History Main / SewingNeedleSword

* ''Manga/TheLegendOfZeldaAkiraHimekawa'': In the adaptation of ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTheMinishCap'', Librari used to use a needle as a spear.

When a small or shrunken-down character is in need of a weapon, they often resort to using a sewing needle as a sword or spear. It's the perfect size, readily available in any house setting, sharp and pointy, has a nice long reach, and the little hole in the top where the thread is supposed to go makes a perfect grip. And depending on how much sewing the homeowner does, there may be many other needles in a nearby pincushion or sewing box to replace it, should it break in the heat of battle. Other objects that can be used by small characters as makeshift swords include sewing pins, sharpened pencils, toothpicks, razors, etc.

* In the [[Manga/TheLegendOfZeldaAkiraHimekawa manga version]] of ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTheMinishCap'', Librari used to use a needle as a spear.
* ''{{Franchise/Naruto}}'': One of the blades of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist, Nuibari (lit. "sewing needle"), references this. It is shaped like a giant sewing needle, long and thin with a wire attached to it like a thread, and capable of stitching together those it strikes.

* In some variants of ''Literature/TomThumb'' (or ''Thumbling''), the titular character is knighted by a king during his adventures or sets off on his own. He chooses a small needle to function as his sword.

* Inverted in the Fanfic/DanganronpaDespairAvenue trilogy. Instead of being a small character using a regular-sized sewing needle, a regular-sized character uses a ''huge'' sewing needle. In Curse III, Lada Turgenev's Ultimate Weapon is the Ultimate Sewing Needle. It is described as being the size of a small sword, large enough to ''impale someone.''

* A variation in ''Film/AliceInWonderland2010'': the Dormouse TookALevelInBadass and arms herself with a sewing pin as her weapon to defend the White Queen against the Queen of Hearts' forces. She uses it to take the Bandersnatch's eye out.
* In ''Film/TheIncredibleShrinkingMan'', the shrunken Scott Carey uses a sewing needle as a weapon against a spider that wants to catch and eat him.

* The UrExample is probably ''{{Literature/Batrachomyomachia}}'', where the mice arm themselves with needles for spears (the frogs are using sharp stalks).

* In ''Literature/GulliversTravels'', Gulliver fashions a sidearm out of a needle during his stay in Brobdingnag and uses it to defend himself against a Brobdingnagian mouse. The catch is that he is human-sized in a land of giants, instead of tiny in a land of human-sized.

* ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'': In 4th edition ''Heroes of the Feywild'', the artwork for the grig is holding a sewing pin.

* A more human-sized version in ''VideoGame/DisneyMirrorverse'': the game's version of [[WesternAnimation/TheNightmareBeforeChristmas Sally Finklestein]] fights with a sewing needle as large as a normal sword [[DualWielding in each hand]], appropriately for a living ragdoll.

* In ''VideoGame/LeagueOfLegends'', Champion [[Characters/LeagueOfLegends Gwen]] uses a [[ImpossiblyCoolWeapon huge stylized Sewing Needle]] as her weapon of choice. [[TheMagnificent Her epithet]]? ''[[MeaningfulName The Hallowed Seamstress]]''.

Common wielders of the Sewing Needle Sword include shrunken-down characters, {{Lilliputians}}, LivingToys (especially ragdolls), insects, and most frequently, [[NiceMice mice]]. They have little hands perfect for gripping things, inhabit houses where one would find sewing needles, and when a creator needs a small animal to be the hero of their story, the mouse is the most obvious choice.

* ''VideoGame/SmallSaga'' is set in a literal MouseWorld with rodents of various genii as characters, and every member of the cast has some kind of small-scale armament in line with this trope.

* ''LetsPlay/RatsSMP'': The swords which the rats use are retextured as sewing needles and safety pins to emphasize their small size in relation to their surroundings.

* ''Anime/{{Arriety}}'' from the film of the same name finds a pin on her first "borrowing" and keeps it for self-defense.

[[caption-width-right:350:Got the point?]]

* ''Manga/OnePiece'': One of the [[OurDwarvesAreDifferent Tontatta Dwarves]], Leo, uses a needle as a sword, which he mainly uses in conjunction with his Devil Fruit, the ''Nui Nui no Mi'' (Sew-Sew Fruit}. A Paramecia Devil Fruit that allows him to stitch things together without the need of a physical thread.

* ''VideoGame/HollowKnight'': Hornet's weapon is closely modeled after a sewing needle in appearance, and she uses a thread to keep it on her person.

* ''Manga/OnePiece'': Leo uses a needle as a sword, as he is both small and ate the Sew-Sew Fruit, allowing him to stitch things together without the need of a physical thread.

* In some variants of ''Literature/TomThumb'' (or ''Thumbling''), the titular character is knighted by a king during his adventures or sets off on his own. As a weapon, he chooses a small needle to function as his sword.

[[folder:Mythology and Religion]]

When a small or shrunken-down character is in need of a weapon, they often resort to using a sewing needle as a sword or spear. It's the perfect size, readily available in any house setting, sharp and pointy, has a nice long reach, and the little hole in the top where the thread is supposed to go makes a perfect grip. And depending on how much sewing the houseowner does, there may be many other needles in a nearby pincushion or sewing box to replace it, should it break in the heat of battle. Other objects that can be used by small characters as makeshift swords include sewing pins, sharpened pencils, toothpicks, razors, etc.

* In some variants of ''Literature/TomThumb'' (or ''Thumbling''), the titular character is knighted by a king during his adventures, or sets off on his own. As a weapon, he chooses a small needle to function as his sword.

* A variation in ''Film/AliceInWonderland2010'': the Dormouse TookALevelInBadass and arms herself with a sewing pin as her weapon to defend the White Queen against the Queen of Hearts's forces. She uses it to take the Bandersnatch's eye out.

* ''Literature/BewareOfChicken'': Ri Zu (Rizzo) the rat typically fights with a needle. By itself it doesn't do much damage, but she's also a MasterPoisoner, and can use her qi to control the spread of a substance once it's inside someone's body. Anyone stabbed with her tiny silver weapon has probably lost the fight already.
* In ''Literature/GulliversTravels'', Gulliver fashions a side arm out of a needle during his stay in Brobdingnag, and uses it to defend himself against a Brobdingnagian mouse. The catch is that he is human-sized in a land of giants, instead of tiny in a land of human-sized.

* ''TabletopGame/YuGiOh'': The card game has [[https://yugipedia.com/wiki/Stinging_Swordsman Stinging Swordsman]] (or Needle Swordsman in Japanese) who is a miniature warrior who uses a tiny needle to attack. It also has the ability to return all face-up spells and traps to the opponent's hand if it inflict battle damage.

* ''Franchise/TouhouProject'': Sukuna Shinmyoumaru, a descendant of the Japanese folk hero Issun-boushi[[note]]A Tom Thumb-like figure who killed an {{oni}} and took his magical hammer for himself[[/note]], fights using a large sewing needle known as the Shining Needle Sword. Notably, Shinmyoumaru is actually human-sized (albiet very short) in most of her appearances thanks to the power of [[PublicDomainArtifact the Miracle Mallet]], and her needle scales up to match.

'''Indices''': TinyTropes, ImprovisedIndex, SwordTropes, WeaponsAndWieldingTropes, RodentTropes