Sewing needles. History of the needle Find the history of the creation of the needle on the Internet

The history of the creation of the needle and thimble briefly!!! Guys, please help. We really need your help! and got the best answer

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History of the needle and thimble link

Answer from Aisylu Kavieva[newbie]
Hand sewing needleAn needle (Needle) is a long, thin, pointed instrument made of a hard substance (previously made of bone), most often known to people from sewing needles with a needle eye for thread on one side. It is used to destroy or deform the object of influence in order to obtain any new properties of the object or to overcome it. Due to the small area of ​​the needle tip, the force applied along the needle is concentrated in a small area. This circumstance allows the needles to pierce material, the hardness of which is less than the hardness of the material of which the needle itself is composed, without being damaged. A needle is also called many other objects that have a similar shape. We can say that a needle is a type of blade with the size of the edge of the blade tending to zero. A thimble is a cap that is put on the finger to protect it from being pricked by a needle when sewing on the hands and to push the needle through thick material. Thimbles began to be used in ancient times (for example, more than two thousand years ago in China or even earlier in Egypt). With the advent of the sewing machine, thimbles became less popular. May be a collectible.

If in the Stone Age there was a patent office and a primitive man brought there an application for a sewing implement, which stated that “a needle is a pointed rod for sewing with an eye at the end”, all the inventors over the subsequent millennia could not have added anything, the needle is so perfect. Perhaps not a single tool has passed so unchanged through the entire history of mankind. A fish bone with a hole in the blunt end - that's the whole invention. But we still use this same “bone”, only made of metal. Some time after the creation of the bone needle (it is very fragile!) they began to look for a replacement for it. Thorn thorns were used, then needles began to be made of bronze and iron. Steel appeared in Europe in the 14th century, when they learned the secret of durable Damascus steel. At first they didn’t know how to make an eyelet - they just bent the blunt tip. The appearance of the drawing board greatly facilitated the production of needles and improved their appearance.

The steel needle was brought to Russia in the 17th century from Germany by Hanseatic merchants. And soon Russian craftsmen mastered the art of making it. Of course, Rus' knew needles before - they were forged from bronze and iron, and for rich houses and palaces - silver. But still, the steel ones turned out to be the best.

From the hands of unknown craftswomen who held this simple sewing device came breathtaking outfits of fashionistas of all times and peoples, and the finest embroidered pictures, and icon frames embroidered with pearls and beads, and everyday clothes, and children's toys...

Sometimes the needle acquired completely new “specialties” for it. So, in the 16th century, artists began to use it to create etchings. Etching is a type of engraving, the design of which is scratched onto a metal board covered with a layer of varnish. After applying the design, the board is immersed in acid, which corrodes the grooves left by the artist’s hand. An engraving needle is very similar to a regular sewing needle, only the tip is sharpened in the shape of a cone, blade, or cylinder.

Perhaps this type of engraving was born due to the fact that a needle was always “at hand” in any home. And the artist wanted to get copies of his works using paper and lithographic stone. But carving on stone with a chisel is quite hard work. This is where the needle and acid came in handy, which made things much easier and faster.

The first etchings were created in Germany in the 16th century by Albrecht Durer, D. Hopfer and other artists. In the 17th century, A. van Dyck, A. van Ostade, X. Ribera and the greatest of etchers, Rembrandt, created with the help of a needle. 17th century - works by J.B. Tiepolo, A. Watteau, F. Boucher, W. Hogarth, F. Goya. In Russia at this time, etching was also gaining ground: A.F. Zubov, M.F. Kazakov, V.I. Bazhenov and others worked with the help of a needle. The needle was often used to draw popular prints, including folk pictures from the Patriotic War of 1812, illustrations for books, and caricatures. And today this technique is alive, many modern artists use it.

The next “specialty” of the needle is medicine.

We have all been given injections more than once. At the same time, we experienced a not entirely pleasant encounter with a syringe needle. This is a stainless steel tube with the end cut at an acute angle. This needle is used not only for administering medications, but also for suctioning liquids and gases (for example, from the chest cavity). Surgeons use special needles to stitch tissues and organs. Depending on the purpose, these needles are round, triangular, or oval. At the end there is usually a split eyelet for the thread, the surface is chromed or nickel plated so that the needle does not rust. Ocular (ophthalmic) needles, with the help of which, for example, corneal incisions are sewn, have a thickness of a fraction of a millimeter. This needle can only be used with a microscope!

