Are you asking, “Why does my needle keep breaking?” Needles break for simple reasons. It often happens when the needle hits something hard. This could be a pin, the machine’s metal parts, or even very thick fabric. Using the wrong needle or having machine problems like bad tension or timing can also cause broken sewing machine needles. Fixing these common sewing machine needle problems is often easy.
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Deciphering Why Needles Break
Sewing machine needle problems stop you from sewing. A broken needle is one of the most annoying problems. It can be scary when it snaps! Needles break for many reasons. We can group these broken needle causes.
- The needle is not right for the job.
- The needle is old or bent.
- You are pulling the fabric too hard.
- Something is wrong inside the machine.
- You hit something hard with the needle.
Let’s look at each one closely. We will find out why it happens and how to fix it. This is part of sewing machine troubleshooting.
The Wrong Needle for Fabric Type
This is a very common reason for needles breaking. Sewing needs the right needle for the fabric you are using. Needles come in different sizes and types.
- Size: Needles have numbers like 70/10, 80/12, 90/14, or 100/16. A smaller number means a thinner needle. A bigger number means a thicker needle.
- Thin fabrics (like silk or voile) need thin needles (70/10 or 80/12).
- Medium fabrics (like cotton or linen) need medium needles (80/12 or 90/14).
- Thick fabrics (like denim or canvas) need thick needles (90/14 or 100/16).
- Very thick fabrics or layers need very thick needles (100/16 or 110/18).
- Type: Needles have tips made for different fabrics.
- Universal needles work for many woven fabrics.
- Ballpoint needles are for knit fabrics (like jersey). They push threads aside instead of cutting them. This stops holes and skipped stitches.
- Sharp or Microtex needles are for very fine fabrics or making clean stitches on woven fabrics.
- Jeans needles are very strong and sharp for thick denim.
- Leather needles have a cutting point for leather.
What Happens with the Wrong Needle?
If you use a thin needle on thick fabric, the needle is too weak. The fabric puts too much stress on it. The needle can bend. A bent sewing machine needle can hit the metal parts below or around the needle hole. This makes the needle snap.
If you use a needle not meant for knit fabric (like a Universal instead of Ballpoint), it might get stuck in the loops of the knit. This can bend or break it.
The Simple Fix
Always check your needle type and size. Make sure it matches your fabric. Look at the needle package. It tells you what fabric it is for. If you change fabric, think about changing the needle. This is a quick and easy step to stop broken needle causes.
The Needle is Damaged or Old
A needle is a tool. Tools get old and worn out. A sewing machine needle works very hard. It goes through fabric thousands of times per minute.
How Needles Get Damaged
- Bending: Needles can bend slightly if you pull fabric hard. They can bend if they hit a pin (hitting pins while sewing). They can bend from sewing many layers.
- Becoming Dull: The tip gets blunt after sewing a lot. A blunt needle has to push harder through fabric.
- Burrs: Sometimes a needle can get tiny rough spots or burrs, especially if it hits something hard.
Why a Damaged Needle Breaks
A bent sewing machine needle is weak. It is also not straight. When it goes down, it might hit the needle plate opening. It might hit the bobbin case. Any hit on metal will likely snap the needle.
A dull needle has to fight the fabric. This extra stress can cause it to bend or break, especially on dense fabric.
A needle with a burr can snag the thread. This causes thread breaking on sewing machine stitches. It also weakens the needle. The burr itself can get caught.
The Simple Fix
Change your needle often! This is cheap and prevents many problems.
- Change the needle at the start of a new project.
- Change the needle after about 8-10 hours of sewing.
- Change the needle immediately if you think it hit a pin or felt resistance.
- If you see skipped stitches sewing machine issues, change the needle first. A dull or bent needle often causes skipped stitches.
To check if a needle is bent, take it out. Place the flat side on a flat surface like a table. A bent needle will not lie flat.
Pulling or Pushing the Fabric
When sewing, the machine moves the fabric for you. This happens because of the feed dogs (the little teeth under the presser foot). Your job is just to guide the fabric gently.
What Happens When You Pull
If you pull the fabric from behind or push it from the front:
- You force the fabric to move faster or slower than the feed dogs want it to go.
