Reply To: Wing Needles

[the_professors_assistantKeymaster]

Wing needles are used in machine decorative stitching.  If you’re machine has the ability to do decorative stitches, than you can most likely use the wing needle to do some really cool embellishments on your fabric.  (I’ve attached a picture of a wing needle in case there are people who have never seen them.)  The difference in this needle can be seen visually in that needle itself curves outward on each side so that it looks like it has wings.  What does this do?  Well, it punches a hole in your fabric as it’s stitching.  Now normally we don’t want large holes, but with the right type of stitch, it can create an awesome look and the results are mostly seen in heirloom type stitching, especially in linen.  For best results, use decorative stitches in which the needle will go through a hole more than once, like a star/flower or the hemstitch (which looks like a basket weave) but it’s fun just to experiment with the stitches and see which looks you like.  Make sure you’re not using a heavy weight thread and you sew slowly.  This seems to be ideal for linen/linen looks, and light weight cotton fabric.  I’ve attached another picture of an example.  It’s the holey stitch that’s framing the embroidery piece.  Hope this helps and have fun with it. 🙂