Netting Needle

The art of netting has been almost forgotten, probably due to the limited uses of the technique once hairnets, all the rage in the 13th and 14th century, and later also fine filet curtains and doilies (all the rage in modern times like the 18th century) became old-fashioned. However, it is a fascinating technique, and one that deserves to be brought back to life. And no crocheted hairnet can ever be as stunning as one made in proper netting from fine silk!

Medieval netting needles have been recovered from different sites, and the best-known one is probably the netting needle from London that is published in Textiles and Clothing. The netting needles offered here are replicas of that 14th-century find.

These netting needles are handmade in Germany. The crafting process starts with sawing a slit into both ends of a brass rod with only 2 mm diameter - a finicky job which not only requires a special saw blade, but also great skill, as the slit has to be in the exact center of the rod. The ends of the rod are then bent apart to be sanded into form and polished. In a final step, the ends are bent into their final form. The careful, high polish of the needles ensures that you can net with very fine silk threads without problems.  

The larger netting needle will easily manage 4 mm mesh widths and usually also 3 mm width (the latter requiring a gauge stick with 2 mm diameter approximately).