8 years ago
The first iron needles were found at Manching in Bavaria and date back to the 3rd century BC. It is possible, however, that these were "imported" samples. The ear (holes) were not yet known at that time and they simply bent the blunt tip with a small ring. IN ancient states they also knew an iron needle, and in ancient Egypt already in the 5th century BC. embroidery was actively used.
The needles found on the territory of Ancient Egypt, in appearance, practically do not differ from modern ones.
The first steel needle was found in China; it dates back to about the 10th century AD. It is believed that needles were brought to Europe around the 8th century AD. Moorish tribes who lived in the territories of modern Morocco and Algeria. According to other sources, Arab merchants did this in the 14th century. In any case, steel needles were known there much earlier than in Europe. With the invention of Damascus steel, needles began to be made from it. It happened in 1370. In that year, the first guild society appeared in Europe, specializing in needles and other garments. There was still no eye in those needles. And they were made exclusively by hand by forging.
Starting from the 12th century, the method of drawing wire using a special drawing plate became known in Europe, and needles began to be made on a much larger scale. (More precisely, the method existed for a long time, since ancient times, but then it was safely forgotten). Appearance needle has improved a lot. Nuremberg (Germany) became the center of the needle craft. A revolution in needlework took place in the 16th century, when the wire drawing method was mechanized with the help of a hydraulic motor invented in Germany.
The main production was concentrated in Germany, in Nuremberg and in Spain. "Spanish peaks" - the needles were called at that time - were even exported. Later - in 1556 - England intercepted the baton with its industrial revolution, and the main production was concentrated there. Prior to this, needles were very expensive, rarely any master had more than two needles. Now the prices for them have become more acceptable.
An interesting fact is that in 1850 the British came up with special needle machines that allow us to make an eye familiar to us in a needle. England comes out on top in the world in the production of needles, becomes a monopolist and for a very long time has been a supplier of this necessary product to all countries. Prior to this, needles with varying degrees of mechanization were cut from wire, while the English machine not only stamped needles, but also made the ears itself.
The British quickly realized that good quality needles that do not deform, do not break, do not rust, are well polished, are highly valued, and this product is a win-win. The whole world understood what a convenient steel needle is, which does not touch the fabric with its handicraft eyelet in the form of a loop.
By the way, the first steel needles appeared in Russia only in the 17th century, although the age of the bone needles found on the territory of Russia (the village of Kostenki, Voronezh region) is determined by experts at about: 40 thousand years. Older than a Cro-Magnon thimble!
Steel needles were brought from Germany by Hanseatic merchants. Prior to that, bronze needles were used in Russia, later iron needles, for rich customers they were forged from silver (gold, by the way, did not take root anywhere for making needles - the metal is too soft, bends and breaks). In Tver already in the 16th century there was the production of the so-called "Tver needles", thick and thin, which successfully competed on Russian market with needles from Lithuania. They were sold by the thousands in Tver and other cities. "However, even in such a major metalworking center as Novgorod, in the 80s of the 16th century there were only seven needle-makers and one pin-maker:" writes historian E.I. Zaozerskaya.
Own industrial production of needles in Russia began with light hand Peter I. In 1717, he issued a decree on the construction of two needle factories in the villages of Stolbtsy and Kolentsy on the Pron River (modern Ryazan region). They were built by the merchant brothers Ryumin and their "colleague" Sidor Tomilin. Russia by that time did not have its own labor market, as it was an agrarian country, so there was a catastrophic shortage of workers. Peter gave permission to hire them "where they will find and at what price they will want." By 1720, 124 students were recruited, mostly townspeople from craft and trading families in the suburbs of Moscow. Study and work were so hard that hardly anyone could stand it.
There is one amazing Buddhist ceremony in Japan called "Broken Needle Festival". The festival has been held throughout Japan for over a thousand years on December 8th. Previously, only tailors took part in it, today - anyone who knows how to sew. A special tomb is built for needles, in which scissors and thimbles are placed. In the center they put a bowl with tofu, ritual bean curd, and in it - all the needles that have broken or bent behind last year. After that, one of the seamstresses says a special prayer of gratitude to the needles for their good service. Then the tofu with needles is wrapped in paper and lowered into the sea.
