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Are you a fan of twin needles? I do have one laying around somewhere in my sewing room, but only after I was shown various techniques with it, did I see the twin needle in a new light!
Schmetz, a manufacturer of high quality sewing needles, showed us stitch examples with twin needles, which made me want to try them myself. BERNINA International was vistited by Schmetz to learn about their extensive palete of sewing needles, including needles with Black non-stick coating or strenghtening Gold coating. If you are interested in these needles and want to win some to try for yourself (until 31st of August), head over to the following article: Explore the Schmetz Sewing Needles. If you already know your way around twin needles, jump to the section “Creative examples with the twin and tripple needles” to see the stitch examples Schmetz shared with us.
Schmetz presentation at BERNINA International in Steckborn, Switzerland
What is a Twin Needle?
A twin needle, also known as a double needle, is essentially two needles attached to a single shank. Used primarily for hemming and decorative stitching, it allows sewists to create parallel lines of stitching simultaneously, adding both functionality and a touch of flair to their projects. There are specialized variants of the twin needle, such as the topstitch, jeans or stretch twin needle, the tripple needle and more. They differ in their thickness, the lenght of the eye and needle tips. Most twin needles also come in different widths.
From left to right: Twin Universal, Topstitch Twin Needle, Jeans/Denim Twin Needle, Twin Stretch Needle, Embroidery Twin Needle, Metallic Twin Needle, Double Hemstitch Needle, Tripple Needle
How to Thread a Sewing Machine for Using Twin Needles
Threading your sewing machine for twin needles requires a few steps but is relatively straightforward:
Prepare Two Spools of Thread
- Choose two spools of thread. They can be the same color or different, depending on your design preference.
- Use a Separate Spool Stand: If your sewing machine lacks an auxiliary spool pin for your second spool or if you require more spool pins for your project, consider using a separate spool stand. This allows you to effectively manage multiple threads, ensuring smooth and consistent stitching. Simply place the spool of thread on the stand and thread it into the machine as described, maintaining clear separation between the threads for optimal performance. Today’s BERNINA machines can be equiped with the Multiple-spool Holder. Check the accessory catalog if the Multiple-spool Holder is compatible with your machine.
Thread the Machine
- Place one spool on the primary spool pin and the other on an auxiliary spool pin.
- Thread each thread on their own.
- Guide both upper threads up to the thread tension disc in the same way as threading the single needle.
- At the thread tension disc, guide the thread for the left needle down the left and the thread for the right needle down the right of the thread tension disc.
- For a tripple needle, guide the thread for the left needle down to the left and the threads for the right and center needle down to the right of the thread tension disc.
- Guide the threads up to the needle in the same way as threading the single needle.
- Thread both needles by hand since the automatic or semi-automatic needle threader is not compatible with the twin needle.
- You can also refer to your machines manual, Creative Consultant or Help Center on your machine’s screen for guidance.
Twin needle threading guide in the Help Center of the B 990
Stitch Settings and Troubleshooting for Twin Needles
When using twin needles, it’s essential to fine-tune your stitch settings to achieve optimal results. Make sure to test the stitch type on a scrap piece of fabric first to ensure the desired effect and test your stitch settings. Here are the key adjustments:
- Stitch Length: If your stitch does not lay flat, you can shorten your stitch length.
- Spray starch: Stiffening your fabric can help to keep your stitch flat.
- Thread tension: You might want to adjust your top thread tension depending on your stitch type and fabric. With the BERNINA Hook, changing the bobbin thread tension is not recommended. BERNINA machines with the BERNINA Hook and Adaptive Thread Tension function automaticly adjust the thread tension according to your chosen stitch type, and changing the thread tension of the bobbin case can distort the balance.
- Stitch Type: While a straight stitch is commonly used, consider utilizing a narrow zigzag or decorative stitch to create unique designs.
- Needle Positioning: Always keep in mind the width of your twin needles and your stitch plate. Only adjust the needle position if you have enough space to do so.
Your machines safety measure
When sewing decorative or zigzag stitches with twin needles, the width of your stitch and the width of the twin needle have to fit the width of your stitchplate. Here’s where your machine’s safety function is incredibly handy: The BERNINA machines of the 4-, 5-, 7-, 8- and 9-series allow you to select your stitch plate and needle. If your selection results in a collision, it will refuse to sew. In this example, we chose a 3 mm twin needle and the 5 mm stitch plate.
Needle and stitch plate selection on the B 485
We set a 3 mm wide zigzag stitch. With a 3 mm twin needle, this results in a stitch width of 6 mm, which excedes our 5 mm stitch plate. The B 485 now shows a red stitch preview, meaning that this combination will result in a collision of the needle with the stitch plate. The machine will not make a single stitch and open a warning message when pressing on the foot pedal. Only a stitch width of 2.1 mm or less is possible for this example.
The stitch preview on the B 485 is red, indicating that these settings will result in a collision.
In this example, we selected the 9 mm stitch plate, a 6 mm twin needle and the sideways motion decorative stitch number 1635 on the B 990. The stitch preview is white, which means we can sew this stitch without any issues.
If your machine has a Sideways Motion function, you can create stitches wider then your stitch plate, even with the twin needle.
Creative examples with the twin and tripple needles
Now that we have covered the technical aspects, let’s have some fun! Here are examples of what you can do with twin needles and the tripple needle.
