What Size Needle Should I Use?

At PT Winchester we get asked a lot; What size needle should I use? What size thread for my 110 Needle? So we thought we would put together the starting guide below to get you on the right track.

needle and thread guide chart

If you already have your thread and a needle you can test it for yourself. Take a length of your thread and pass it through the eye of your needle. Hold the thread vertically with the needle at the top and let it drop.

Following the Goldilocks principle, If...

  • The needle drops to the bottom of the thread it is too small / Needle too large
  • If it stays at the top, the thread is too big / Needle too small
  • If it slowly spirals to the bottom the needle/thread is just right!

The above is a good reference point, yet there can be caveats, as with everything in life. So with that in mind if you are still confused don't hesitate to give us a call or click here to send us an email.

As time goes by we will be adding more resources to the blog on this subject along with topics on our other products. But in the mean time below are some quick tips we will expand on further.

  • V69 / M40 is the heaviest thread size recommended for home sewing machines
  • The thread size refers to the thickness. With Metric sizing the smaller the number the thicker the thread. But the american V numbers are the other way around. So the bigger the number the thicker the thread, for example, V138 is thicker than V69. There are other gauges as well which we will expand on further but PT Winchester thread is either V or M numbers.
  • If switching between thread sizes on your machine you may also need to adjust the tension.