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I think the sewing machine is one of the greatest inventions of all time… It revolutionized the fashion industry and became a commonplace appliance in most households throughout the 20th century. However, there’s a lot of controversy about who actually invented the first sewing machine.
Sewing dates back some 20,000 years. People have always needed clothing, so sewing is one of the oldest trades around. The earliest needles were made from bones and fabric was handwoven from various natural materials, such as cotton and silk. The iron needle was invented in the 14th century, but the needle with an eye did not appear until the 15th century. Since this time, there have been various improvements to the art of sewing, with a notable improvement after the Industrial Revolution.
Who Invented the Sewing Machine?
It is difficult to pinpoint one person as the inventor of the sewing machine because there are over 300 hundred patents on different mechanisms within the machine. For example, there are patents for the feeding system, the shuttle, the lockstitch, the chain stitch, etc. The sewing machine also evolved quickly in the 1850s as inventors were working simultaneously in different parts of the world. As a result, sewing machine history is riddled with numerous fights over patent rights.
The first sewing machine was not invented by Isaac Singer. However, he did create the most practical one that was later mass produced for home use. Singer sewing machines are still one of the most affordable brands today.
The first recorded idea for a sewing machine was from Charles Weisenthal, a German, in 1755. He did not patent the idea, but a British inventor, Thomas Saint, patented a sewing machine design in 1791. No working model was ever built. The first recorded working model of a sewing machine was made in 1814 by Josef Madersperger, an Australian.
Brief History of the Sewing Machine
The sewing machine race started to take off in the 1830s. By the 1850s, we had several working models of sewing machines.
Barthelemy Thimonnier, from France, was granted a patent for a sewing machine in 1830. He might have been the first to use the machine for commercial reasons. He opened a factory that had 80 machines. Tailors in the area thought the factory posed a threat to their businesses and they broke in and destroyed the machines. At the time, the workers in the factory had been working on uniforms for the French Army.
In 1833, Walter Hunt developed the first sewing machine to have a lock-stitch design, however, he never got a patent for the design. Many inventors have tried to improve the sewing machine since the first model. The first sewing machine patent and model in the United States was developed by John Greenough in 1842.
A new shuttle-system machine was developed in the United States by Elias Howe in 1845. He made a trip to England to find financial support and then returned to the United States to find that many people had been infringing upon his patent rights. The person who really developed a good sewing machine was Isaac Merritt Singer, whose brand is still around today. He was the person who suggested a foot pedal be used to operate the machine. He was taken to court by Howe for patent infringement and lost.
So, who invented the sewing machine? I don’t know who truly can get the credit, but both Singer and Howe ended up as multi-millionaires for their work on it. Popular sewing machine brands today are Singer, Brother, Viking, Bernina, and Janome, just to name a few.
The sewing machine has undergone many improvements since it was first invented. We still see enhancements in new sewing machines today. For example, my new Bernette b79 was released in 2019 with some awesome new features! It has a built-in walking foot and embroidery capabilities. That’s pretty cool.
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I have 4 singer treadle machines and another 6 singers machines from the 60’s. The 3 treadle machines I have I updated to the singer 317 and use a rubber belt instead of the leather belt. This way I can use the electric motor or change the belt and use the treadle. The treadle is slower with more power for heavy material. I hate it when people throw these treadle machine out at the dump. They are a work of art and of engineering.