Free-motion embroidery or quilting
Lower your feed dog, coordinate your stitch speed with moving the fabric and make some free-motion designs! You can use this effect for embroidery or quilting. Draw your design with chalk or a washable marker first to have more guidance.
Free-motion and Ruler Quilting with twin needles
You can do free-motion or ruler quilting with twin needles. For more info, check out the following articles:
- Twin Needle Ruler Quilting With a Long Arm Machine by Robin Bogaert
- Tips for Quilting with a Twin Needle on WeAllSew
Working with The Bernina Clamshell Ruler & a Twin Needle
Topstitching
Be it for hems or for decorative accents, with a twin needle you’ll have two parallel topstitches in one go. By using the topstitch twin needle and a thicker thread, this technique looks especially good on denim.
Hemming and coverstitch with the twin needle
The twin needle is an alternative if you wish to hem fabrics, but do not own a cover machine. The back of the twin needle stitch mimics the loops of the coverstitch, keeping the edge of your fabric covered and in place. The following picture shows a white coverstitch with a cover machine and the black zigzag at the top it is the backside of the stitch with the twin needle.
Black zigzag: Back of the stitch with the twin needle. White: Loop of a coverstitch with a cover machine.
Tunnel with elastic band
When sewing through two layers of fabric with a twin needle, you create a tunnel. Thread an elastic through it, and you have an easy gathered hem! Keep in mind to choose an elastic or cord thin enough to fit in between the width of the twin needle. You can also use this technique to make boning tunnels for corsets!
Gathered hem with an elastic
Pintucks
Twin needles are great to add some texture to your project. It’s easy to create pintucks with them.
Pintucks with a twin needle
Use the Pintuck Attachment to make the pintucks stand out even more. Or have you heard of the Pintuck Foot with 5 Grooves #31? This presser foot helps keep your pintucks parallel. BERNINA offers pintuck presser feet with 3, 5, 7 or 9 grooves.
Multicolor decorative stitches with twin needles or tripple needle
Do you like colorful projects? Then this technique is for you! Choose matching or contrasting thread to create stunning effects. You can either choose straight and zigzag stitches…
… or try with decorative stitches! Please remember to check the width of the twin needle, the stitch plate and your decorative stitch to avoid collisions.
This also looks great with a tripple needle:
By following these guidelines, you’ll be all set to make the most out of your twin needle sewing adventures.
Happy stitching!
Can a twin needle be used on a vintage Bernina 1120 machine? I checked my manual and could not find anything on it. Thank you.
Hi Alison,
As long as you keepthe max. stitch width of your machines stitch plate in mind, there’s no reason why you should not be able to use a twin needle on your machine. I think your machine even has two posts for the thread spools? So go ahead and try it out! 🙂
Thanks for this informative article.I would love to know what to do when you want to avoid tunneling like when using the twin needle for a hem. Reducing the thread tension didn’t seem to do the trick.
Hi Faye,
Tunneling is really annyoing, but next to playing with the thread tension, you can try:
– Use a twin needle with a smaller width
– Use spray starch to stiffen your fabric so it holds up better, wash it out after
– Use strips of tear away stabilizer
Ultimately, if you are sewing a lot of jersey, you might want to invest in a coverlock. It is so easy to get great results and most time, I don’t have to adjust any settings. I got so annoyed by always fighting the tunneling that I now either go to my friends place to hem my things on her coverlock, or I use an almost straight zigzag stitch with elastic thread (seraflex) to hem things cause I want my hems to be flat.
I have used double or triple needles for many years and had so much fun with them. They are real time savers, too, when doing certain types of topstitching or pair the double needle with a pintuck foot and your project becomes an even better thing of beauty.I suggest those who are hesitant to try them to get one such as the universal 1.6 or 2.0 of a narrower width and then begin a sampler using your favorite decorative stitches on piece of plain cotton with an underlay of interfacing or an embroidery support. Ramona showed it using an embroidery hoop but I’ve done it without although that was on a machine with a narrower opening for zig-zag. If your machine has a wide opening for zig-zag, do use a hoop to prevent the machine from “eating” your work. (And it’s a mess to fix. Don’t ask how I know. LOL)Also try machine embroidery threads or other fancy threads made for machine use. It’s a blast to find a new favorite thing to do.My last hint is make notes of what worked for you or what didn’t. Note the machine settings and threads used. I will even note the machine settings right on my sample so I don’t have to remember where my notebook is hiding out. 😀 Having notes has saved my bacon numerous times. I just use a palm-sized spiral notebook ($5 at the drug store or office supply) and clip a pen/pencil to it to keep the pen handy.
Article on types of new back and gold needles was inspirational
Some stitch recipes for rows of stitching would be great. Included could be with single and double needles.
Very informative! Wish I could print it out.
Hi Ruth,
You can print it! In your browser, open the menu (usually its a … on the top left or right) go to “Print” then select your printer and print it out!
Other options are:
– Select “Print to PDF” in the dropwdown where you normally choose your printer, and you can save the article as a PDF file on your computer.
– Mark the instructions with your mouse, then copy & past them into a Word file. This way you can also save it on your computer and print it.
Whichever works best for you 🙂
Such great instruction on twin needles. Cant wIt to get home and try this.
Thank you Nancy! This took a while to write, so I’m happy this inspired you to try something new with them 🙂