Needle and thread
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Anyone who sews, repairs or crafts historical costumes needs the right materials – needles and thread that are suited to the period, fabric and intended use. Here you’ll find linen thread, wool thread, linen twine and matching needle cases for re-enactment, living history and LARP. The range covers everything – from fine embroidery thread for border work to tear-resistant linen twine for leatherwork and bag-making.
What did people use for sewing in the Middle Ages?
Sewing needles were among the most valuable everyday objects of the Middle Ages. Long before iron became widely available, sewing needles were made from animal bones or bone – carefully ground, fitted with a pierced eye and often so precious that they were kept in special needle cases made of wood, bone or metal. Metal needles made of bronze or iron were introduced during the Middle Ages, but remained expensive for a long time.
The thread was just as dependent on social status as the needle: linen was the most common sewing thread for shirts, undergarments and simple everyday clothing, as flax was cultivated across much of Europe. Wool was used for warm outer garments and was also locally available. Silk, on the other hand, was reserved for the nobility and wealthy bourgeoisie – a luxury good that arrived via long-distance trade from the Orient. Sewing techniques ranged from the simple stitching of coarse garments with a running stitch to fine needlework and elaborate embroidery for liturgical vestments or ceremonial attire.
Practical tips: Threading the needle, choosing thread weights, planning projects
As a rule of thumb: 0.5 mm linen thread is suitable for fine fabrics such as thin linen or cotton, as well as for embroidery. 1.0 mm is the all-rounder for all kinds of garment seams – more robust than the fine thread, yet still easy to thread through a standard needle. 1.5 mm is recommended for heavy woollen garments, coats and bags, where the seam is subject to significant mechanical stress. For leatherwork such as belt bags or footwear, 10- or 12-ply linen thread is the right choice – twisted and therefore significantly more tear-resistant than single-ply thread.
For smaller projects such as a blouse or a shirt, a 250 g spool is usually sufficient. More elaborate garments – a dress with sleeves, a tabard or a bag with many seams – tend to require a 500 g spool so that you do not have to change the yarn in the middle of the work. When knitting with wool yarn, plan a little more generously, as wool yarn is bulkier and uses more material per stitch than linen yarn.
Medieval scissors are essential for clean work and precise cuts in the fabric. Headband pins and hairpins are used for headwear such as headbands or veils. If you wish to fasten items in a historically accurate manner, you’ll find that toggles are the perfect counterpart to eyelets and lacing systems.
What types of needles are there – an overview
| Needle type | Material | Use |
|---|---|---|
| Bone needle / bone pin | Historical | Needle binding, coarse woollen fabrics, mending |
| Sewing needle | Historical | Headwear (headdresses, veils, pennants) |
| Hairpin | Historical | Styling, securing veils and bonnets |
| Brass pin | Historical | Tailoring, securing fabric, everyday use |
| Veil pin | Historical | Fine work, thin veils, decorative embroidery |
| Sewing needle (metal, fine) | General | Linen fabrics, embroidery, neat garment seams |
Choosing the right needle depends on the eye shape and thickness: a large, wide eye is needed for thick woollen yarn when knotting, whilst a fine eye is sufficient for thin linen yarn or embroidery thread. Bone needles often have a hand-drilled eye, which is particularly well suited to woollen yarn.
Linen yarn and linen thread: Which thread for which work?
- Available in 0.5 mm, 1.0 mm and 1.5 mm thicknesses
- Natural white – historically accurate appearance
- Suitable for garment seams, embroidery, trimmings
- 250 g (approx. 1,250–2,500 m) and 500 g spools
- Standard sewing thread for shirts, underwear and linen bags in the Middle Ages
- Easy to thread through fine sewing needles
- Twisted = twisted and significantly more tear-resistant than single yarn
- Available in light brown and grey, 500 g each / approx. 420–500 m
- For high-stress seams: bags, belt fastenings, footwear
- Particularly recommended for bag-making projects and leatherwork
- 10-ply slightly more flexible, 12-ply even more robust
- Professional results for craft projects
Wool yarn: naturally dyed and hand-dyed for authentic results
Wool yarn is indispensable in historical crafts – for embroidery on woollen garments, for the traditional technique of needle binding, or for decorative edging on coats and dresses. The range includes wool yarn in numerous colours: white, yellow, red, light blue, dark blue, light green, dark green, pink-red and other shades.
