Who Made the First Needle? Although, a needle is a very slender tool that is very sharp indeed at one end and often has a little hole or eye, at the other end to pass a thread through. The humans feel the importance of a needle and thought of the needle so long ago that we cannot know when it was actually invented.
We know that the earliest needles were made of bone, ivory, wood, bronze, or thorn. Some were really awls, such as a shoemaker uses, for they had no eyes. They were used to punch holes in the material. Well finished needles of fish or bird bone have been found in remains of the Stone Age.
For thousands of ears, bone needles pierced with eyes have been used among more civilized races. Even stone needles have been dug up in the ruins of ancient Egypt. Bronze and iron needles were known to the Romans. Many well-made needles have been found in the ruins of Pompeii. Moreover Flinders Petrie found copper sewing needles at Naqada, Egypt, sometimes between from 4400 BC to 3000 BC
Carbon Steel needles like those we use these days now are believed to have been first made by the Chinese. They were brought into Europe by the Moors in the middle ages .The first steel needles made in Europe were manufactured at Nuremberg, Germany, in the fourteenth century.
During the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, Elias Grouse, a German taught the art of needle-making to the English. It is now an important industry in Britain as the time goes. The world’s principal producers of needles are England and France. Hence, In Japan, Hari-Kuyo, the Festival of Broken Needles, dates back to somewhere early start of 16th century.
Even though many machines are used in making needles, they are still not easy to make. A needle passes through the hands of more than 20 people before it is finished. It is very important tool in fabrication and weaving sector. Therefore, it is extensively disputed when the first needles were used, with many legend claims that range from 30,000 years ago to 60,000 years ago.