What about acupuncture, known since ancient times? Special needles are inserted into strictly defined points on the human body (there are about 660 of them). They range in length from one and a half to twelve centimeters, with a thickness of 0.3 - 0.45 millimeters.

But this does not exhaust the “track record” of our humble worker. When we put our favorite record on the turntable, we also use its services. It is also needed in the manufacture of carpets and non-woven textile materials (it is no coincidence that one of the methods for producing them is called needle-punched).

If we look at the “Dictionary of the Russian Language”, then in addition to the listed meanings we will find there that the word “needle” means the leaves of coniferous trees, hard, prickly formations on the body of some animals (there is even a special type of marine invertebrate animals - echinoderms), hard pointed crystals (for example, the most common frost), as well as the sharp spire of the building (in Pushkin - “the bright Admiralty needle”).

In the last century there was a so-called needle gun. When the trigger was pulled, the needle pierced the paper bottom of the cartridge and ignited the percussion composition of the primer. It was supplanted by the rifle. There are needle bearings (a type of roller). In a word, it is difficult even to simply list all the areas of “activity” of the needle.

But let's return to our ordinary, well-known sewing needle. It turns out that making it is not at all an easy task. Only a few countries in the world have established mass production of this most popular instrument. A few kilograms of high-quality machine needles can cost more than a beautiful car!

For many women, a must-have companion for a hand sewing needle is a thimble. There is a beautiful legend about his appearance... In the 17th century, goldsmith Nicolas Benshonten lived in the capital of Holland, Amsterdam. The young man, as expected, was in love.

He liked Anita, the daughter of the stingy neighbor Van Ranselier. The girl sat in front of the window all day and embroidered. Anita’s skillful hands, as if by magic, created fairytale castles, unprecedented overseas plants, and unprecedented birds on silk. But the thin needle pricked the craftswoman’s finger painfully. And Nicolas’s heart, seeing this, bled every time. And then one fine day, a servant brought a gold cap with small indentations on it to Anita’s house. Its purpose was clear. But the gift also had another secret meaning. Before this, the young man had never told Anita about love. However, the cap was made with such skill and diligence that she immediately guessed it...

Whether it really happened this way or differently is difficult to say. But the fact remains: in one of the archives of Amsterdam there is a message: “To the respected Mrs. van Ranselier, I bring as a gift a trinket of my invention and creation, so that it will serve to protect her wonderful and hard-working fingers.”

Signed: Nicolas Benchontin. The date of the message is 1640. Perhaps Benshonten reinvented this simple sewing device, since it is known that already in the Middle Ages there were craftsmen engaged in the manufacture of these gizmos. From those times, elegant masterpieces decorated with enamel, inlay and engraving have come down to us. And the oldest ones, by the way, are gold. Later they were made of gilded silver or bronze, but the color remained traditionally yellow. This had its own meaning: against this background one can easily distinguish a silver-white needle.

In Rus', a metal finger cap appeared at the end of the 17th century and quickly gained popularity. By the way, the word “thimble” (as it came to be called) was not created specifically for him. This is what lead weights have long been called in Rus' to weigh down the hand when striking in a fist fight. In ancient times, oxen were harnessed to a yoke, which was secured with a thin wooden stick pointed at one end - a needle. This is where the name came from to our friend.

The linguistic “relative” of the needle is the infamous word “yoke.” Yoke and collar are words of Turkic origin. And the ancient Slavic name for this harness is yoke. Among the people, the yoke and collar have always symbolized oppression and slavery. It is no coincidence that the saying “If there was a neck, there would be a collar.” And therefore, the terrible years of the invasion and rule of the Golden Horde in Rus' received their short and so capacious name - the yoke.

It's amazing how many meanings and objects such a simple word carries - needle!

Recently, on the coast of Florida, under a thick layer of sand, treasure hunters discovered a huge wooden chest with the inscription “San Fernando”. Indeed, there was such a ship and it sank almost 250 years ago on the way from Mexico to Spain with a substantial loot on board: 150 million silver pesos. Treasure hunters fiddled with the castle for a long time, finally the long-awaited click was heard, several trembling hands threw back the lid, and... an ancient treasure appeared to greedy eyes: thousands, tens of thousands of sailor needles for patching sails!