However, it would be wrong to think that needles are only for sewing. About some - etching - we told at the beginning. But there are also gramophone ones (more precisely, there were ones) that made it possible to "remove" sound from the grooves of the record: There are needle bearings as a kind of roller bearings. In the 19th century, there was even the so-called "needle gun". When the trigger was pulled, a special needle pierced the paper bottom of the cartridge and ignited shock squad capsule. The "needle gun", however, did not last very long and was supplanted by the rifle.
But the most common "non-sewing" needles are medical needles. Although why not sewing? The surgeon just sews them. Only not fabric, but people. God forbid we get to know these needles in practice, but in theory. In theory, this is interesting.
To begin with, needles in medicine were used only for injection, from about 1670. However, the syringe in the modern sense of the word appeared only in 1853. It's too late, considering that the French mathematician, physicist and philosopher Blaise Pascal invented the prototype of the syringe already in 1648. But then the world did not accept his invention. What for? What microbes? What injections? Devilry and nothing more.
The injection needle is a hollow stainless steel tube with a cut under acute angle end. Everyone gave injections to us, so everyone remembers the not very pleasant sensations from "acquaintance" with such a needle. Now you can not be afraid of injections, because. there are already painless microneedles that do not affect the nerve endings. Such a needle, according to doctors, is not something you can find in a haystack, but even on a smooth table.
A needle in the form of a hollow tube is used, by the way, not only for injections, but also for sucking gases and liquids, for example, from the chest cavity in case of inflammation.
Surgeons use "sewing" medical needles for sewing together ("darning" in their professional slang) tissues and organs. These needles are not straight, as we are used to, but curved. Depending on the purpose, they are semicircular, trihedral, semi-oval. At the end, a split eyelet is usually made for the thread, the surface of the needle is chrome-plated or nickel-plated so that the needle does not rust. An interesting fact is that there are also platinum surgical needles. Ophthalmic (eye) needles, with which operations are performed, for example, on the cornea of the eye, have a thickness of a fraction of a millimeter. It is clear that such a needle can only be used with a microscope.
It is impossible not to mention one more medical needle - for acupuncture. In China, this method of treatment was known even before our era. The meaning of acupuncture is to determine the point on the human body, which, according to the projection, is "responsible" for one or another organ. At any point (and about 660 of them are known), the specialist inserts a special needle up to twelve cm long and 0.3 to 0.45 mm thick. With this thickness, the acupuncture needle is not straight, but has a helical structure, which can only be felt by touch. The tip that remains "sticking out" ends with a kind of knob, so that such a needle resembles a pack of a pin, not a needle.
HISTORY OF THE SEWING NEEDLE
There is no doubt that the ancient needles were of a completely different shape and made of a different material, however, they served exactly what modern needles serve. That is for sewing.
But it’s true, at all times, a small needle has been and still is one of those attributes that must be in every home.
History sewing needle says that the first sewing needles were found in southern France and in Central Asia, and their age was 15-20 thousand years. Primitive people used a needle for sewing clothes, which consisted of the skins of dead animals. The needles were made from fish bones that were able to pierce thick hides.
Among the cultural states of antiquity, I especially want to highlight Ancient Egypt, whose inhabitants not only knew how to sew with iron needles, but were also actively engaged in embroidery. Moreover, in favor of the history of the sewing needle among the Egyptians, the fact that even then the needle was almost perfect in shape, very much resembled a modern needle familiar to us, but with one but .... She didn't have an eye for thread. The edge of the needle, opposite the point, was simply bent into a small ring.
There is also a history of the sewing needle in Russia, the decree ordering the start of the production of sewing needles was first issued by Peter I., although the needles were “brought” into the territory Russian Empire, at the end of the 17th century. From those distant times to the present, needles have been produced in the Ryazan region.
THE HISTORY OF THREADS
Before the invention of yarn and cloth, clothing was made from the fur and skins of hunted animals, using needles from bone or horns and "threads" from tendons, veins or intestines of animals. Our ancestors - primitive people- skins were pierced with sharp hewn stones, sharp bones of large fish or large spikes, and then the tendons were threaded through these holes.
