The history of sewing is closely allied to the history of tools. The earliest needles ever discovered date from the Paleolithic era (the early Stone Age), around 25,000 B.C.E. Key finds from that period include needles in southwest France and near Moscow in Russia. These were made of ivory or bone, with an eyelet gouged out. Some have been found alongside the remains of foxes and hares that were used for their fur. Sewing gave our early ancestors the opportunity to make clothing more closely tailored to the human body, improving its insulation and comfort, as well as inviting decoration. Early scraps of cloth found in France and Switzerland have included decorative seeds or animal teeth sewn on by thread, applied perhaps with the aid of fishbones or thorns. Native Americans sewed with the tips of agave leaves.
Metal needles were developed in the8rbh'zeAge (2000-800 B.C.E.) and initially were made of several strands of wire melted together. Needles from this era have been found in North Africa and China, where steel was introduced. The first known stitched buttonhole dates from 4200 B.C.E.
Embroidery—complex, decorative needlework—appeared in Bronze Age Egypt and India. In China silk was being sewn and embroidered in the same era. Protective thimbles have been used since Roman times. The famous Bayeux Tapestry, depicting the Norman invasion of England, is an example of crewelwork, a form of embroidery with loosely twisted yarn. At least four types of stitch have been identified in the tapestry. Later, the mechanization of textile production began in the sixteenth century with the stocking frame, which led to automated looms. Hand- stitching was transformed from the 1830s onward by the arrival of the sewing machine.