The classic definition describes a needle as a thin, pointed metal rod with a hole for threading, used for sewing. The two main working components of such a tool are the tip, which is used to pierce the fabric to be sewn, and the hole at the other end, into which the thread is threaded. It is interesting that this tiny hole is called differently in different languages, but often it bears the name of a human organ. In Russian we call it an ear, the English call it “eye”, that is, an eye.

First needles

When the first needle appeared in a person’s hands, it is, of course, impossible to say. It looks like it was invented in the Stone Age. People of that time immemorial figured out how to make needles from thin and sharp fish bones, and sometimes from wood. With these simple tools they sewed animal skins.

The oldest needles found, made from fragments of tubular bones and mammoth ivory, were found during excavations in the area of ​​the modern village of Kostenki in the Voronezh region. Kostenki is the site of discovery of sites of ancient people of the Upper Paleolithic era; accordingly, the age of local archaeological finds is more than twenty thousand years.

The American Indians used a plant such as agave for tailoring purposes. It turns out that you can not only distill tequila from it, but also get needles, complete with threads. Agave leaves were soaked in water until they disintegrated into long fibers, which were already connected by a sharp tip. Thus, the Indians did not even have to thread the needle. The agave fibers were dried and put into use.

Bone needles dominated the ancient world. Their disadvantage was their fragility, so in attempts to find a replacement they tried to use other materials, for example, thorns. In the Middle Ages, shoemakers and bookbinders sometimes used hedgehog needles.

The earliest metal needle was found in Manching, in Bavaria, its age is attributed to the third century BC, but then traces of metal needles from Eurasia are lost.

It is believed that metal needles were brought to Europe in the eighth century by Moorish tribes who lived in the territory of modern Morocco and Algeria. There is also a version according to which Arab merchants did this already in the 14th century.

Industrial production of needles

In the 70s of the 14th century, the first guild community specializing in needles and other sewing items arose in the Bavarian city of Nuremberg. European blacksmiths tried to make needles themselves, but their products turned out to be very crude. They did not have an ear, and they were made exclusively by hand using the forging method.

Starting from the 12th century, the ancient method of drawing wire using a special plate was revived in Europe. Thanks to this technology, needles began to be made on a much larger scale, but a real revolution in the needle business occurred in the 16th century, when the process of wire drawing was mechanized using a hydraulic motor.

In addition to Germany, the main centers for the production of needles were concentrated at that time in Spain. These sewing tools were called Spanish peaks.

In the mid-16th century, the German and Spanish initiative was intercepted by England, which was experiencing an industrial boom. In the 19th century, they established factory production of needles on a special machine that made the eye that is so familiar to us. From this time on, Britain became a leader in the needle business. If before needles were simply chopped from wire, now the machine simply stamped full-fledged needles with eyes.

Until this time, needles were very expensive, rarely could any master have more than two such sewing tools, but now the prices for them have become quite reasonable, and affordable needles of all types and kinds have filled our everyday life.

In everyday life, the needle acquired not only the significance of the main sewing tool - from ancient times magical powers were attributed to it. This is evidenced by numerous signs and superstitions: for example, it is considered a bad omen to work hard in the clothes you are currently wearing. Under no circumstances should you pick up a needle on the street, and you should not use someone else’s needle. With the help of a needle, love spells are cast and the most terrible damage is induced, and Koshchei’s own life was at the tip of the needle, and Hans Christian Andersen even made the needle the main character of one of his fairy tales. In this fairy tale, the arrogant and proud needle constantly sighs about its subtlety. Having broken, the needle first became a pin, a brooch, then fell into a ditch, and talked about glitter with a bottle fragment. Then, at the bottom of the ditch, she indulged in these thoughts:

“I was probably born from a ray of sunshine, I’m so thin. Sometimes it seems to me that the sun is looking for me now in this muddy water. Oh, my poor father can't find me. Why did I break? If I had not lost my eye, I would have cried now - I feel so sorry for myself. But no! I wouldn’t do that, it’s indecent.”

Then the darning needle became a mast in a toy shell boat, until it was left just lying forgotten by everyone on the street pavement. Well, let it lie to itself, concludes the great storyteller, because belief forbids picking up ownerless needles on the street.