Weaving radically changed the life and appearance of a person. Instead of animal skins people put on clothes made of linen, woolen or cotton fabrics, which have become our constant companions since then. However, before our ancestors learned to weave, they had to master the technique of weaving to perfection. Only having learned to weave mats from branches and reeds, people could begin to "weave" the threads.
It was common for our ancestors to perceive even the fate of a person as a thread spun on a spinning wheel by a deity, which has its beginning and end. It was believed that with the help of symbolic sewing, magical knitting, weaving, it was possible to predict the future of a newborn, and then correct it in the process of life.
HISTORY OF THE THIMMER
THIMMING - the name comes from Russian. "finger" - finger. In Europe appeared relatively recently. In the 80s. 17th century one jeweler in Amsterdam made the first thimble, wishing to give his friend an object for her birthday that would protect her industrious hands from needle pricks.
In Russia, thimbles came into fashion in the 1770s. and were an indispensable element of a sewing kit intended for aristocrats. Thimbles were made of copper, silver, bronze and even ivory.
CLOTHING IN RUSSIA
The creators of clothes in Russia were called blacksmiths. They constantly came up with new types of clothing, decorations for hats, made patterns, decorated. Clothing was divided depending on the status of the person. The ancient Russian people believed that clothing protects against evil spirits, dark forces, because it has a special power. Therefore, ancient Russian outfits were embroidered in the form of a Swastika, embroidered with a wooden needle and linen threads.
The main thing that was important for the Slavs in clothing was convenience, practicality, warmth. Depending on the financial situation caftan fabric was chosen. The princes wore warm clothes with a fur collar and embroidered retinue. Sheepskin, beaver, rabbit, fox were preferred from fur. The collar was small, barely covering the neck. There were many buttons on the outer clothing, from eight to twelve.
As now, ancient Russian women and girls liked to dress beautifully. In women's clothing, small details and embroidery were preferred. It was embroidered along the hem, on the sleeves, around the neck. Boyars, princesses wore rich dresses with sewn-in metal plates, peasant women wore a simple linen shirt with a belt. Women's suit was not only warm, but also showed the status of a woman. Linen fabric was always chosen for dresses and suits, and patterns were embroidered exclusively with red threads, because among the Slavs the red color symbolized health, fertility, fire, warmth, and protection.
The peasants wore simple clothes with a minimum of embroidery. She was not decorated with stones and ribbons. For work, everyday wear, they wore a long sleeveless shirt. Despite all its simplicity in pattern and cheapness of fabric, peasant clothes were very warm and practical.
Old Russian wedding clothes for women were beautiful, neat, a real masterpiece. The girls sewed a wedding dress for themselves. They were helped by their mother, grandmother, older sister. Usually the outfit was passed down from generation to generation. The bride's outfit showed the status of her family. They sewed dresses, sundresses from linen, chintz, velvet. Decorated with beads, ribbons, braid, embroidered beautiful patterns with gold threads. For noble rich brides, the outfit was as luxurious as possible. Decorated with stones, pearls, so it was heavy and weighed up to twenty kilograms.
Archaeological finds testify to the ancient origin of the needle. The first needles were made from fish bones. The earliest metal needles in Europe dating back to the 3rd century BC were found in Bavaria. The eye of the needle of that time, as well as for many centuries later, was a ring of a bent blunt end. Starting from the 12th century in Europe, the technology of wire drawing began to be used for the manufacture of needles, which significantly increased their production. The invention of Damascus steel in the second half of the 14th century contributed to the improvement in the quality of needles. The most important milestone in the history of this instrument was the creation in 1850 in England of a machine tool that allows not only stamping needles, but also making an eyelet in them. The scale of mechanized production of needles has made the country a monopoly in the production of this product. The use of a new needle, which did not deform, did not break, did not rust, was well polished, contributed to the improvement of sewing skills.
