Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons |
I
think it’s true what some folks say—authors sometimes incorporate a bit of themselves
into their stories. For me, I tend to turn some of my fears or lack of skills
into character strengths. One such talent I don’t possess is the ability to
sew. In high school, I took a Home Ec. class where we had to make a dress. That
was the last time I attempted that, though I can sew a button on a shirt. Most
of my heroines can sew, and in one particular scene from No Luck At All, it was
the hero who brought up my topic for today’s blog. Creel spent weeks crafting a
surprise for his wife, but before he could give it to her, he had to go to
Denver for an item the surprise needed. He couldn’t tell her his reason for
making the trip without her, so he brought along his father and gave the excuse
his father needed to go to Denver to purchase a sewing machine, which made me
wonder when the sewing machine was invented.
Saint's Machine Courtesy of Wikipedia |
In
1755, German engineer Charles Fredrick Wisenthal received the first patent for
a needle from the British. His design featured a double pointed needle with an
eye at one end. In 1790, Englishman Thomas Saint invented the first sewing. His
machine used a chain stitch, with a stitching awl piercing the fabric and a
forked point rod to carry the thread through the hole where it would hook
underneath and move on to the next stitch. Featuring an overhanging arm, a feed
mechanism, a vertical needle bar, and a looper, the machine was only meant for
canvas and leather to aid in the manufacturing of saddles and bridles, but was
also used in the manufacturing of a ship’s sails. Though advanced for the era,
Saint’s machine required steady improvement in the decades to follow. William
Newton Wilson found Saint’s drawings in 1874 and went on to make adjustments to
the looper, building a better machine which is currently owned by the London
Science Museum.
Thimonnier's machine courtesy of https://www.contrado.co.uk/ |
Before
Wilson, several others designed their own sewing machines. Englishmen Thomas
Stone and James Henderson created their own version in 1804. Austrian Josef
Madersperger presented his first working sewing machine in 1814, received
financial support from his government and unveiled a sewing machine that
imitated the weaving process by use of a chain stitch in 1839, but it was
Barthelemy Thimonnier who created the first practical and widely used sewing
machine in 1829. A French tailor, Thimonnier’s machine sewed straight seams
with a chain stitch. He went on to contract Auguste Ferrand to help with the
drawings of his machine, which was made of wood and used a barbed needle, and earned
a patent in 1830. That same year, he went into partnership with others and
opened the first machine based clothing manufacturing company, sewing uniforms
for the French Army.
The
first American sewing machine was invented in 1832 by Walter Hunt. His machine
was equipped with an eye-point needle. The curved needle went through the
fabric horizontally, leaving the loop as it withdrew. The shuttle passed
through the loop and the feed let the machine down, requiring the sewing
machine to be stopped frequently and reset. Hunt lost interest in his invention
and sold individual machines without securing a patent. It was John Greenough
who secured the first American patent for a sewing machine in 1842.
Howe's Machine courtesy of https://www.contrado.co.uk/ |
The
first sewing machine to incorporate all of the elements from past inventors was
built by Englishman John Fisher in 1844. American Elias Howe came next in 1845.
His machine was similar to Fisher’s, only his fabric was held vertically and
not horizontally. Howe traveled to England to gain interest in his invention
and later returned to the states to find some folks had infringed on his patent,
one of whom was Isaac Merritt Singer.
Singer's invention courtesy of Wikipedia |
Singer’s
machine, which featured elements of Hunt’s and Howe’s machines, was awarded an
American patent in 1851. He’d seen a rotary sewing machine in a Boston repair
shop and elaborated a better design. Instead of a rotary shuttle, his had
falling shuttle. The needle was mounted vertically and included a presser foot
to hold the fabric in place, and since Fisher botched the filing for his patent,
he didn’t receive recognition for the modern sewing machine. That honor went to
Singer. However, Howe sued Singer for using his ideas and won the case. Later, Singer
took out a license under Howe’s patent, paid Howe for each of his machines then
partnered with Edward Clark to create the first hire-purchase agreement, which
allowed people to buy a sewing machine and pay for it in timely installments.
In 1856, Singer, Howe and a few others formed
the Sewing Machine Combination; four companies pooling their patents, with a
result that all other manufacturers had to obtain a license and pay $15 per
machine. This lasted until 1877 when the last patent expired. In 1885,
Singer patented the Singer Vibrating Shuttle sewing machine, which some suggest
was the first practical sewing machine for domestic use worldwide.
Millions of these machines were made until the rotary shuffle came along in the
early 20th century. Singer Sewing Co. developed the first electric
sewing machine in 1889, and by the end of World War I, these machines were
being sold to the public.
Currently, Singer is still one of the top selling sewing machines.
4 comments:
Very informative post. Thank you for sharing. I have a scene in Blake's Bride where the hero modifies a machine so the heroine can use it more easily as she is left handed. Not sure how reality-based that would have been in the 1880's, but it's fiction. It made a very touching scene.
Very interesting how the improvements evolved. Can you imagine what a time saver this was when before people had to sew by hand? I'm a disaster on the sewing machine, by the way. I never learned the finer skills and every time I drag out my sewing machine, trying to get it threaded is like re-inventing the wheel each time!
Love the history you shared, Julie. Makes me think I need to dust the cobwebs off my sewing machine and make something!
Hi Ladies. Glad you enjoyed the post. I must confess, I do not sew. A button on a shirt and that's it, but I did enjoy learning about the machines. Hugs!
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