Types of needles

It only remains to add that there are a variety of needles - sewing, embroidery, saddlery, furriers, sailing. The thickest needle is up to 5 mm, and the longest is 200 - these are the so-called gypsy, or bag needles. They are used for rough fabrics such as canvas, burlap or tarpaulin. Such needles may be curved.

Machine needles, in turn, are also distinguished by thickness and purpose. There are ordinary universal needles, but special tools are also in use for sewing, denim, leather and knitwear - their points are sharpened in a special way.

Needles are used not only for sewing; artists use very special needles to create etchings using the “silver needle” technique - these are virtuoso drawings.

Doctors darn the flesh of patients with needles and use the thinnest hollow instruments to inject injections, and oriental healers perform the miracles of acupuncture. There are too many needle professions to count.

Taking into account archaeological finds, we can say for sure that the history of sewing needles begins quite a long time ago, since they were used by people who lived before our era - 40,000 years ago. It is unknown, however, who exactly invented and created them, but there is information about when and where the first metal sewing needles appeared; before that they were made of bone.

The most ancient sewing needles made of metal were discovered by archaeologists in Bavaria, in Manching. It has been established that the time of their manufacture is the 3rd century BC. However, the possibility cannot be ruled out that the needles could simply have been brought there. The eye of a sewing needle of that time was completely different from what it is now (a hole for thread, which is familiar to us), the blunt end of the needle was simply bent, thus forming a ring through which the thread passed. The needle, discovered in China, is believed to be the first sewing needle made from steel. And this happened in the 10th century BC.

There are two versions of how sewing needles came to Europe. According to one version, they were brought in the 8th century by people of the Moorish tribe, and if you adhere to another, then the needles were brought by Arab merchants in the 14th century.

An important event in the history of sewing needles was the invention of Damascus steel; it was from it that new generation needles began to be made. In Europe, the first factory was opened in 1370, where sewing needles began to be produced (they were without eyes). They were made by hand using the forging method. The production of sewing needles increased in volume after the drawing method began to be used in Europe to create wire (12th century).

In the 16th century (in Germany), the method of wire drawing became mechanized (this could be done using a hydraulic motor), and a revolution took place in the manufacture of sewing needles. At that time, the main production facilities were located in Germany (in Nuremberg), as well as in Spain. In 1556, with the advent of the Industrial Revolution, needle manufacturing enterprises appeared in England.

The emergence of industrial production led to a decrease in prices for needles, which in turn made them a more affordable product, because before that time a tailor could only have 1-2 needles, no more. The creation in England of machines (1850) that made it possible to make eyelets (the same thing familiar to us) created a real revolution in the history of sewing needles and made the country a monopolist in the production of this product.

Hanseatic merchants brought steel sewing needles to Russia in the 17th century. Before that, tailors had to use iron and bronze needles. There were also silver needles, but only the rich used them. But they were not made from gold; this metal was not suitable for manufacturing because of its softness. In Russia, the industrial production of needles began in 1717. By decree of Peter I, two needle factories were built in the villages of Kolentsy and Stolbtsy (Ryazan region).

We continue our conversation about the history of ordinary things, and today the subject of our conversation is a thimble. As the explanatory dictionary says, a thimble is a cap that is put on a finger and protects it when sewing on your hands from a needle prick; in addition, with the help of a thimble it is easier to push the needle through thick fabric.

The word "thimble" comes from the old Russian word "perst", meaning "finger". History is silent about the name of the inventor of the thimble; the thimble is such an ancient invention that no mention of its creator has survived to this day..

One of the early examples of a thimble that has survived to this day, made in the form of a bronze ring 16 millimeters high with notches. The discovery was made in Russia

It is clear that every thing has its own origins and foundation roots. But there is no one to specifically dedicate the credit for creating the thimble - the historical information about it goes so deep. It can be assumed that his invention was on the territory of ancient Rus'. More than 30 thousand years BC. e. Cro-Magnons lived on these lands, and archaeological excavations have established that they already used primitive clothing, which they sewed themselves. They did this with the help of bone needles, which were not as easy to use as modern ones. Therefore, they had the simplest devices - plates wrapped in a circle, with which they pushed a far from thin needle into a kind of fabric. It is these simple details that can be considered the prototype of today's thimble.

A ring found in the Kama region (Russia), which was used as a thimble (9-10 centuries)

Thimble with bottom, Russia, 14-16 centuries.