In the 17th century, steel needles were brought from Germany to Russian lands by Hanseatic merchants, and before that, bone, bronze, iron and silver needles were used. Russia began its industrial production of needles. This was facilitated by the decree of Peter I, which spoke about the construction of factories for the manufacture of needles. Factories were built in the Ryazan region, in the villages of Kolentsy and Stolbtsy, by merchants Sidor Tomilin and the Ryumin brothers. In Kolentsy, the needle factory consisted of four departments: needle, wire, pin and machine. Up to 1200 pounds of steel wire per year were delivered from England - for the best needles, and for simple ones - from the Istinsky plant. Peter I issued a decree "On duties on foreign needles" in order to protect domestic production. Ryazan factories produced over 32 million needles and pins per year, which met the needs of the domestic market and exported to other countries.
The image of the needle is one of the most mythologized in folk culture. The symbolism of the needle is based on its inherent properties of sharpness, small size, and the ability to penetrate objects. It was also important for the mythopoetic consciousness that the metal from which the needles were made had an underground, that is, otherworldly nature - this determined the magical functions of the needle. So, she was considered a powerful amulet, which was used in dangerous situations: at the birth of a child, at a wedding, funeral, during illness, in rituals with cattle. From the evil eye or damage, for example, a needle was stuck into the child's robe. In the hem of the bride's dress and in the chest area, new unused needles, specially purchased for the wedding, were stuck crosswise with the point up. Needles were sometimes placed in the coffin of a dead woman so that she would have something to sew in the next world. In the Russian North, a needle without an eye was stuck into the yoke of a horse carrying the deceased to church - so that it would not stumble. The needle was often used in medical practice as a subject for slander. The image of a girl sewing up a wound with a needle is stable in conspiracies to stop the blood. On the day of the first pasture, a needle was attached to the tail or horns of the cow so that no one could damage it.
At the same time, the needle could be dangerous: it became an instrument of damage if a slander was made on it. According to the ideas Eastern Slavs, sorcerers knew how to turn around with a needle. These features explain the existing ban on picking up a needle found on the road. The time of using the needle for sewing in traditional culture was strictly regulated. The prohibition not only to sew, but also to look at the needle extended, for example, to the feast of the Annunciation, associated with the beginning of a new stage in life - the awakening of nature. Violation of the ban threatened with fright or a snake bite in the forest. In this belief, the correlation between the images of a snake and a needle is based on their common features: the brilliance of the surface, the sharpness of the tip of the needle and the sting of the snake, and chthonic origin. The last sign of the needle was significant in Christmas divination: the girl threw the needle into the millstones and, turning them, tried to hear the prediction in the sounds that arose from the contact of the needle with metal parts. In Siberia, they guessed in a different way: they tried to thread the thinnest needle - luck on the first attempt promised marriage.
Taking into account archaeological finds, it can be said 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 not known, however, who exactly invented and created them, but there is data on when and where the first metal sewing needles appeared, before that they were bone.
The oldest sewing needles made of metal were discovered by archaeologists in Bavaria, in Manching. It is established that the time of their manufacture is the 3rd century BC. However, the possibility that needles could simply be brought there is not ruled out. The eye of the sewing needle of that time was completely different from what it is now (the usual for us is a hole for the thread), just the blunt end of the needle was bent, thus forming a ring through which the thread passed. It is believed that the needle, discovered in China, was the first sewing needle made of steel. And it was in the X 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 Mauritanian tribe, and if you stick to another, then Arab merchants brought the needles 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 production was opened in 1370, which began to produce sewing needles (they were without an eye). They were made by hand, by forging. The production of sewing needles increased its volumes after the drawing method was used to create wire in Europe (XII century).
In the 16th century (in Germany), the wire drawing method becomes mechanized (it is possible to do this with the help of a hydraulic motor), and a revolution occurs 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 factories appeared in England.
The emergence of industrial production led to a decrease in the price of needles, which in turn made them a more affordable commodity, because until that time a tailor could only have 1-2 needles, no more. The creation in England of machines (1850) that allow you to make an eyelet (the same one that is familiar to us) created a real revolution in the history of sewing needles and made the country a monopoly in the production of this product.
Hanseatic merchants brought steel sewing needles to Russia in the 17th century. And 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 of 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).
