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Use Your Smart Phone to See the Needle Size

We Carry
by Sara Snuggerud in Sewing Tips

Needle companies have always engraved the size of the needle at the top of the shank. As we all know reading that number gets harder and harder as we age. 

Use your smart phone’s magnifier option next time you need to see a needle size! 

YES! Your smart phone has a magnifier option that can zoom in enough to read the size of the needle!

If a magnifier is something that needs to be with you at all times, don’t feel bad. Use the technology that is already in your pocket to easily ready those tiny numbers and small print! 

iPhone Users: 

Open Settings and tap on General.

Next tap Accessibility and then Magnifier.

Tap the toggle on the right to turn the feature on.

Now you can activate the magnifier by triple clicking the side button on iPhone X (previously sleep/wake button) or triple clicking the Home button for iPhone 8/8 Plus and earlier.

Android Smart Phone Users:

Some Android phones also have a magnifying glass feature, but it may need to be turned on for it to work. 

To turn on the magnifying glass, go to Settings, then Accessibility, then Vision, then Magnification and turn it on.

When you need to use the magnifying glass, go to the camera app and tap the screen three times. To turn off the magnifying glass, tap the screen three times again.

Some Android phones do not come with a magnifying glass feature built in. You can use zoom in the camera app if you need magnification. Many magnifying apps are in the Google Play app store with different features. Some of these apps are free but have advertisements.

On a Side Note…

The Schmetz needle company has eliminated the wondering of what TYPE and SIZE a needle is by color coding their needles. The top color indicates the needle type and the bottom color indicates the needle size. But if you have the previous generation of Schmetz needles, the smart phone magnification will be a life saver.

Click here for an excellent dictionary of needle terms from the Schmetz needle company. 

What is a SUPER NEEDLE? 

Like blueberries, salmon and kale are the SUPER foods in the food world, the new SUPER NONSTICK NEEDLES from Schmetz are truly now the SUPER needle of the sewing world. Click here to continue reading…

Want to Learn More About Needles?

We have 18 short needle videos to help you better understand what different needles are and what they are used for.