A key difference from industrially dyed modern yarns: the naturally dyed varieties are treated with natural dyes in an environmentally friendly manner and, compared to synthetically dyed yarn, appear more vibrant and less garish – just as one would expect from historical textiles. In addition, there are hand-dyed wool yarns with particularly nuanced, individual shades, characterised by a certain irregularity that is almost impossible to achieve synthetically.
Historically accurate is the dyeing of wool with plant, animal or mineral dyes: woad (Isatis tinctoria) provided the typical medieval blue, woad (Reseda luteola) yielded a bright yellow, and madder (Rubia tinctorum) was the most important red dye plant. Anyone wishing to look authentic at markets or in a re-enactment camp should opt for naturally dyed yarn – the difference is visible at a second glance. Those interested in dyeing fabrics in general will find interesting background information in the blog post on fabrics in the Middle Ages.
Needle cases: historical storage for sewing needles
Wooden needle case
Solid, turned container made of dark wood with a screw-on lid – functional and rustic. Suitable as a needle case or powder box for Renaissance garments. Keeps sewing needles safe and dry.
Viking needle case, Birka type
Replica based on archaeological grave finds from Birka (Sweden) – an important Viking trading settlement. Made of bronze, ideal as an authentic accessory for early medieval women’s garments.
Viking needle case, Jelling style
Stylish replica in the characteristic 10th-century Jelling style. This decorative style is typical of Scandinavian art from the Viking Age and gives the needle case a particularly authentic character.
Needle cases were not a luxury in the Middle Ages and the Viking Age, but a practical necessity: sewing needles were valuable, easy to lose and susceptible to moisture and rust. Storing them in a tube made of wood, bone or metal protected them during transport – at markets, on journeys and in everyday camp life. Anyone recreating a Viking woman’s outfit will find a Birka needle case to be an accessory with an archaeological basis.
Sewing needles in a historical context: bone, antler and metal
The bone needle is one of the oldest forms of human tools – as early as the Stone Age, needles were ground from animal bones to sew fur garments. In the Middle Ages, bone needles remained common for working with coarse fabrics and thick woollen yarn. They were made from cattle or pig bones: the bone was first roughly cut to size, then gradually ground and polished until a uniform, smooth surface was achieved. The eye was drilled by hand.
In technical terms, the material is called ‘bone’ – a term used in archaeology and craftsmanship for worked animal bone and which has nothing to do with human bone. Bone needles thus refer to needles made from bone, whilst metal needles were cast or forged from bronze or iron. Metal needles are finer and more uniform, but were more expensive to produce in the early Middle Ages.
Today, bone needles are primarily used for three purposes: historical needle-binding (the ancient technique of producing textiles from individual loops of thread), sewing coarse woollen fabrics, and as authentic exhibition pieces or props for living history re-enactments. Anyone interested in needle-binding will find suitable accessories in the relevant section of the shop.
From bone needles to tear-resistant linen thread – here you’ll find everything you need for historically accurate sewing projects. Browse the range and choose needles and thread to suit your project, your era and your skill level.
Frequently asked questions
In the Middle Ages, sewing needles were made from animal bone (leg), bronze or iron. Linen thread was mainly used for simple clothing, woollen yarn for outer garments and – for the wealthy – silk. Needles were considered valuable everyday items and were kept in needle cases made of wood, bone or metal.
A bone needle is a sewing needle that is handcrafted and sharpened from animal bone (usually cattle or pig). In the Middle Ages, bone needles were used for coarse woollen fabrics and simpler sewing tasks. Today, they are mainly used in historical needle-binding and as authentic props in living history displays and re-enactments.
Linen thread is a single-ply yarn suitable for garment seams, embroidery and finer work. Linen twine consists of several twisted strands of yarn (10- or 12-ply) and is therefore significantly more tear-resistant. Linen twine is recommended for high-stress seams on bags, belts or footwear.
As a rule of thumb: 0.5 mm for fine fabrics and embroidery, 1.0 mm as an all-rounder for standard garment seams, 1.5 mm for heavy woollen garments and bags. For leatherwork, 10- or 12-ply linen thread is the right choice, as it is significantly more durable than single-ply thread.
Yes, the naturally dyed wool yarns are dyed using natural dyes of plant, animal or mineral origin – historically typical dyes included woad for blue, madder for yellow and madder root for red. The colours appear more vibrant and less garish than synthetic dyes, making them particularly suitable for authentic re-enactment and living history projects.