Early needles did not have an eye. Instead they had a small head or hook fitted to one end. Thread was tied on to this and then stitching was done. But just imagine this would have meant large holes in the material being stitched. Holes large enough to allow the “head” of the needle to pass through. This called for an improvement and first came the addition of an ‘eye’ to the needle. Now fine stitching with small holes became possible. The manufacture of needles for use in machines was an inevitable development. Needles not only for machine sewing but also for machine knitting came to be made as hand held knitting needles gave way to machine knitting.

And then came needles of varying thickness to suit the type of material to be stitched. Have you seen a needle used for stitching gunny bags? It is really huge and has a big eye too. On the other hand, needles used for hemming fine material are very thin and have small eyes that will let only very fine thread through. Needles are not used only for stitching cloth. Surgeons use them too to stitch human skin. Special needles are manufactured for this purpose. Let’s see where else we use needles -the injections which we take, a compass, acupuncture treatment and of course tattooing!

Needle with an 'eye'