No matter how fancy the sewing machine, the needle is still delivering the sewing thread to the hook for the stitch to form.  

With a wide variety of sewing machine needle types, it may seem not very easy. 

The good news is that that variety of needle types makes it possible to optimize the needle for each project and fabric type.  

We will review how the sewing machine works, its strengths and limitations, and visit a half dozen common needle types we typically use in our sewing rooms.