Threads And Needles

Factors Affecting Characteristic Of Thread

FIBRE CONTENT

STRUCTURE

TWIST

PLY

COLOR

FINISHES

STRENGTH

SIZE

THREADS

Fiber Content

Characteristics of cotton thread:

Soft

Strong and durable

Easily adjusts to changes in the fabric (such as shrinkage) since it is a natural fiber

Available in various thread weights

Easy care

Advantage of Cotton Thread:

It gives uniformity in stitch & seam appearance

Dying is easy and easily gets the color of the fabric.

Resistance to the heatResistance to the tangling

Disadvantage:

Poor elasticityPoor abrasion resistanceMore expensiveWeaker (time consuming due to thread breakage)Weakens easily by chemicals used in fabric &garment finishingBut for contrasting stitch polyester is good.

Rayon

Characteristics Of Rayon High sheen Soft, and works well in detail Relatively heat resistant Not colorfast Not as strong as polyester Less durable than polyester

Nylon

Characteristics Of NylonStrong Low melting temperature. Not heat resistant. Not colorfast. Will yellow over time. Becomes brittle through laundering

Polyester

Characteristics Of Polyester

Durable. Designed for heavy duty use

Stronger, more tensile strength than rayon

Colorfast

Retains shape

Recovers stretch

Spun poly is strong, with a matte appearance

METALLICS

Quality metallic thread has the following components:

Nylon core..

Rice paper construction.

Outer coating.

Lower end metallic threads have no outer coating.

A good metallic has an outer coating which reduces friction and acts as a protective layer.

Thread Structure

Spun yarns twisted together:-

Single yarns are twisted together to form multiply

Number of ply may be 2 to 6

Abrasion resistance varies on type of fibers

Spun polyester is one of the most popular among the least expensive threads

Large diameter cotton replaced by small diameter polyester reduces puckering

Filament threads:-

a) smooth filament b) textured filament thread c) monofilament thread

Nylon, polyester

High tensity

Used for shoes, leather garment, industrial products-tents,box cover etc

Usually polyester

Used for looper as cover stitches

Bulk of thread may increase friction

Neutral color & translucent(matches with the fabric easily)

Strong and minimumBreakage and inexpensive

The flexibility of the thread is less therefore Causes wear & tear on machine

Smoother thread are being tried to produce

CORESPUN THREAD:- Multiply construction

Polyester filament core wrapped with cotton fiber

Gains strength of polyester and sewability of cotton

Polyester is not wrapped as it is suspectable to the heat

Costlier due to more dye baths to give uniform color to the thread

AIR TANGLED THREAD: -

Is made from continuous filaments of polyester that are entangled as they pass through a high pressure air jet. 

twisted, dyed, and wound on cones with lubricant.

used in everything from seaming flags to heavy denim jeans.

TWIST:

"S" direction or right twist for single strand yarn (such as spun)

"Z" direction or left twist for ply yarn (such as core and twisted multifilament)

SNLS (Single Needle Lock Stitch) machine is designed for the Z twist.

DNLS (Double Needle Lock Stitch) machine uses both S & Z twist for the balance.

S twist is better for flat stitch or cover stitch.

Correct twist balance essential for preventing kinking & snarling effect.

PLIED THREADS:-

•Made by plying the yarns together

•Plying increases the durability & performance of the thread.

Carded thread:-

When two or more plied thread are plied together & multiple plies twisted together.

Resistance of the thread to various fading forces e.G. Sunlight, washing etc.

Tests are developed by AATCC.Polyester sewing threads dyed with disperse dyes shows best color fastness.

COLOR:

Color matching Color fastness

Instruments used for the color matching:-

Spectrometer

Computer shade recipes

SPECTROMETER

FINISHES:-

Soft

Gassed

Mercerized

Glazed

Bonded

Advantages Of Finishing:-

Threads are bonded to increase ply security & smoothness.

Prevents splitting & fraying which causes breakage.

Relationship Between Thread Construction, Fiber Type, and Thread Finish

Thread Construction Fiber Type Thread Finish

CoreCotton wrapped polyester SoftPolyester wrapped polyester Soft

SpunCotton Soft, Mercerized, or GlacedPolyester Soft

Air Entangled Polyester Soft

Textured Polyester Soft

Twisted MultifilamentNylon SoftPolyester Soft or Bonded

Monocord Nylon Bonded

Monofilament Nylon Soft

THREAD LUBRICATION:

To reduce amount of friction

To provide protection from the needle heat

Lubricant should be non-sticky, non-staining, non-soiling

and shouldn’t effect the thread color.

Thread size measurement

Weight

Denier.

Tex.

