Quilting needles have a special taper down to a slightly rounded point, to help cope with layers of fabric and wadding. Made especially for piecing and machine quilting. The special tapered design allows easier fabric penetration and helps eliminate skipped stitches. Schmetz quality sewing machine needles have been manufactured to exacting standards since 1851. Schmetz pursues an active research and development program to continually improve the performance of its products and ensure that Schmetz sewing machine needles consistently exceed the demands of the most challenging sewing applications. Unlike some cheaper carded needle companies, Schmetz rigourously check all their products to ensure every needle matches the amount of detail and quality of material that has gone into every needle before it. Remember, your sewing machine is only as good as the needle being used!