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A netmaker's needle used by a Saint Ives fisherman. This particular type of needle is known as a 'braiding needle'.
This netmaker's needle was used by a Saint Ives fisherman. To load the needle with twine, a couple of overlapping turns are made around the base of the tongue and the twine is carried down the side through the fork, and back the other side to the tongue again. The process is repeated into the needle is carried no more. This particular type of needle is known as a 'braiding needle'.

1 needle; wood; good condition

MERL 'Catalogue index' card – ‘… // DATE ACQUIRED: // GROUP: // NEGATIVE: // PERIOD: // PLACE OF ORIGIN: // NUMBER: // DESCRIPTION: …‘From the earliest times man has used nets for fishing and hunting. The fabric used in their construction is either flax or hemp fibre and only two simple tools, a needle and a mesh pin are required in the manufacture of a net. While the needle is used in intertwining the twine to form the net the mesh pin is the gauge around which the twine is carried to ensure the correct size of mesh. In the past each fisherman either made his own net or obtained them from a local craftsman, but today most of the nets are factory made, though the fisherman must still be proficient in net repairing, using these tools. Until quite recently elderly women were employed in the Lowestoft-Yarmouth district to make nets in their home. Some needles are made of wood, others of bone. // This particular type of needle is known as a braiding needle.', MERL 'Handwritten catalogue' form – [pencil sketch]