Merchant & Mills Easy Thread Needles

These are great everyday needles with a clever calyx eye to make threading much easier. Comes in a turned wooden box for safe-keeping or easy traveling. A dozen needles. Made in Britain. (more info)

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As crucial as needles have been in taking humanity from sloppily swathed to smartly tailored, their one big failing is how pesky it is to thread the eye of a needle. And as far as the elderly, myopic, infirm or just plain clumsy are concerned, that tiny, frayed piece of cotton might as well be a camel.

The beauty of these needles is the easy-to-thread calyx eye, which takes the sweat out of sewing. It removes the necessity for long, frustrated moments of fiddling (or having to ask for help) by way of a slot at the head of each needle, through which thread can pass quickly and easily. The thread goes in much easier than it comes out, so it won’t slip back out of the slot as you sew.

Each little cylindrical wooden box contains 12 calyx-eyed needles, each one a size 8 sharp. The box will fit in any pocket or small bag — handy for the seamster or seamstress on the move.

Use & Care

These are great everyday needles that are perfect for repairs and hand-sewing projects of medium-weight, woven fabrics.

The slotted top allows for swift, non-fiddly threading. Make a small loop down the center of your thread. Nest the loop into the notch at the top of the needle. Tug the thread gently through the small slots until it is in the lower, second eye of the needle. Sew as normal.

The metal for these needles are lightly coated to glide through fabric, and sturdy so it won’t balk and bend at seams and keep its point for longer. Each needle will last you a long time, depending on use. It’s time to break out a new needle when the one you’re using feels like it no longer sinks into the fabric quite like it used to, if the needle is bent, or if the tip starts catching on the cloth’s weave.

These needles store happily in their box, but if you’re using a pin cushion, be sure it isn’t filled with something that will scratch the needle and dull the point. Wool felt is ideal. If you want to make a pin cushion as your inaugural sewing project, here’s a recipe for a pin cushion filler that will keep needles clean, polished, sharp and dry: Mix 6 parts talcum powder, 1 part baking soda and 1 part tub cleaning powder. Sew three sides of a square wool felt pouch, fill with the mixture, then sew up the fourth side tight. That’s it.

Production & Design

These needles are made in Britain by a 300-year-old company that values simple designs and quality construction for the minimum of sewing frustration. They are one piece of Merchant & Mills’ mission to make dressmaking — or at the very least, alterations and repair — part of everyone’s lives. They want you to experience the satisfaction of making your own clothes, which means sourcing the best sewing tools to set you up nicely on the path of sewing greatness.