Needle Info & Size Guide

Tapestry needles have a large eye and a rounded tip and are generally used for counted thread embroidery including cross stitch, blackwork and hardanger. They are are manufactured in different thicknesses for use on the various counts of material.

The smaller sized tapestry needles are often referred to as cross stitch needles.

The higher the number of needle - the smaller the needle actually is (although a customer in Italy has advised us that Italian needle sizes work the other way ! ? )

If you are sewing on aida fabric you may find that a size smaller needle helps when sewing fractional stitches, for example if sewing on 14ct aida use a size 26 needle.

We hope the information below will help you chose the size needles you require for your project.

As a general guide:
Size 18 - 6 count aida fabric
Size 20 - 8 count aida fabric
Size 22 -11 count aida fabric / 22-25-27 count evenweave
Size 24 -14 count aida fabric / 28 count evenweave
Size 26 -16 count aida fabric / 32 count evenweave / 22 count hardanger
Size 28 -18 count aida fabric / 36 count evenweave

Size 18 : length of needle approx 48mm / length of eye approx 10.0mm
Size 20 : length of needle approx 44mm / length of eye approx 9.0mm
Size 22 : length of needle approx 40mm / length of eye approx 8.0mm
Size 24 : length of needle approx 36mm / length of eye approx 7.5mm
Size 26 : length of needle approx 33mm / length of eye approx 6.5mm
Size 28 : length of needle approx 28mm / length of eye approx 5.5mm

NEEDLE INFORMATION

Cross stitch needles have a large eye and rounded point - they are also known as tapestry needles. They are used for counted thread embroidery including cross stitch, blackwork, hardanger and long stitch. If you are unsure which size needle to use our needle size guide will help you. Standard cross stitch needles are nickel plated - we stock standard needles both loose and individually wrapped.

Gold plated cross stitch needles are ideal for stitchers who have an allergy to nickel - they slide through the fabric easily and are also less prone to rusting. We stock gold plated cross stitch needles both loose and invidually wrapped.

Beading needles are slim needles with small eyes. Use these when adding beads to your design. Beads are used to enhance and decorate - seed beads can also be used in place of French Knots.

Crewel Embroidery needles have a large eye and sharp point. They are used when working non-count (stamped) cross stitch designs on non-countable fabrics.  Many stitchers prefer to use these needles when finishing their work with backstitch - and some use them when working fractional stitches on aida fabric.