Threading the Needle — stitching with drilled-eye needles, by Lauch Harrison FCSCL
Filed as “Threading the Needle Journal”.
the original (PDF) · 5 pages · 160 KB · the full-resolution scan, 333 KB, for close research
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Threading the Needle
Stitching with Drill'd Ey'd Needles
I came across some old packs of James Smith Drill'd Ey'd Harness Needles and some packs of
Drill'd Egg Ey'd Needles. See photo My interest was peaked and further reading was available about
the background and history of needles, a condensed version you find below. I have used both types of
needles and they perform well, when used with a well tapered thread needle “pop” and hand fatique
are reduced.
Harness Needles are blunted so they will follow the path of the awl strike, rather than cutting
the leather making their own path. Blunted but still with enough point to easily draw blood if you poke
yourself. Needles are numbered, smaller needles have a higher number. Largest needles are 000 and the
smallest are 9. Needles can be matched in size for different threads, different threads are matched to the
Diamond Awl strike and the number of stitches per inch to give the look perferred by the maker. In
bygone days some Harness Makers were stitching as many 19 per inch, I have some 18 to the inch in
my collection. See photo. According to R.A. Salman in the Dictionary of Leather-Working Tools,
c.1700-1950 the Barnesly Shoemakers Catalog of 1892 had straight Pricking Irons up to 24 stitches per
inch. Stitched with single strands of silk on the smallest possible needles using a 1 1/4” awls.
Incredible!
Part 1 History of the Drill'd Ey'd Needle
In 1811 needles are made by pointing both ends of straightened wire the length of two needles.
See photo. Pointing was hand work, the Pointers made a very good wage, due to stone dust from
grinding meant they weren't at it long, about 12 years before they were unable to work due to
respiratory problems (Pointer's Rot). Groups of wire were held in the hands then rolled between the
fingers or palms as they were ground, the wire reversed for the other ends. Drilling was done by
flattening the middle of the wire then punching two square holes with gutters. This makes two needles
when the wire is cut. The needle is then filed round or redrawn thru a die to make round. The problem
was excess flash and sharp edges at the punched hole caused the thread to wear and break. The needles
needed to be deburred and polished. Drill'd Eye drilling (polishing) was done by hand by children on
very fine countersink mills and grindstones spinning at high speeds. Punching round holes improved
the needle. The hand work was still slow.
Abel Morrall patented a process to remove the flash and smooth the eyes of the needles and
speed the making. After the needles were hardened and tempered the eye end was softened, long wires
of hardened steel with a rough exterior like a miniature round file, thousands of needles were strung on
the wire. The wire was agitated until the eye was smooth. This is The Improved Drill'd Ey'd Needle. In
1841 Oval shaped punches introduced the egg eye needle. The same wire drilling worked well and the
needles were easier to use with a much bigger thread. By 1852 the Drill'd Egg Ey'd Needle was
suggested for people of poor sight and looked down upon, by 1855 the Egg Ey'd Needles almost
completely superseded Round Ey'd Needles. “But it is still a question if any needle is so good
in use as one with a perfect round eye, carefully drilled and then burnished by the
best method known in the trade.” Taken from the Sewing Machine Gazette.
The wires having been pointed, punched, filed, cut into two needles were heated then quenched
to harden them, then tempered to about 600º F. This resulted very many curved needles. A separate
cottage trade grew up, done by women in their homes with tiny hammers on small anvils -
straightening needles. In Redditch and London in 1847 over 100 manufacturers employing over 10,000
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Threading the Needle
Stitching with Drill'd Ey'd Needles
people were needed to point, drill, straighten & package 50 million needles per week! Incredible
despite the amount of hand work. By the middle of the 1850's 100 million needles a week were being
made.
Taken from the History and Description of Needle Making written by Michael T. Morrall in
1862. He was the son of the Holder of Drill'd Ey'd Wire Machine Patent Abel Morrall. Published to
coincide with the Manufacturers Machinery displayed at the Great Crystal Palace Exhibition of 1851
(1st), the Dublin Exhibition 1853 (2nd), the International Great London Exhibition of 1862 ( 3rd)
Drill'd Ey'd and Egg Ey'd Needles were available from CS Osborne Catalog No. 52, Printed up
into the 1930's. The Drilled Eye Harness Needles were dropped from Catalog No. 53A Published in
1942.
Lauchlan Harrison
Part 2 Pointing the Thread
The Drill'd Eye needles don't swell at the eye and the eye is smaller, so the thread must be finer
to be threaded. The only way to thread the needle was to reduce the size and “point the thread”. This is
done by scraping the thread with a blade. The scraping opens the twist and pares fluff of all the cords.
This reduces the diameter of the thread cleanly so when it is re-twisted it is smooth and tapered. Skilled
workmen would roll their own threads with a taper from floss by offsetting the ends of the cords.
The unwaxed thread is scraped with a blade. The Blade can be stationary and the thread pulled
or the Blade can be moved down the thread. I pull the thread for the first couple of passes then scrape
with the Blade, this seems to open the cords up better. In this example I used Barbour's 5 cord /18 See
photo. This means there are 5 strands of #18 floss twisted into thread. It is best to start the scrape two
or more inches from the end of thread, as the thread will shorten as the fluff is removed See photos.