The very first thimbles, similar to their modern counterparts, date back to the 2nd century; they were discovered in China and Russia. Brass thimbles were discovered in excavations of Scythian burial mounds in Crimea.

Before the invention of the sewing machine, the thimble was an absolutely indispensable item when sewing. They were produced in large quantities, and to this day thimbles from different eras are one of the most common finds of archaeologists.
The very first thimbles were open at the top and had no bottom. During excavations, even the simplest options are found, which are a metal plate rolled into a tube. Apparently, the demand for thimbles in those days was so high that there was not always time to process them. Such thimbles were made from copper, brass, bronze, and even silver and gold.

The first written mention of thimbles found in Russia dates back to the 17th century. By this time, the production of thimbles in Europe had already been established quite widely, and there were craftsmen for whom this was the main activity. Probably, so many thimbles were required at that time that there was a constant demand for them.

Traditional ceramic thimble with a pattern that serves a rather decorative role, Holland. These days, such a thimble is one of the most popular Dutch souvenirs, sold in all kiosks.

This thimble consists of ceramic and metal and is very convenient for sewing

It should be noted that by the 17th century, thimbles often became not only a necessary item for sewing, but also a work of art. A beautiful legend is associated with the advent of jewelry thimbles in Europe.

According to her, jewelry maker Nikolai Bentoten from Amsterdam fell in love with a neighbor girl whose name was Anita Van Ranselier. The girl skillfully embroidered, and was forced to sit at work all day under the duress of her stingy father. All the girl's tender fingers were pricked with a needle. Seeing the suffering of his beloved, the master made a small gold cap with notches especially for her, which was designed to protect her fingers while sewing, and presented it to her for her birthday in 1648. He accompanied his gift with a message in which he asked the young lady to accept his invention as a gift, designed to protect delicate and so hard-working fingers from injections.

What was invented by this jeweler became fashionable and began to rapidly spread throughout Europe. The thimble first appeared in England, and already at the beginning of the 18th century the fashionable item appeared in France, Germany and Russia, where it was brought by Dutch merchants. Fine jewelry masterpieces decorated with enamel, inlay and engraving have survived to this day. In order to make the silver-white steel of the sewing needle more visible against the background of the thimble, they tried to make the color of the thimble yellow.

An example of jewelry, intended, rather, not for work, but for an expensive gift

Since then, thimbles have been used not only for their intended purpose - to protect the finger from needle pricks. Thimbles become a real decoration. The 18th century brought fashion for toiletries - sets of toiletries or sewing accessories, enclosed in special containers that could be of different sizes. Small travel bags were a kind of accessory; they were attached to the belt with a chain. A thimble, often made of gold and richly decorated, was an integral part of such toiletries.

Thimbles decorated with colored enamel

Russian jewelers also made thimbles; in the 19th century, such jewelry thimbles were produced in St. Petersburg, Moscow, Veliky Ustyug, Vladikavkaz and near Derbent (works of the famous Kubachi masters)

A wonderful example of a Russian jewelry thimble, made from silver by the famous Kubachi craftsmen and decorated with intricate blackened patterns. On the thimble you can see the hallmark or mark of the master

TO How to use a thimble when sewing?

To make sewing with a thimble comfortable and convenient, first of all, you need to choose the right size of the thimble. The thimble should fit on the middle finger of the right hand so that it does not squeeze the finger and at the same time is not too large. The most practical thimbles are made of steel, although there are also convenient thimbles made of plastic. For work, it is better to choose thimbles with a bottom; sewing with them is more convenient than with their counterparts. Be prepared for the fact that when you first try to work with a thimble, you may experience awkwardness in your finger movements and you will feel uncomfortable. Over time you will get used to it and this feeling will pass.

And here is my favorite thimble. This plastic 22 mm piece sits very comfortably on your finger and, unlike the metal one, does not try to fly off. At first I couldn't get used to using the thimble. All my attempts to learn were unsuccessful, my sewing speed decreased sharply.

I tried several times, started and quit again. But one day a situation arose when there was nowhere to retreat - urgent work and pricked fingers. Then I overcame myself and tried to put on the thimble again. And then the incredible happened - I became comfortable with him! Since then, we have done all the seams only together. And for more than 10 years now it has been helping me in my work and cheering me up with its cheerful orange color.

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