Preparation is key. Make life easier for yourself by fixing the cut-out fabric pieces to tissue papers or computer paper before you start to sew. Yes, buy good quality thread….but what is that??? Very disappointed. Use small, narrow zigzag stitches to sew the seam. From finest to thickest, European sizes range from 60 to 120, while American sizes range from 8 to 19. If any creases can’t be removed with ironing, remove the offending section before going any further. Polyester Thread Size - Polyester thread comes in eleven sizes or thicknesses that range from hair-thin with a 1.5 pound tensile strength to 1 millimeter thick with a 98 pound strength. For visible topstitching on upholstery and denim, use a heavyweight topstitching or upholstery thread. Remember the smaller the number of the needle size, the finer the needle so in this case, you want a 70/10, 65/9 or 60/8 size needle in your sewing machine. First of all, it’s always recommended to use a zig-zag thread when hemming. Size 46 / Tex 45 / Govt. Available in sizes 8/60, 10/70, 11/75, 12/80, 14/90 and 16/100. Points. Fortunately, you don’t need to think too much about it – set up your machine for polyester, and it will cope with most types of poly fabrics without further adjustments being needed. Wind the bobbin slowly, and keep the sewing to a slow, even pace. For the same reason, avoid letting the fabric drape over the edge of your work surface. Worn-out needles have nicks and protrusions that can snag small fibers in the polyester and cause tearing and puckering. It All Started with an Apron Contest . Don’t be tempted to use any old needle. Cut a piece of the purchased fabric to size. The eye of the needle is sized for general sewing threads such as all-purpose polyester and 50-weight cotton.. Large needle sizes – 100/16 and 120/18 – These are for heavyweight, tough fabrics, like thick leather, heavyweight canvas, and dense upholstery fabrics. It should be 1 inch bigger in both length and width than the tear. The second one corresponds to its American size, in an arbitrary scale. For lightweight and sheer fabrics consider using 70-weight cotton or very fine polyester thread. Excess pressure will make the machine pull the fabric as you sew it, resulting in puckering. If the combination of the fabric, thread and needle is not correct, particularly when sewing heavy fabrics (such as denim) with thin needles (such as 65/9 to 75/11), the needle may bend or break. Hang vertically for 24 hours to allow the fabric to stretch out to its proper length before you start hemming. They are used with heavyweight threads such as upholstery and topstitching threads. Insert a twin needle into the sewing machine and thread the needles. AA - Use needle sizes 80 / 12 to 90 / 14. Even the most experienced sewer can experience the same problem, but fortunately, there’s a few things you can do to reduce the dreaded wrinkle. How to Stretch Acrylic Sweater Easily. For most fabrics, an all-purpose thread is good. The appropriate fabric, thread and needle combinations are shown in the preceding table. What Does Acrylic Fabric Feel Like? Purchase a small piece of polyester fabric that’s as close a match to the color and weight of your torn garment as possible. If you’re sewing with satin polyester, you may find yourself having a hard time keeping it from puckering. Super tips from Deborah Cacciamani, BERNINA Educator, on selecting the best needle and thread combination for your sewing projects. Tip: Resist the urge to pull the material as you sew. Remove the pins to finish. Sometimes, needles are inserted where the eye of the needle is facing forwards, a… PAIR THREAD WEIGHT TO NEEDLE SIZE. A finer, lightweight thread is required with these smaller needles, as the eye of the needle is smaller and cannot accommodate a heavier thread. If you’re sewing by hand, it’s recommended to use needles in sizes 5-10. Fabric NeedleSize Very Lightweight 8 or 9 Lightweight 9, 10 or 11 Medium-weight 12 or 14 Heavyweight 14 or 16 Very Heavyweight 16 or 18 European American 60 8 65 9 70 10 75 11 80 12 90 14 100 16 110 18 . What Size Needle to Sew Polyester? Satin polyester can be slippery. Regardless of the type of polyester fabric you’re using, read on for some useful little tips that will guarantee success. The American sizing system is numbered from 8 to 18. Feeding the thread too quickly can generate enough friction and heat to make the thread stretch. For machine sewing, the needles recommended are 70/10-80/12 ballpoints, sharps, and stretch depending on the fabric structure and weight. 