- This puts sideways stress on the needle as it goes through the fabric.
- The needle is designed to go straight up and down. Sideways force bends the needle.
- A bent needle hits the needle plate or bobbin case area. Snap!
The Simple Fix
Let the machine feed the fabric. Just guide it lightly with your hands. Keep your hands flat on the fabric on either side of the presser foot. Do not push or pull. The machine knows how fast to move. If the fabric isn’t moving well, check the feed dogs or the presser foot pressure, don’t pull it yourself.
Hitting Pins While Sewing
This is a classic reason for a broken needle! Pins are made of metal. Sewing machine needles are also metal. When metal hits metal at high speed, the sewing machine needle usually loses.
What Happens
If the needle comes down and hits a pin head-on, it will almost certainly snap instantly. Even if it just grazes a pin, it can bend or get a burr. This bent or damaged needle can then break later.
The Simple Fix
Take pins out before the needle gets to them. Pin your fabric within the seam allowance. When you sew, sew towards the pin. Stop just before the pin, pull it out, and then keep sewing. This is the safest way to avoid hitting pins while sewing.
If you really need to sew over pins (some people do this carefully, but it is risky), use plastic-headed pins that are thin. Sew very slowly. Even then, you might bend or break the needle. It’s best practice to take them out.
Sewing Machine Tension Issues
Sewing machine tension is about how tight the top thread and bobbin thread are. They need to pull evenly to make a good stitch. Bad tension can cause several sewing machine needle problems, including breaking.
How Tension Breaks Needles
- Top thread too tight: If the top thread is much tighter than the bobbin thread, it pulls hard on the needle as it goes down and up. This constant extra pull can stress the needle. It can make the needle bend, especially on thicker fabrics. A bent needle breaks easily.
- Thread snagging: Very bad tension can cause the thread to loop or snarl under the fabric. This mass of thread acts like a thick knot. If the needle tries to go through this knot, it can get stuck or bend and break. This relates to thread breaking on sewing machine problems too. Tight tension or snags can break the thread or the needle.
The Simple Fix
Check your tension. Sew a test seam on a scrap of your fabric. The stitches should look the same on the top and the bottom.
- If the bobbin thread shows on top, the top tension is too tight (or bobbin tension is too loose).
- If the top thread shows on the bottom, the top tension is too loose (or bobbin tension is too tight).
Adjust the top tension dial first. Most problems are solved here. If adjusting the top tension does not help, you might need to check the bobbin tension (be careful, this is trickier). Also, make sure your machine is threaded correctly. Incorrect threading is a common cause of tension problems.
Sewing Machine Timing Off
This is a more serious machine problem. Sewing machine timing off means the needle and the bobbin mechanism are not working together at the right time.
What Happens When Timing is Off
For a stitch to form, the needle goes down, then comes up just a little bit. As it comes up, it makes a small loop of thread. The bobbin hook swings around to catch this loop and wrap it around the bobbin thread.
If the timing is off:
- The bobbin hook might try to catch the thread loop too early or too late.
- Worse, the bobbin hook might hit the needle as it swings past.
- Metal hook hitting a metal needle will cause the needle to bend sharply or snap right away.
Timing problems often cause skipped stitches sewing machine issues first. If the hook doesn’t catch the thread loop correctly because of bad timing, you get a skipped stitch. If it’s off enough to hit the needle, the needle will break.
The Simple Fix
Timing issues usually need a sewing machine repair person. It is not an easy fix you can do at home unless you know a lot about your machine’s insides.
However, before calling a repair person, check the simple things again:
* Is the needle inserted correctly?
* Is it the right type and size for the fabric?
* Is the needle bent? (A bent needle can act like timing is off because its tip isn’t where it should be).
* Is the machine clean? Sometimes lint build-up can mess with the bobbin area.
If you have checked everything simple and needles still break, or you get skipped stitches often, it might be timing.
Other Machine Problems
Sometimes, other issues inside the machine can lead to broken needles.
- Loose parts: If something is loose in the bobbin area (like the bobbin case holder) or around the needle bar, it can shift. This can cause the needle to hit a hard surface.
- Burrs on the needle plate or bobbin case: Just like a needle can get a burr, metal parts the thread or needle touch can get rough spots. A needle hitting a burr can bend or snag.
