History of the sewing machine

Currently, many types of activities cannot be imagined without the use of sewing machines - both as an element of huge production equipment and as small devices for home use. But have you ever wondered how old this mechanism is and what changes it underwent before it reached the modern consumer in a form familiar to everyone?

The history of the sewing machine

It dates back to the times of cavemen, when a bone needle was first created, more like an awl and used to punch holes in the skin into which thread was threaded. Even later, they began to use a hook for the last action. And a couple of centuries later, people learned to make an eye in a needle, which was located on the base (looking ahead, the first needles with an eye near the point were invented in 1814 by Joseph Madersperger in Austria, and later patented by Isaac Singer).

Who created the first sewing machine

According to historians, the first author of the sewing machine project, whose name has survived to this day, was the famous Leonardo Da Vinci in the 15th century. But unfortunately, then it remained on paper, without being brought to life.

They returned to this invention again only in 1755, in Germany, the culprit behind the invention was Karl Weisenthal, who patented a device that copied the method of manually obtaining a stitch. After 35 years in England Thomas Saint invented a sewing machine for making shoes. After this, in France, Barthelemy Thimonnier came up with his own version of the mechanism and was the first to found an automated garment factory. But none of this ever came into use, and the Barthelemy factory was burned down by the tailors for fear of competition.

And only after another 55 years, already in the 19th century, an American inventor Elias Howe has developed a model of a machine that is truly suitable for sewing high-quality clothes, which, however, was still very far from modern versions. It allowed making about three hundred stitches per minute.

When was the first sewing machine created?

The history of its origin occurs long before Leonardo Da Vinci, in the 14th century, in Holland. However, the name of its creator was not preserved in historical documents.

What did the first sewing machine look like?

It was a wheeled mechanism for stitching long sheets of canvas; it was huge in size and occupied a significant amount of space. Sewing machines of this type could be seen in sail workshops. Neither images nor descriptions of such units have reached our time, however, later models have survived.

This is what Thomas Saint's device looked like.

And this is Barthelemy Thimonnier and his invention.

And finally, this is what the first sewing machine using the lockstitch principle, created by Elias Howe, looks like.

The operating principle of the first sewing machines

As mentioned earlier, Karl Weisenthal's project copied the formation of the stitch by hand.Thomas Sant's machine was primarily used to create boots and was manually driven, that is, in order to set it in motion, it was necessary to spin a special wheel. The device, created by Barthelemy Thimonnier, operated on the principle of a single-strand chain weave.

Sewing machine: history of development

Elias Howe's invention contained a shuttle that operated on the same principle as in weaving looms. The fabric was pinned onto the pins of the conveyor and moved mechanically, and the needle moved in a perpendicular direction. One such machine replaced the work of five tailors. The main disadvantage of such a device was that it often failed, so it required significant improvement, which is what other inventors did.

In the middle of the 19th century, Isaac Singer managed to do this. He created a foot-operated model, freeing up the hands of tailors, which allowed them to move the fabric themselves in any necessary directions, and therefore produce not only straight seams. The fabric was fixed with a special foot and then moved using a gear wheel. With the help of such machines, seamstresses were able to create much longer seams than in earlier versions.

The name Singer is heard by almost everyone who has ever worked on sewing machines. The devices he created are so reliable and durable that they still work, more than 150 years later!

REFERENCE. Before Howe and Singer, the prototype of their sewing machines using top and bobbin thread was invented in America by Walter Hunt, who did not patent it because he was worried that a huge number of tailors would be out of work.

Isaac Singer began his career as an engineer in a sewing equipment repair shop. The impetus for working on improving Howe's machines was that they often fell into Singer's hands in a broken state, so he made a bet with the owner of the workshop that he could invent a much more durable device with a long service life. He created his famous “Singer machine” in just 11 days. Among other advantages, it had replaceable mechanisms, which made it possible to independently purchase the necessary spare parts and significantly speed up repair work.

Since it was much more profitable for industrial companies to maintain a staff of seamstresses and day laborers with low salaries rather than to purchase Singer equipment, which was expensive at that time, they were issued more compact versions for home use, which could be purchased in installments. Thanks to this, a large number of people could afford to buy them, which ensured the popularity of the creator.

However, progress moved forward even after several decades electric sewing machines appeared, driven by a small motor and having a standard set of functions. They are still used today, including in everyday life, because they are simple and easy to use.

Currently, the latest models of sewing machines are equipped with a built-in electronic microprocessor. They can be programmed to create stitches and patterns of the highest complexity. Human participation in sewing is now limited only to setting the necessary parameters; the machine does the rest itself.

Thus, the history of sewing machines has come a long, long way, and we can only guess what metamorphoses will happen to it in the future.