8-Cord - Use needle sizes 330 / 30 to 360 / 32 . The smaller the numbers the finer the needle. If you look at the chart below, start in the middle. Experiment. There are, however, some techniques and considerations that work across the board. While polyester isn’t the easiest of fabrics to sew, prepping the material properly before you begin can remove a lot of the hardship. Tip: All thread is NOT created equal. Given the vast number of different textures and weights polyester can come in, knowing the best sewing technique for it can be tricky: what works best for one type of polyester fabric could be ineffective on another. This thin needle has a very sharp point and is ideal to sew many layers of fabric together. The "right" thread size depends on the material you are sewing, seam strength requirements, the "look" that you want, and your sewing machine's capabilities. A jeans needle has a heavy-duty blade designed specifically to pierce extra-thick woven fabric. For thread, at the fabric store look for polyester thread labeled "jeans." Thicker fabrics, such as coat woolens, drapery fabric and fake fur usually require a size 16/100 or 18/110 needle size. I repeat – NOT all thread is created equal!!! Polyester is made up of small fibers that can snag and tear easily: avoid causing any damage by eschewing worn out or used needles for a fresh one. Iron the fabric on a low setting and pin the hem in place with ballpoint pins. The European metric sizing system for sewing machine needles is numbered from 60 to 110. Slip the lining back in place and pin. The eye of the needle is sized for general sewing threads such as all-purpose polyester and 50-weight cotton.. Large needle sizes – 100/16 and 120/18 – These are for heavyweight, tough fabrics, like thick leather, heavyweight canvas, and dense upholstery fabrics. Position the new piece of fabric underneath the tear on the inside of the garment. Small needles sizes – 60/8, 70/10, 75/11 – are best used with fine fabrics like organza and batists. The joy of polyester is that it has some stretch – while this may make it very accommodating after a big lunch, it does mean you have to adopt a slightly different approach to hemming to what you may be used to. Before you begin to even consider threading a needle, wash the polyester item in cold water and dry on a low heat. Thread Size Government Size Textile Size Tensile Strength Needle Size Recommended Fabric Weight V-30 AA 30 4.5 lb. Buy good quality thread, every time, for sewing that is FUN! Is Acrylic Itchy or Soft? Size 15 / Tex 16 / Govt. My favorite thread is Mettler; Gutermann and Molnyke are also very good. The wrong needle will ruin them with the first stitch. Slowly and carefully start sewing about .5 inch away from the hemmed edge. By the time you come to sew the fabric for real, you should already have enough experience under your belt from your experiments to know what sewing technique will work best. The size of a needle is calculated by its diameter, thus a 90 needle is 0.9mm in diameter. DIY Molly’s Award-Winning Apron, Tips for Selecting the Correct Needle Type and Size for Your Project, BERNINA Stitch Regulator: Three Soles, Three Roles, Couching with BERNINA, Part 1: Couching Presser Feet, Kids Busy Book Series, Part 8: Title Page. We recommend this thread for heavy pack fabrics and webbing. Most needle brands feature both numbers on their packaging.) It is helpful to remember that a 50 weight thread should be paired with a size 80/12 needle. While sewing polyester by hand can be tricky to master, there’s some tricks of the trade that should see you through. As too much pressure on the pressure foot can result in puckering, make any adjustments necessary before you start to sew. If you’re working with polyester for the first time, you’ve undoubtedly going to have some questions about how to use it. For everyday medium weight projects you will need a Universal Needle in a size 80/12 or 90/14. Wind the bobbin with polyester thread and insert the bobbin. As it cools, the thread will shrink and bunch the seams. A little bit of unraveling is more noticeable in thick topstitching threads than regular weight sewing thread, but there shouldn’t be a lot. This will ensure any coatings and colorings are removed before you start sewing. Sewing machine needles are not meant to be used for sewing over and over again, and this can cause skipped stitchesand uneven stitches. While this strategy works on a lot of materials, it’s likely to result in puckering if you try it on spandex. Size 92 / Tex 90 / Govt. There are so many types of sewing machine needles, how do you know which one to use, and when??? Jo. We recommend this thread for all but the heaviest pack fabrics and webbing. Needles that can be used with this machine: Home sewing machine needles (size 65/9 - 100/16) The larger the number, the larger the needle. Then match thread weight to the needle size. Ball Point - Designed for knits, elastics and stretch fabrics. Size 554 / Tex 600 / Govt. Stitch using a small, very narrow zigzag – try to make the zig-zag so narrow, it’s almost a straight line. Use ballpoint pins (their rounded tips will keep the fabric from severing) to pin the fabric along the seam allowance. If you’re new to sewing with polyester (or new to sewing in general), bear in mind you’ll need to adapt your usual sewing style to meet its specific needs. 