- Feed dog issues: If feed dogs are not moving fabric correctly, you might try to pull. This leads back to pulling fabric issues and bent needles. If feed dogs are not lifting right, the fabric might not clear the feed dogs when the needle goes down, causing resistance.
The Simple Fix
- Clean your machine: Open the bobbin area. Remove the needle plate. Use a small brush to get rid of lint and thread bits. A build-up of debris is a major cause of sewing machine problems.
- Inspect parts: Look closely at the needle plate opening and the bobbin case/hook area. Feel gently for rough spots (burrs). If you find a burr, you might need a repair person to smooth it out. Do not try to file it yourself unless you know exactly what you are doing.
- Check screws: Are parts wobbly? Check if any accessible screws are loose. Only tighten screws you are sure about. Do not force anything.
Grasping Fabric Issues
Beyond just the wrong needle type or pulling, the fabric itself can cause needle breaks.
- Very Thick Layers: Sewing through many layers of thick fabric (like hemming jeans) puts a lot of stress on the needle. Even with the right needle size (like a 100/16 or 110/18 Jeans needle), it can still be too much.
- Dense Materials: Materials like leather, canvas, or upholstery fabrics are very dense. They resist the needle going through.
- Fused or Stabilized Fabrics: Adding interfacing or stabilizer makes fabric much stiffer and thicker.
What Happens
The needle has to work harder to push through thick or dense material. This extra effort can cause the needle to flex or bend. If it flexes too much, it can hit the needle plate. It also puts strain on the needle clamp, which holds the needle.
The Simple Fix
- Use the right needle: As mentioned before, this is key. Use a needle designed for thick or dense fabrics.
- Use a walking foot: For multiple layers or tricky fabrics, a walking foot helps feed the layers evenly. This reduces the need to pull and reduces stress on the needle.
- Go slowly: When sewing thick seams, slow down the machine speed. Turn the handwheel manually for the first few stitches over a hump (like a jeans hem). This gives the needle time to push through without excessive force.
- Reduce layers if possible: Can you trim some bulk before sewing?
Checking the Needle Installation
This seems basic, but installing the needle wrong is a very common sewing machine needle problem.
What Can Go Wrong
- Not inserted all the way: The needle has a flat side at the top. This flat side must face the back on most sewing machines. The round side faces the front. The needle must be pushed up into the needle clamp as far as it will go.
- Facing the wrong way: If the flat side is not facing the back (or the correct direction for your machine), the needle is twisted.
- Not tightening the clamp: The screw or lever that holds the needle might not be tight enough.
What Happens
If the needle is not all the way up or is twisted, the eye of the needle and the tip will not be in the correct position when the bobbin hook swings by. This can cause skipped stitches sewing machine issues. More importantly, if the needle is loose or twisted, it can wobble. A wobbling needle is very likely to hit the needle plate or bobbin mechanism, leading to a broken needle.
The Simple Fix
Take the old needle out. Make sure you have the right new needle. Look at the top of the new needle; find the flat side. Loosen the needle clamp screw just enough to put the new needle in. Push the new needle up as far as it will go. Make sure the flat side is facing the back (check your manual to be sure for your machine). Hold the needle up with one hand and tighten the screw firmly with the other. Do not overtighten, just make it snug and secure.
Fathoming Why Thread Breaks (and How it Affects Needles)
While the focus is on broken needles, thread breaking on sewing machine can be a related problem.
How Thread Issues Lead to Broken Needles
- Bad Quality Thread: Cheap thread can be weak, uneven, or fuzzy. It might snap easily under tension. It can also leave a lot of lint, which clogs the machine. Snapping thread can sometimes whip around and cause issues, or constant thread breaks might be a sign of another problem (like tension or a burr) that also breaks needles.
- Wrong Thread for Needle/Fabric: Using very thick thread with a very thin needle can cause the thread to not pass freely through the needle eye or the fabric. This creates resistance and can bend the needle.
- Thread Snagging: If thread snags somewhere in the thread path (e.g., on a rough spot, a wrongly threaded guide, or a tension disc with lint), it creates sudden tension spikes. These spikes stress the needle and the thread.
