How do I tell if my needle is bent?

A bent needle almost never looks bent when you hold it up, which is why so many people carry on sewing with one. There are two reliable checks and both take seconds.

Roll it on flat glass. Lay the needle on a piece of glass or a flat steel ruler and roll it. A straight needle rolls evenly with the flat of the shank tapping down; a bent one wobbles or shows a gap under the shaft. This is the definitive test.

Sight it in the machine. Lower the needle slowly with the handwheel and watch it against the hole in the needle plate and the slot in the presser foot. It should pass through the centre of both. Any offset means it is bent or not seated properly.

The symptoms that should prompt the check. Skipped stitches, a knocking noise, thread breaking repeatedly, or the needle striking the plate. A needle that has hit a pin is bent until proven otherwise, even if it kept sewing afterwards.

Also look at the tip and the eye. A burred tip snags fabric and a chipped eye shreds thread, and neither is visible without magnification. If in doubt, replace it — a needle costs very little and a ruined garment does not.

What bends needles. Pulling the fabric, sewing over pins, fabric too heavy for the needle size, and the needle not pushed fully up into the clamp so it sits low and deflects.

Do not try to straighten one. The steel is hardened and it will be weaker and still not true.