) are the ones to try.
The chenille column uses the sizes DMC gives for tapestry needles. John James makes its chenille needles the same length and thickness as its tapestry needles, with a sharp point instead of a blunt one.
What size needle for pearl cotton
| Pearl cotton | DMC's needle guide | Second published guide |
|---|---|---|
| Size 12 | Not listed | Embroidery 7 or 9 |
| Size 8 | Embroidery 8, or the 26 it gives for tapestry needles | Embroidery 7 |
| Size 5 | Embroidery 6, or the 22 it gives for tapestry needles | About embroidery 3 |
| Size 3 | Chenille 20 | Not listed |
Pearl cotton is thickest at size 3 and finest at size 12, so the needle gets bigger as the thread number gets smaller.
How to tell the size is right
- The thread fits the eye without crowding.
- The needle pulls the thread through the fabric fairly easily, including the doubled thread at the eye.
- A soft pop as the needle goes through tight fabric is fine. If the fabric dents and you have to fight the needle through, use a bigger needle, which means a lower number.
- The thread should not make a loud zipper noise as it follows the needle. If it does, use a bigger needle.
- The hole is just big enough for the thread. If you can see a hole around the thread, use a finer needle, which means a higher number.
When you are unsure, choose the larger needle. A needle that is too small wears the thread.
Not sure how many strands to use? See how many strands of floss to use.
Common problems
- Floss frays or goes fuzzy after a short length. The needle is too small or the thread is too long. Move to the next larger needle and cut lengths of about 18 inches (45 cm).
- The thread twists up and knots every time you pull through. A hole that is too small pushes the thread into twisting. Try the next larger needle.
- You cannot thread the needle. Cut the end cleanly at an angle, turn the needle around and try the other side of the eye, or use a needle threader. A chenille needle has a longer eye.
- Two strands will not go into a size 10. Thread one strand, pull it to its halfway point and stitch with it doubled.
- French knots catch on the eye. Use a milliners needle, and do not pull the wraps so tight that the eye cannot pass through them.
- You can see holes around your stitches. The needle is too big. Use a finer one.
- Whipping splits the stitches underneath. Change to a tapestry needle, or go under the stitches eye first.
New to this? How to start embroidery covers the rest of the kit.