Type of embroider needle

The type of needle is more of a personal preference than the size or the points, which are a bit more regimented.

The stepped blade has a telescope style blade that is reinforced and less flexible. This extra firmness is great for thick materials like caps where a straight blade is more likely to flex enough to hit the needle plate and break.

If you’re experiencing a lot of broken needles when you embroider caps, you should consider changing to a stepped blade needle.

In contrast, the stepped needle causes a larger hole and can cause small letters to look more jagged than they need to. The straight blade has a constant lade diameter, creating a smaller hole. This makes them good for knits and improved letter crispness. Needles with larger eyes don’t require your machine to be re-timed, as some people may tell you, because it’s the eye that ‘s larger, not the scarf. Larger eyes are especially good for metallic threads which tend to create more friction with needles with small eyes.