Needle Threader:

A needle threader is a device for helping to put thread through the eye of a needle. Many kinds exist, though a common type combines a short length of fine wire bent into a diamond shape, with one corner held by a piece of tinplate or plastic. The user passes the wire loop through the needle eye, passes the string through the wire loop, and finally pulls both the loop back through the needle by the handle, which pulls the thread through. The typical needle threader of this type has the image of a woman, possibly Ariadne, in profile stamped into the plate handle.

Another type of needle threader is mechanically operated. These may be part of a sewing or embroidery machine, or standalone tools.

Sewing Machine Needle:

A sewing machine needle is a specialized needle for use in a sewing machine. A sewing machine needle consists of:

·        shank - clamped by the sewing machine's needle holder

·        shoulder - where the thick shank tapers down to the shaft

·        shaft - a length suitable for driving the eye and thread through the material and down to the bobbin

·        groove - cut in the front of the shaft to allow the thread to lie more closely to the needle as it passes through the fabric

·        scarf - provides extra room for the hook or shuttle to pass close by

·        eye - carries the thread

·        point - penetrates the material by either parting the threads or cutting a hole in the fabric.

Construction:

The majority of sewing machine needles are made of various grades of hardened steel coated with either nickel or chromium, though certain specialty needles are coated with titanium nitride on top of chromium. Titanium nitride is a reflective golden-colored ceramic material which reduces abrasion allowing the needle to stay sharper longer and last many times longer than other varieties. The titanium does not make the needle any "stronger", however, and such needles will bend and snap just as easily as any other.

Nickel plating is the least expensive and least durable form of plating. Chrome plating lasts longer and gives better abrasion resistance. Titanium nitride on top of chromium is the most expensive and is superior in performance to both chrome and nickel.

Needle Size:

Needle size is denoted by one or more numbers on the manufacturer's packet. The general convention for sizing of needles, like that of wire gauges, is that within any given class of needle the length and thickness of a needle increases as the size number decreases. For example, a size 9 needle will be thicker and longer than a size 12 needle. However, the needle sizes are not standardized and so a size 10 of one class may be (and in some cases actually is) either thinner or finer than a size 12 of another type. Where a packet contains a needle count followed by two size numbers such as "20 Sharps 5/10" the second set of numbers correspond to the range of sizes of needle within the packet, in this case typically ten sharps needles of size 5 and ten of size 10 (for a total of 20 needles). As another example, a packet labeled "16 Milliners 3/9" would contain 16 milliners needles ranging in sizes from 3 to 9.