The modern sewing machine was developed in stages over time. Its origins began around 1755 or so. Many improvements took place over the years.
European and English Inventions
According to the 14th edition of the Encyclopaedia Britannica, Thomas Saint, an English cabinet maker, patented a machine in 1790 that featured many of the things seen in the modern machine. Only a plan, the machine didn’t work. Designed to sew leather, it was similar to chain-stitch machines used today for very heavy fabrics, such as canvas. This machine had a single thread forming the stitch.
Gail Marsh, author of 19th Century Embroidery Techniques, notes that one of the important first steps towards a fully functional machine was the work of Barthelemy Thimonnier, a French tailor from St. Etienne. He received a patent in 1830 for a chain stitch machine intended for utilitarian stitching. His machine had a presser foot to hold the fabric in place and a vertical, hooked needle. By 1841 he built 80 machines that were used mostly for military uniforms. His invention was so successful that French seamstresses and tailors feared they would lose their jobs. As a result, a mob destroyed his machines. Despite setbacks, he improved the machines and received patents in the U.S. and England. These were vastly better than his early models.
American Inventions
In 1832-34, Walter Hunt, an inventor from New York, created a lock-stitch machine. This worked best for very short sewing distances because the fabric required constantly resetting on the metal track. The machine had a vibrating arm and a curved needle pointed at one end where the eye was located. It featured an upper spool of thread in addition to the oscillating shuttle below. Hunt sold his invention to a blacksmith who failed to develop the patent. Later, after several other people used some of his methods on their machines, Hunt attempted to apply for a patent in 1853. He failed to receive this because patent officials claimed he had abandoned his invention according th Encyclopaedia Britannica.
In 1846, Elias Howe, an American inventor from Spencer, Massachusetts, created a similar machine for which he received a patent. His machine used two of Hunt’s inventions—the bottom shuttle and the needle. His lock stitch machine held the fabric in place with pins on a metal plate that moved vertically. Other inventors infringed on Howe’s patent, and released similar machines, which led him to file lawsuits. The responsible parties were forced to pay him royalties. He generally marketed his machines to professionals. He had established a large factory by 1862 according to Marsh.
Isaac Merrit Singer (1811-1875) was an innovator and inventor. His machine had many features that are commonly seen on sewing machines today. In 1851, he received a patent for his continuous stitch machine. The fact that Singer created the basis for mass production partly by pooling various patents was a great accomplishment according to Encyclopaedia Britannica.
The Singer machine featured a shuttle mechanism that moved the fabric. The vertical straight needle moved up and down. This had a spring tension presser foot, which left the hands free. The foot treadle replaced the wheel or crank, which was previously turned by hand. This was the first mass produced machine that became widely available in the U.S. One of his early ads recommended the machines for quilting. He sold around 180,000 machines partly by allowing buyers to pay in installments. He introduced special models of his machines for the general public.
In 1854, Allen Benjamin Wilson (1824-88) patented a machine with the first rotary bobbin and the first intermittent four-motion feed or feed dog that automatically moved the fabric between stitches. His machine also had a rotary hook shuttle. These inventions are now used in almost all machines.
In addition to the Singer machines, there were several other popular brands, such as White. This was made available to the general public in the late 1850s. White touted their machines as “the most popular in the world.” They boasted that “every two minutes we make a new White sewing machine.”
The sewing machine brought a new era in quilting and sewing. Once these became widely available most of the quilts were pieced by machine. By the 1890s sewing machines were common in American homes.
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