The Best Hand Embroidery Needles
It seems very small and unimportant, but the needle you use for embroidery can make a huge difference in the way your embroidery looks. It can also help or hinder you when you’re stitching.
Have you ever had a hard time with your thread catching when you’re trying to thread the needle? Or maybe you started embroidering only to find that your needle dulls quickly or even bends! In this article, I’m sharing the best hand embroidery needles to buy that will make the process of embroidering much easier!
I won’t be going over specific sizing or types of needles in this post, but if you’d like to learn more about choosing the right needle size and type for your needlecraft projects you can check out my guide to needles!
Disclaimer: This post has some affiliate links in it. I receive a small commission from purchases at no additional cost to the buyer. I only recommend products I would use and love and that are of good quality. All opinions are my own!
Finding The Best Embroidery Needles
I’ve gone through and tried a lot of different brands of embroidery needles over the years. I have tried cheap, generic needles from craft stores and Amazon, most of which were a waste of money and frustrating to use.
A few common problems arose when I was using some of these less than ideal needles. There would be imperfections around the eye of the needle that led to the thread getting snagged when I tried to thread it. Others times, needles have bent really easily or have quickly dulled. Some have even rusted. Eek!
All of the brands below are way better quality and I’ve been able to use a single needle for multiple projects without having any of these issues!
John James
I recently found out about this brand of needles and I’m loving them! These come in many different sizes, but I use the smaller size 10 needles for thread painting and I find that they are the perfect length and they last for a really long time. They are a European brand so they can be a bit harder to find sometimes in the US, but you can usually find them on Etsy.
Durability
I’ve had trouble in the past finding needles that stay sharp and don’t bend, and these really withstand a lot, especially for such a thin and small size 10 needle.
Experience
These are extremely sharp and easy to thread. They are the perfect length making them really easy to stitch with.
Price
$$
These are on average around $3 -$4 a pack, which makes them a bit more middle of the road price wise.
Tulip
Tulip is another high quality needle brand that is great to use. These needles are made in Japan and extra care is taken to ensure each needle is sharp and of the best quality. They come in a really cute corked tube and last a long time.
Durability
I haven’t had any issues with bending or the needle becoming blunt.
Experience
I have these needles in multiple different sizes and they are super easy to thread. I haven’t noticed any imperfections on them. As mentioned above, the attention to detail and quality of these needles is superior.
I have found that the size 10 embroidery needles are a bit shorter in length than the John James size 10 needles, which took some getting used to.
Price
$$$
An 8 pack will run you on average around $10-$12, making these a bit more expensive but worth it!
DMC
DMC is probably one of the most common brands you’ll see for pretty much any embroidery supply you could need. I’ve been using their needles for years, and I especially like to buy their assorted pack of embroidery needles for times when I’m using more than one strand of thread.
Durability
These needles tend to last a long time. I’ve been able to use them for multiple projects and I’ve never noticed any of them rusting or bending.
Experience
DMC needles are relatively easy to thread. There are a few different kinds to choose from, but both the nickel-plaited steel and the gold coated ones are a nice choice.
Price
$
They’re the most budget friendly out of all of these other choices but they don’t skimp on quality. A 16 pack of assorted needles is only around a $1!
Amanda is a hand embroidery artist and teacher. With over 15 years of experience in the craft industry and embroidery, she owns and runs Crewel Ghoul, sharing tutorials and patterns to help inspire fellow crafters to get inspired and creative. In addition to running this website, she teaches on Skillshare and Youtube.
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