The history of the sewing needle and sewing goes back more than 20,000 years. Man invented the sewing needle long before the discovery of metal. At first, it was made from fish bones by poking a hole in the blunt end of the pieces. With such sewing needles, early man sewed his clothes from animal skin. Our ancestors also liked to use thorns from plants or simply worked pointed stones. Through the hole they pulled the tendons of the animals to join the skins. Taking into account the archaeological findings, we can safely say that the history of the sewing needle began a very long time ago. Even before our era, about 40,000 BC, people used needles for sewing. However, it is not known who exactly invented them, but there are many clues about when and where the first metal sewing needles appeared, before they were made of bone.
The oldest metal sewing needles were found by the archaeologists in Bavaria in Manching. Thus, it is established that the time of their manufacture is the 3rd century BC. However, it is not excluded that the needles could have been simply delivered there. The eye of a sewing needle at that time was quite different from today (the hole for the thread is known to us), only the blunt end of the needle was bent, forming a ring through which the thread passed. Some scientists suggest that the needle discovered in China was the first sewing needle made of steel. And the events belong to the X century BC. Today there are two versions of the story of how sewing needles came to Europe. According to one version, they were introduced in the 8th century by the people of the Moorish tribe, and if you stick to the other one, the sewing needles were brought to Europe in the 14th century by the Arab merchants.
Among the cultural states of antiquity, ancient Egypt was particularly important, whose inhabitants not only sewed with iron needles, but also actively engaged in embroidery. The history of the sewing needle among the Egyptians is also supported by the fact that even then the needle was perfectly shaped and very reminiscent of the modern sewing needle known to us. However, it did not have an eye. The edge of the needle opposite the tip was simply bent into a small ring. And if iron needles were very common, the background of steel needles was a little more violent. According to history, sewing needles he exchanged in the Middle Ages in Europe, where they were introduced by oriental merchants. In the East, however, steel was known much earlier. Craftsmen who made steel did so mostly to produce weapons, but at the same time they also made steel for sewing needles.
An important event in the history of sewing needles was the invention of Damascus steel, from which the needles of a new generation were made. In Europe, the first production was opened in 1370, which began to manufacture sewing needles, at that time without an eyelet. They were made by hand using the forging process. The production of sewing needles increased after the drawing method for making wire was introduced in Europe (12th century). In the 16th century (in Germany), the wire drawing process was mechanized. This could be done with the help of a hydraulic motor and a revolution in the production of sewing needles took place. At that time, the main production plants were located in Germany (in Nuremberg) and also in Spain. In 1556, with the advent of the Industrial Revolution, there were needle manufacturers in England as well. Industrial production and the decline in sewing needle prices.
In Europe, mass production of sewing needles began in the 14th century. At that time, no one thought to provide an eyelet for the thread. Their appearance resembled rather modern safety pins. Despite the mass production, the needles were still very expensive and affordable only for the wealthy people. It was only when the British began to use the mechanized method in the production of needles in 1785 that the price came down. The advent of industrial production led to a decrease in sewing needle prices, which in turn made them a more affordable product. The development of machine tools in England (1850) that allowed you to make an eye as we know it today, with a pointed end on one side and an integral eye on the other. This automation in sewing needle manufacturing created a real revolution in the history of haberdashery and made the country a monopolist in the manufacture of this product. Before sewing needles were made of steel, they were made of iron and bronze. For the wealthy there were even noble sewing needles made of silver.
Even though the sewing needle has now firmly entered every household, interesting legends and all sorts of speculations about it still circulate. For example, you should not pick up a needle on the street. The person is not allowed to sew something on a garment when he has just put it on. But why the needle has such a mystical meaning, nobody knows. If it happened that the old craftswomen could look into the sewing boxes of the modern seamstresses, they would probably be very amazed. In fact, there is something to envy, because the needles now cost only a few cents, but the assortment is really princely. There are not only 12 needle sizes, but also needles for sewing, embroidery and gold-plated sewing needles that leave no marks on the fabric, as well as double-sided needles with a hole in the middle. There are also special needles for the visually impaired with an eyelet for a thread in the form of a carabiner. The platinum needles significantly shorten the sewing work and are resistant to the acids and alkalis.
The sewing needle is most revered in Japan, where an annual festival dedicated to broken needles has been held for about 1000 years. For the sewing needle festival, participants bring their broken needles and place them in a special box, while at the same time thanking the needles for their good service. After that, the box with the sewing needles is lowered into the sea forever. But in modern times sewing needles do not break. The materials used are of high quality and there are needles shaped in any diameter for the appropriate purpose. Only one problem has remained to this day, what is the easiest way to get the thread into the sewing needle. To overcome this challenge, we have developed the lasso needle. The new special sewing needle has a metallic area for gripping, as known from other sewing needles, and a 15 mm lasso loop made of high-performance plastic, which serves as a very large needle eye. Since the lasso loop is made of flexible material, it slides effortlessly through the thin puncture hole in the fabric. With the 15 mm needle eye, anyone can thread a thread in seconds. Even with sewing needles with a thin diameter of only 0.5 mm, inserting the thread is easy and convenient. This makes the new Lasso needle the sewing needle of the 21st century.
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