Punch needle tool, plastic or wooden handle

Description

Punch needles for wool, yarn and rug work. The tool is a hollow needle on a handle: you thread the yarn down through it and punch into the cloth, and the loop stays behind on the other side.

The number that matters

Each option starts with the needle diameter in millimetres — 1.6, 2.0, 3.5 or 5.0. That is the size of the tube the yarn has to pass through, so a thicker yarn wants a bigger needle. Sort that out first, then pick the handle you like the feel of.

• 1.6 and 2.0 mm — fine work: thin yarn, fine detail, small loops
• 3.5 mm — the middle of the range, and the one most people start with
• 5.0 mm — heavy yarn, big loops, rug and tufting work

Three kinds of handle

Plastic — the light blue and purple handles, the cheapest of the range. Light, and fine for a start. Wood — a smooth turned handle that fills the hand, in a standard and a smaller size. Adjustable — a wooden handle with a metal collar that sets how deep the needle punches, which is how you change loop height without changing needles.

Two needles in one

The two interchangeable options take a 5.0 mm head and a 3.5 mm head on the same handle, so one tool covers thick and middling yarn. One has a beech handle; the other a standard one.

The kits

Four of the options are sealed kits rather than a bare tool: a yellow or a blue and white handle, spare needles and a threader, in either a blister card or a plain bag. The tool inside is the same in each — the difference is the packaging and the colour, so pick on that.

Minimum order

Every option here carries a minimum order of ten pieces. Above ten, any number is fine — ten, eleven, twelve. The quantity box starts at ten.

Weight

Listed at 20 g for the tool and 80 g packed, and we ship against the packed figure. Both are quoted weights rather than ours; when stock is in our hands we will put one on a scale and correct this page.