Needle

a slender steel instrument having a sharp point at one end and an eye at the other. It is used for drawing a thread through a fabric. Even the rudest nations have substitutes of bone or other material. The American Indian had bone needles and awls with which to sew his moccasins and leggings. Needles are, no doubt, of great antiquity. They are found among the relics of primitive man everywhere. The earliest literature and the earliest drawings hint at garments and embroidery that could not be made without the aid of the needle. Nuremberg was noted for needles as early as 1370. The industry is said to have been introduced in England about 1560. Needles were made formerly by hand, but of late ingenious machines have been invented. Needlemaking is an important branch of manufacturing. According to the last United States census, our annual output is valued at $1,027,949. Needles are made from steel wire of superior quality. Great care is taken to produce wire of uniform size. It is first cut into pieces long enough for two needles. A point is then ground at each end, the center is flattened slightly, two eyes are punched near together, and the two needles are then cut apart. The eyes are polished by stringing the needles on fine steel or flax tape coated with emery powder. Counting the clipping, sharpening, punching, cutting apart, polishing, heating, boiling in oil, washing, scouring, bluing, and other steps, needles pass through about two dozen processes before they are wrapped up finally in little envelopes ready for the trade. All is done by machinery. The process of making sewing-machine needles is not essentially different, except that the eye is made in the point, and is provided with a groove on each side for the protection of the thread. About 1905 a self-threading needle was put on the market. The end of the needle containing the eye is split. By pulling the thread into a notch it spreads the head sufficiently to slip into the eye. See Pin