The thread tip is gently scraped getting rid of the fluff and knots by slightly pushing the blade in
the opposite direction to the twist the thread can be untwisted and scraped into the individual cords.
The cords are thinned down and flattened ready for the waxing.
The wax is applied to the thread by pulling it between your thumb and a beeswax block, put a
fair amount of pressure on the thread and pull it through as many times as needed to get a firm tight
thread. If you smell the beeswax you are on the right track.
The ends are re-twisted, but not too tightly, this is important not too tightly, if too tight the
thread will curl and bunch. The tip is clipped off to get rid of “angel hair” see photo.
The needle is threaded and pushed on the past the taper, the needle is poked through the taper
about half way down to the end.
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Threading the Needle
Stitching with Drill'd Ey'd Needles
The remaining tip of thread is twisted harder and the needle is poked thru the thread. This is the
famous double lock $ sign. By pulling the tail down the needle and over the eye it locks the thread in
place. If over twisted the thread will curl in the eye and create problems pulling the lock over the eye.
This places the thread lock halfway down the taper, so when the thread is doubled over the eye
the total diameter is the same as the thread. This makes the needle and thread pass much easier thru the
cut made by the awl. While not as strong as the whole thread it is strong enough to last until the
stitching is completed.
Advantages are many: easier pulling, less need for the pliers, less “needle pop” on the reverse
side, small awl cuts, smaller awl, easier awl strike, neater stitches, better thread lock in the leather,
better water resistance.
In Part Three Stitching with Drill'd Ey'd Round Needles I'll use some of this 5 cord linen thread
to stitch some different
Stitches per inch using the same awl.
Lauch Harrison FCSCL
Part 3 Harness Stitching
I'll use some of this 5 cord linen thread to stitch 8 to 14 per inch using the same awl. Stitching
finer than 6 per inch is generally done with finer thread and a smaller awl. You can use your regular 2
1/2” awl but if you push to far it will make the hole larger than needed. As the stitches get finer the
angle of the awl has to change slightly to allow the leather between the stitch remain as large as
possible. This angle is important as at some point the number stitches per inch will weaken rather than
strengthen the seam.
I'm using some kangaroo leather, two pieces of 4 oz veg tanned contact adhesive glued together.
I struck a line with my compass set at the thickness of the glued piece. I then used some HFO
Stationary Wheel Prickers to do 7, 8 &10 stitches per inch. The Awl is about 2 3/4” and set in a horn
handle. The front of the ferrule is padded with a disc of leather to prevent marking the piece if there is
an overstrike.
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Threading the Needle
Stitching with Drill'd Ey'd Needles
The piece should be set as deep
in the jaws of your clam as possible to
get a clean strike while not digging into
the wood. The jaws of a harness makers
horse are normally angled to give the
maker a better view of the pricks so that
the awl strikes can be lined up. The thin
leather likes to bend out of the way of
the awl strike so it is necessary to lift
your arm quite high to get a parallel
needle path.
To achieve a tight fit for the two threads the awl strike has
to be just wide enough but not so tight that the needles can't pass
or that need to pulled thru the leather with a pair of pliers. The
awl is tapered so practice different depths of strike to give the
best result. The best practice is to stitch toward yourself when
possible this gives you a good view of the pricks and when you
pull the stitches up you can see the “plumpness” of your last
stitch.
After you pull up the stitch give the needles a spin to keep
the thread well twisted but not so much the thread curls back on
itself. The wax will wear off the threads during the stitching if
you prefer you can re-wax at any time. I pricked out the side and
lower line of stitches with 12, 13 & 14 stitches per inch. As the stitching gets finer normally I would
switch to finer thread, the finer thread gives a better view of the angle of the awl strike and the resulting
“dogleg” and makes the stitch line more pleasing to the eye.
The threads can be
made to cross in hole by
“throwing” the stitch, the
thread on the back of the
piece placed over the
needle so the needle is
pulled thru the loop. This
technique will take some
of the “dogleg” out of the
front stitch and make the
stitch on the back less
straight. It makes both lines
of stitches look similar. The example piece is a thrown stitch you
can see it best in the larger stitches 8 per inch. When the stitches
are very close together with heavy thread it is less apparent.
The best thread size for a given stitch size is a personal
choice but in rough terms 6/18 & 7/18 cord threads for 4 & 5
Jaws of Harness Makers Horse
Front View
Back View
HF Osborne Stationary Pricking
Wheels
Line of Pricking from 7 to 14 per
inch
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Threading the Needle
Stitching with Drill'd Ey'd Needles
stitches per inch. 5 cord for 6, 7 & 8 per inch 4 cord for 8, 9 & 10 per inch. 3 cord for 9, 10 & finer. The
weight of leather can make a difference the heavier threads may look clunky on a fine leather but look
great on 8oz – 10oz. The contrasting colour like the example yellow on brown will highlight the
stitching, showing both good and bad so practice is essential.
Please comment or ask questions about the needles, thread & stitching, I'm available most days
thru email or telephone.
Lauch Harrison FCSCL
The words above are the document’s own, as the paper prints them. Spelling and spacing are left as they stand.