70/10– Light weight polyester or Silk, like you would use on a light blouse. One of the key pieces of prep is to wash the fabric in cool water beforehand. You can make them more manageable by spraying them with starch before you start to sew (although remember to wash the garment again before wearing to remove the product build-up). The question of what tension to use for sewing polyester can be a tough one to answer, as there are so many variables involved. The standard needle that comes with your sewing machine will do a great job sewing most fabrics; however certain types of fabric, like knits, denim, leather, and sheer fabrics. In both cases, the higher the number, the thicker the needle. Needle Size 26 - 16 Count Aida Fabric; Needle Size 28 - 18 Count Aida Fabric EMBROIDERY NEEDLE Also known as Sharps, these needles have sharp tips that pierce the fabric as you stitch, and larger eyes for accommodating floss and embroidery thread. For both sizing systems, the lower the number the finer the needle and the higher the number the larger the needle. sometimes the machine needs to be loosened, other machines prefer a tighter tension when working with polyester. Get in touch with your local BERNINA store. Pull the torn edge together and pin the piece of fabric to the garment. A special polyester thread meant for jeans is to be used with the needle for sewing on jeans. Let’s look at some general guidelines: 60/8– For the most lightweight fabrics, like Organza, Chiffon, or Georgette. As a general rule of thumb, the upper tension will usually be around a 4. Unfortunately, they tend to be one of the least breathable fabrics out there (which is why they’re often combined with cotton to make a poly-cotton blend). Polyester fabrics also tend to respond better to smaller needles- go for a larger needle, and you risk weakening the seam and causing large, unsightly holes in the fabric. Thread that can be used with this machine: 30 - 90 weight. #18 or 20 6 - 10 oz. Needles are sized in metric and imperial. Set the machine to a wide zigzag stitch and sow several lines over the tear to ensure it holds. For fleece and faux fur, use a 90/14 or an 80/12 needle. #14 or 16 < 3 oz. Lay the pieces on the cross-grain rather than lengthwise. Keep your seams sow by keeping to a low pressure. Polyester works best with as fine a needle as possible—a size 8 “Sharp” or “Microtex” needle is one of the best to try. Buy enough fabric to give you plenty of scraps to try out the various needle sizes, stitches, tensions, and so forth. They work well with quilting pieces of cotton, lightweight upholstery, denim, silk dupioni, and other fabrics with similar weight. The eye of the needle is sized for general sewing threads such as all-purpose polyester and 50-weight cotton. A ballpoint needle will help, as will fiddling with the tensions of the machine. Cut the threads, and then trim away the excess of the new fabric underneath the tear. Use that, along with this step by step process, for guaranteed success. Using your hand, tug the spandex to find out which way it stretches (a 2-way stretch fabric will stretch horizontally, while a 4-way stretch fabric will stretch both horizontally and vertically). Quilting needles. If you’re sewing polyester, be careful to select the most appropriate needle. 00 - Use needle sizes 70 / 10 to 80 / 12. As the numbers decrease, the needles get finer. If the torn garment is lined, take out the lining near the tear using a seam ripper, and push the lining away from the tear. Hopefully, you’ve picked up enough tips and tricks to make your next poly-project a breeze. If you’re not sure if you’ve set the machine correctly, test out a few stitches on some scraps before starting. If you are having constant thread breakage issues and you have new needles and everything else is fine, then consider the thread. . Remove the pins. Set your sewing machine with a ballpoint needle, which is less likely to damage the fibers of the material than a regular needle. Polyester is one of the most commonly used synthetics. (Cutting Mat Uses & Guide). Needles can be inserted into your sewing machine different ways. The heavier your fabric, the sturdier your needle should be. In the European system, the needle’s size is represented as a percentage of a millimeter: for instance, a number 80 needle would have a diameter of 0.8 millimeters. We’ll come to the other questions shortly, but in reply to the last one, it’s a yes…. I recently bought 6 spools of Gutterman topstitching thread, and the “threads” just unravel before you can even get it through the needle!! That sounds scary, but it simply means there are tiny “wings” just above the eye on either side of the needle that force the fibers of the fabric apart, allowing stitches to form more easily, leading to fewer or no skipped stitches. Although it’s known for its durability, polyester can occasionally rip if it’s put under enough stress. » Sewing Polyester by Hand or Sewing Machine (Helpful Guide), Does Acrylic Shrink? Using a thread that is too large for the needle can cause the thread to break. As you sew, be careful not to stretch the fabric. You’ll also need to adjust the foot pressure. The best needles for cotton fabric are medium-sized needles like 80/12, 90/14. Polys (especially silky ones) are slithery. I just like to have on hand whatever I may need. Wash before use to remove any coloring or coating that’s on the fabric. How To Sew On Shoulder Pads Into Jacket (Helpful Guide), What Fabrics Can You Tie-Dye? Polyester is the most common choice for outdoor applications. The stable backing this creates will stop the fabric sliding around under the needle. This needle also has a slightly rounded ball point like the Blue Tip, but is a larger needle (size 14) with a special cobra-shaped head. If it is a knit fabric, you must use a 70/10 ballpoint needle for these fabrics in order to eliminate any holes in them. If you’re sewing by hand, it’s recommended to use needles in sizes 5-10. The purpose of the needle is to guide the thread through the fabric. 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