The Simple Fix
- Use quality thread: Invest in good quality thread. It sews better and causes fewer problems.
- Match thread to needle and fabric: Thicker fabrics and larger needles can handle thicker threads. Delicate fabrics and thin needles need thinner threads.
- Check the thread path: Re-thread your machine carefully with the presser foot up. Make sure the thread is seated correctly in all guides and tension discs. Check for any rough spots on your machine that the thread might be catching on.
Putting It All Together: Troubleshooting Steps
When your needle breaks, stop sewing immediately.
- Turn off the machine. This is for safety.
- Remove the broken needle pieces. Be very careful! Needles are sharp. Use tweezers if needed. Check that all pieces are gone, especially from the bobbin area.
- Check the bobbin area. Look for damage (scratches, burrs, loose parts). Make sure no thread is jammed. Clean out any lint.
- Check the needle plate. Look at the hole where the needle goes down. Is it damaged? Are there burrs?
- Install a new needle. Use a fresh, correct type and size needle for your fabric. Make sure it is inserted correctly and tightened.
- Check your fabric and project. Did you hit a pin? Is there a very thick seam coming up? Did you pull the fabric?
- Thread the machine again. Do it slowly and correctly with the presser foot up.
- Test on scrap fabric. Do not start on your project. Sew on a scrap first. Sew slowly. Listen to the machine. Does it sound right? Check the stitches.
- Consider the cause. Based on what happened, think about why the needle broke. Was it old? Wrong type? Did you pull? Did you hit a pin?
- If it keeps breaking: If you put in a new needle and it breaks again quickly, the problem is likely the machine itself (tension, timing, internal burr, loose part). This is when you might need a service or repair.
This troubleshooting process helps you figure out the specific broken needle causes for your situation.
Preventing Future Broken Needles
You can do things to stop needles from breaking often.
- Use the right needle: Always check the needle type and size for your fabric. Keep a variety of needles on hand.
- Change needles often: Make it a habit. A fresh needle works best.
- Do not pull the fabric: Let the feed dogs do their job. Guide gently.
- Remove pins: Take pins out before you sew over them.
- Check tension: Make sure your tension is balanced.
- Clean your machine: Regular cleaning, especially the bobbin area and under the needle plate, removes lint that causes problems.
- Slow down on thick spots: Take care when sewing through bulky seams or multiple layers.
- Check needle installation: Always make sure the needle is in correctly and tight.
- Listen to your machine: Does it sound strained? Is it making new noises? This could be a sign of a problem.
Taking these steps helps prevent many sewing machine needle problems, including breaks, thread breaks, and skipped stitches.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Q: Can a dull needle break?
A: Yes, a dull needle has to push harder through the fabric. This extra stress can cause it to bend or snap, especially on thicker materials.
Q: How often should I change my sewing machine needle?
A: A good rule is after every 8-10 hours of sewing, or at the start of a new project, or after sewing through something thick or hitting a pin.
Q: Why does my needle break only when I sew fast?
A: Sewing fast puts more stress on the needle and the machine parts. If there is an underlying issue (like a slight bend in the needle, minor timing issue, or you are pulling the fabric just a little), sewing fast makes these problems worse and more likely to cause a break.
Q: My machine just broke a needle, and now it makes a strange noise. What should I do?
A: Stop immediately. Turn off the machine. Carefully remove all pieces of the broken needle. Check the bobbin area and under the needle plate for any damage or stuck pieces. If the noise continues after putting in a new needle and checking everything, there might be damage inside the machine from the break. It’s best to have it looked at by a repair person.
Q: Can old thread break my needle?
A: Old thread can be weaker and can break easily. While it’s more likely to cause thread breaking on sewing machine stitches, very tangled or knotting old thread can potentially jam up and cause a needle break if the needle hits the knot.
Q: My machine worked fine, but after changing the needle, it started breaking needles. Why?
A: Check the new needle. Is it the correct type and size? Is it damaged (bent) straight out of the package? Is it inserted correctly, pushed all the way up, and the clamp tightened? Incorrect installation is a very common reason for immediate needle breaks after changing it.
By understanding these common reasons and how to fix them, you can solve the mystery of why your needle keeps breaking and get back to enjoying your sewing!