The Worshipful Company of Needlemakers is one of the Livery Companies

Livery Company

The Livery Companies are 108 trade associations in the City of London, almost all of which are known as the "Worshipful Company of" the relevant trade, craft or profession. The medieval Companies originally developed as guilds and were responsible for the regulation of their trades, controlling,...

 of the City of London

City of London

The City of London is a small area within Greater London, England. It is the historic core of London around which the modern conurbation grew and has held city status since time immemorial. The City’s boundaries have remained almost unchanged since the Middle Ages, and it is now only a tiny part of...

. The Needlemakers received a Royal Charter

Royal Charter

A royal charter is a formal document issued by a monarch as letters patent, granting a right or power to an individual or a body corporate. They were, and are still, used to establish significant organizations such as cities or universities. Charters should be distinguished from warrants and...

 in 1656. The Company gradually lost its role as a trade association, now acting as a supporter of the needle industry instead. Like a majority of Livery Companies, the Needlemakers' Company is also a charitable institution.

The Needlemakers' Company ranks sixty-fifth in the order of precedence

Order of precedence

An order of precedence is a sequential hierarchy of nominal importance of items. Most often it is used in the context of people by many organizations and governments...

for Livery Companies. Its motto is They Sewed Fig Leaves Together and Made Themselves Aprons.