needle, basic implement used in sewing or embroidering and, in variant forms, for knitting and crocheting. The sewing needle is small, slender, rodlike, with a sharply pointed end to facilitate passing through fabric and with the opposite end slotted to carry a thread. Bone and horn needles have been used for at least 20,000 years. The earliest iron needles, dating to the 14th century, had no eye but had a closed hook to carry the thread. Eyed needles were manufactured in the Low Countries in the 15th century.
Modern sewing needles are made of steel. Crocheting needles are eyeless, with one hooked end, and made in several sizes, commonly of steel or plastic. Knitting needles are long, made of a variety of materials, and bluntly pointed at one or both ends, sometimes with a knob at the end opposite the point. The earliest were hooked, but modern needles are straight.