I'm Having Trouble Finding a Needle for My Sewing Machine?

Question

I'm new to sewing machine ownership. So, I'm sorry if I appear to be a bit dense. I'm just new to this.

My needle broke on my Brother XL2610 sewing machine. I went to two Wal-Marts and didn't see any Brother brand sewing machine needles. I saw a lot of Singer. Are Singer needles compatible with my Brother machine?

The coloring at the top of my needle is different than those in the stores. The store ones have either different colors all together or many bands of the same color. My needle has just one band at the top of the color red.

So, my question is what needles are compatible with my sewing machine? I've tried to google it and I can't find what I'm looking for. I even tried the Brother website and I didn't find them selling needles.

Please help me. Thanks.

Answer 1

Check you owner's instruction manual, it will tell you the type of needle. Most home machines take ordinary household needle with the flat back shaft.  Most sewing notion catalogues state that their needles are compatible with all household machines and there's shouldn't be any difference.  However; to be 100% sure: Take a needle from the machine with you and go to a sewing machine store or to a fabric store and compare your needle to the needles they sell. Someone in the stores should be able to help you, especially in a sewing speciality store.  From there on you only need to worry about size, the type of point, etc.  and that it works for your fabric. There's a vast array of household needles and they can make sewing almost any fabric a breeze. The colour on the needle will tell you what the needle size and type it is, if it's a sharp, denim or ball point, and other details.  Don't use the same needle for all fabrics, use the proper needle for the proper use.  You instruction manual for the machine should have needle buying tips and guidelines.  

Answer 2

All sewing machines in the last 40 years have used the same needle system, variously called 130/705H and 15x1H and whatever designation Singer uses (maybe 2045? I don't recall).  You do NOT need to match brand of needles to brand of machines.  In fact the needles Brother probably supplied with your machine were probably Organ brand, very nice Japanese needles.  Other good makes include Schmetz, Lammertz, Groz-Beckert.

I personally don't much care for Singer needles, and most of the bargain carded needles with notion company names on them (as opposed to needle company names) are usually mediocre at best.

Any fabric shop or sewing machine dealer will stock at least one or two brands of needles.

Here's a pictorial tour of Schmetz needles I put together, if you haven't looked carefully at a sewing machine needle:

http://www.picturetrail.com/sfx/album/vi...  Other brands will look similar, but the names of the point styles will change from brand to brand -- but expect at least a sharp needle for wovens and a ballpoint for knits.  Universal points are a slight ballpoint that will work on either wovens or knits, but not as well as a needle designed especially for the fabric.

Needles are probably *the* most neglected part of a sewing machine, based on the machines people throw out or bring me because "it's not working right".  Probably half the time, all I have to do is put a new needle in, rethread, and the machine behaves.   If you get sewing problems and you can't immediately track the issue down, try a new needle.  It's amazing how often that clears up the problem right away.

Change needles regularly... 2-4 hours of needle-through-fabric time is generally about the limit for a needle.  Sometimes they need changed sooner than that.  If you hear pop-pop-pop while sewing, it's time to change the needle.

Answer 3

Use your yellow pages and call the "sewing machine repair" shops.

Answer 4

Go to their website and see if there is a dealer in your area.  I'm sure you can order needles online.

Also try fabric stores in your area like Joann's, Hancock's, or whatever is in your area.