Sharps for almost everything, and the rest are specialists. Hand sewing needles are graded so that a higher number means a finer needle, which is the opposite of the metric machine numbering and catches people out.
Sharps. Medium length, sharp point, round eye. The default for general hand sewing, tacking and finishing.
Betweens, also called quilting needles. Shorter than sharps, which gives more control for small precise stitches. Hand quilters use them, and they suit any detailed work.
Crewels, or embroidery needles. Sharp point with a long eye for embroidery floss. The eye is the difference.
Tapestry needles. Blunt point, large eye, for canvas work and for anything where you want to pass between threads rather than through them.
Darners. Long, with a large eye, for darning and for working through thick fabric.
Bodkins. Blunt and flat with a very large eye, for threading elastic and cord through a casing. Worth owning even if you never hand sew.
Milliners, or straw needles. Long and even in diameter, for basting and for gathering.
Leather or glovers needles. Triangular cutting point, the hand equivalent of a machine leather needle.
A mixed pack of sharps in assorted sizes covers most home sewing. Buy the specialists when a task demands one, rather than in advance.
And keep them dry. Damp storage rusts needles, and a rusty needle drags and marks fabric.
Questions people actually ask
Why does a higher number mean a finer needle?
It is an older sizing convention that survives alongside the metric machine system. Hand needles go up as they get finer; machine needles go up as they get heavier.
My thread keeps knotting when I hand sew.
Use a shorter length, no longer than your forearm, and let the needle hang to untwist the thread from time to time.
Last reviewed 2026-08-11