If you are embroidering you should use an embroidery needle. You can Google sewing machine needles to read about the differences (b/c I can't remember LOL), but needles are shaped differently for different purposes. The embroidery needles are shaped to reduce friction on the thread and are very sharp to go through multiple layers of fabric and stabilizers.

I have a Brother sewing/embroidery machine and it makes a huge difference to use the right type of needle when embroidering.

Donna