What is a Wing Needle?
It is a sewing machine needle that has a metal flare on each side much like bat wings. When the needle penetrates the fabric the metal wings push the weave of the fabric apart creating what looks like a hole in the fabric. The stitches hold the ‘hole’ open.
Wing needles are available at your local sewing shop in size 100 or 120. The larger the needle the more pronounced the ‘hole’ in the fabric. If you cannot find a wing needle you can order one from your favorite sewing catalog.
Alternatively, you can use a large regular sewing machine needle such as a size 100 or 120 jeans needle. The ‘holes’ will not be as pronounced as when a wing needle is used but will still look very pretty.
Can I use a Wing Needle in my embroidery machine?
That depends on the needle plate. First put a wing needle in your machine. With your hand, turn the flywheel of your machine so the needle is in the down position. If it fits thru the hole of the needle plate then you can use the wing needle. If it doesn’t fit then you need to use a needle plate with a larger opening.
If you have only a single hole needle plate and the wing needle does not fit in the hole then you cannot use the wing needle. In this case you will have to use your regular embroidery needle or a large jeans needle for the wing needle areas. (Don’t worry; the designs will still look very nice).
My machine has a single hole needle plate for straight stitch sewing. It also has a second needle plate with a 9 mm opening for decorative stitching. I use the one with the 9 mm opening for the wing needle because the wing needle will not fit in the hole of my single hole needle plate.
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Copyright Laura M. Waterfield 2002-2019
