Before modern sewing needles, people made their own needles from the bones of lynx, caribou, and bears.

The bones were boiled to clean them thoroughly, and the best bone for making needles came from a section of a lynx’s leg.

Knitting needles were also made from bones.

They also made thread from a white string-like part from a backbone from any kind of animal, mostly caribou, bears and moose. ᐋᑎᔅᒋᒥᓇᔮᐲᐦ / ᐋᑎᔅᒋᒥᓈᔮᐲ.

The part that’s used is white. You can find it close to the meat of the animal. You also find it located on the shoulder of the animal. 

While making the thread, they pound it to make it smoother and stronger. They would make it flat, and eventually, they were able to strip the material and twist it around to make it look like a thread.

ᐋᑎᔅᐧᑫᔮᐲᐦ / ᐋᐦᑎᐧᑳᔮᐳᐃ, meaning caribou string, was the strongest one you could use as a thread. This part can be found on caribou’s back.

Sometimes, flour bags were used, and they would undo the weaving of the material and use the fine string as thread.