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A Short History of a Short Needle

By Penny Halgren

Republish: EasyPublish™
Published: 12Jan2008
Word count: 864
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It has been said that the invention of the wheel was the milestone that changed the future of mankind. But, consider this. The man who invented the wheel was wearing animal skins that had been sewn together with a needle.

Being able to sew skins together to craft clothing for warmth and protection enabled Stone Age men to remain in northern areas of the globe, thus breaking away from their nomadic existence.

The needle has always been a simple tool. Whether it is made of bone or metal, the concept remains the same - a pointed instrument that pulls a thread through some type of material. The key elements being a sharp enough point to poke through the material (be it fabric, leather or something else) and a hole or hook to carry the thread.

During the Bronze Age, needles were developed that were made from metal instead of the primitive bone or horn. Early in that era, the most common metals for needles were gold and bronze, thus limited access to this fine tool to the wealthier individuals in town.

Later, when iron was developed, needle making expanded to include the new metal, and farmer's wives could afford metal needles.

Records indicate that the Spanish became proficient at making excellent sewing needles, and guarded their secrets well, slowing down the spread of manufacturing to other parts of the world. Eventually, though, the English developed a process that continues to be the high bar for modern needles.

The process and the number of steps required to make a needle - even today - is amazing.

Beginning with a coil of wire, the first step was to cut the wire into 3 inch lengths and then straighten the curve. Although this seems simple enough, it required that the wire be heated, pressed and then cooled.

Once cooled, the wire was turned over to a grinder who made points at both ends of the wire. Because this step required a water wheel, early needle makers lived in villages near streams or rivers where they could harness the water for energy to run their water wheels.

As you can imagine, the work of a needle grinder was fairly deadly. Standing over a grindstone breathing particles of jagged steel from the needle and stone dust, these men refused to take any safety precautions since they believed it limited the number of newcomers to the trade. That it did, but it also limited their life expectancy.

Once the points were ground on the ends of the wire, it was taken to the stamping shop where two eyes and two gutters were stamped in the middle, and the eye was punched out.

Using fine wires between the new eyes of the needles, they were separated, the burrs were ground off the ends, and the needles were ready for tempering and finishing.

Tempering was done by heating the needles on trays, then dunking them in oil, making them brittle. Additional slow heating while being turned by hand with hatchet-like tools caused the metal needles to turn colors from pale red to blue and then to a straw color.

When the tempering was right, the heat was removed and the needles were ready for the more finishing.

Needles were felt (yes, by hand) to find small warps. If there were any, the needle was tapped with a small hammer on a tiny anvil to straighten it out. Then the needles were rolled in a heavy canvas with soap, oil and emery for 8 hours each day for 8 days until they were smooth and shiny.

Then they were dumped into a copper pan filled with soapsuds to be cleaned. Finally, they were rinsed and then dried in a bin of sawdust.

The challenge at that point was to remove the needles from the sawdust, line them up so they were even and then clump them together so they could be sized. Once sorted into various sizes, they were weighed to determine how many were in each bundle, called a "company."

But the process was still not yet complete!

In the final steps, the heads were heated to give them a blue tint and to soften them in order to countersink the eyes. Countersinking was to ensure smoothness so the needle would not shred the thread.

Once the countersinking was complete, skilled grinders once again polished the heads and points of the needles until the desired quality was achieved. Finally, the needles were packaged and sold.

Although completely automated, modern needles are still made from coiled wire, the pieces cut into the length of two needles, and points are ground on both ends of the piece. Two eye shapes are then stamped in the center of the piece, the holes are punched out and the needles are separated.

Modern needles are tempered and frequently electroplated with nickel. Often the eye portion is gilded, creating a kind of gold look.

A student of needle making estimated that the wire goes through some 70 processes before it is proclaimed to be a needle ready for a seamstress!

It's amazing what it takes to create a short, straight, pointy thing with a hole in one end.

Penny Halgren http://www.TheQuiltingCoach.com Penny is a quilter of more than 26 years who seeks to interest new quilters and provide them with the resources necessary to create beautiful family heirloom quilts.

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