Conversion

Natural fibre such as cotton and silk

Length measurement

Synthetic fibres

40 weight = 225 denier = tex 25

Thread Put-ups

•Spool

•Cop

•Cones

•vicone

•Container

•Cocoons

•Prewound bobbins

SEWING MACHINE NEEDLE

Functions of the needle

To produce hole in the material

To carry the needle thread through the material and there form a loop

To pass the needle thread through the loop

PARTS OF THE NEEDLE

Shank

upper part of the needle

may be cylindrical or have a flat side.

support

larger in diameter than the rest of the needle for reason of strength

Shoulder

intermediate between shank and the blade

It is also called shaft

Blade

below the shoulder of the blade to the eye of the needle

longest part of the needle.

greatest amount of the friction .

Long Grove

provides a protective channel in which the thread is drawn through.

A Correctly shaped long groove of a depth matched to the thread diameter, offers considerable protection to the thread.

Short Groove

•It extends a little above and below the eye

•Its function is to assist in the formation of the loop in the needle thread.

Eye

It is the hole extending through the blade from the long groove on one side to the short groove on the other

The shape of the inside of the eye at the top is critical.

Scarf or Clearance cut

It is the recess across the whole face of the needle just above the eye.

Point

Best penetration

Tip

It is extreme end of the point which combines with the point in defining the penetration performance.

IF THE NEEDLE IS TOO SMALL FOR THE THREAD

• not pass freely through the eye

• not fit properly into the long groove.

•Thread will suffer from excessive abrasion. •Can lead to costly thread breakages in production.

IF THE NEEDLE IS TOO LARGE FOR THE THREAD

•There will be poor control of the loop formation which may cause slip stitches.

•It will create holes in the fabric which are too big for the stitches and give an unattractive seam appearance.

•Tends to give rise to damaged fabric along the stitch line, and in closely woven fabrics, pucker along the seam line due to fabric distortion.

Thread sizes in syntheticTicket number

Needle sizes inMetric system

Needle sizes inSinger system

8 180 24

16 140 22

30 120 19

50 110 18

75 90 14

120 80 12

180 70 10

320 60 8

Needle & Thread Sizes

Needle points

Cut point Sharp tips Used for sewing leather and plastics Modifies set of stitching and

appearance of seam Creates decorative effects

a) Narrow wedge point

Cuts at right angle to seam direction High stitched density is achieved Most frequently used

B) Narrow reverse twist point

Produces incisions at 45 degrees to seam direction`seam slithly turned left on the surface of the material Next frequently used

C) Cross Point

Incisions along line of seamRequires large stitch lengthIncisions spaced far apartHeavy decorative seamsStitches- straight appearance

Cloth point needle

• Used for sewing textile materials

Types of cloth point needle•Set point needle

•Ball point needle

Set point needle

Slim set point

Set point

Heavy set point

Light ball point

Medium ball point

Heavy ball point

Ball point

Denim

has a very sharp, acute point with a slender eye and a strong shaft.

penetrate heavy fabrics like denim and canvas.

The slender eye holds the thread in place for proper loop formation.

prevents deflection of the needle insures accurate needle placement for stitch formation

Embroidery

Has a light point

Large eye

Special scarf to protect threads

Leather has a wedge shaped point

good piercing strength

Curve needles

• Used for blind stitches

• Operate at high speeds

• Costly

Metallic

Have a large, elongated eye

Larger scarf

larger groove to protect fragile metallic threads during stitch formation.

Quilting • Has a tapered point for stitching through multiple

layers and across seams.

• The shape of the point minimizes damage to the quilting fabric.

Microtex

Sharper than the universal point with a more slender shaft.

Used primarily on fine woven, heirloom sewing on very fine fabrics, synthetic suede, tightly woven fabrics.

Topstitch • Used for embroidery and quilting.

• has an extra large rectangular-shaped eye which allows for smoother movement of thread.

• has a much deeper groove which works wonders with heavier threads.

• The deeper groove allows a heavier thread to lie in it, thereby reducing friction on the thread as it moves.

• most popular sizes are 90/14 or 100/16.

Hem stitch Wing Needles• Uses: Hemstitching or heirloom

embroidery on linen and batiste.

Configuration: Has fins on sides of shank to create holes as you sew.

Troubleshooting: Stitch is more effective when needle returns to same needle hole more than once. If needle pushes fabric into needle hole, put stabilizer under fabric.

Twin (double) Needle• Uses: Topstitching, pin tucking, and

decorative stitching.

Configuration: Two needles on single shaft produce two rows of stitches. Measurement between needles ranges from 1.6mm to 6mm, and needles come with universal, stretch, embroidery, denim, and Metallica points.

Troubleshooting: Be sure throat plate allows for distance between needles.

Triple Needle• Uses: Same uses as for double

needle.

Configuration: Cross bar on single shaft connects three needles to sew three stitching rows. Comes with universal point in 2.5mm and 3mm widths.

Troubleshooting: Same as for double needle.

Spring Needle• Uses: Free-motion stitching with

dropped feed dogs.Configuration: Has wire spring above point to prevent fabrics from riding up onto needle, eliminating need for presser foot.Troubleshooting: Before using, practice free-motion stitching with heavy regular needle, paper, and dropped feed dogs. Don't pull paper/fabric; instead gently guide it through stitching. Wear safety glasses for free-motion work, since needles often break.

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