The History of the Sewing Machine

A 20,000 year old art form

The history of the sewing machine wouldn’t exist without the artistry of hand
sewing. People started sewing by hand some 20,000 years ago, where the first needles
were made from bones or animal horns and the thread made from animal sinew. Our
inventive instinct explains the natural progression to want to improve sewing techniques
and make it less laborious. Cue the Industrial Revolution in the 18th Century, where the
need to decrease manual sewing in factories became paramount.

1755:  The First Patent

Charles Weisenthal, a German man, was issued a British patent

for a “needle that is designed for a machine.” There’s no description in
Weisenthal’s patent of any mechanical machine, but it shows there was
a need for such an invention.

1790: The First Detailed Design

The history of the sewing machine essentially starts here.

Englishman Thomas Saint designed the first sewing machine of its kind. The patent
described a machine powered with a hand crank to be used for leather and canvas.
Nobody knows if Saint built a prototype, but in 1874, William Newton Wilson found the
patent drawings. They were so detailed; he built a replica, proving that it did work.

Newton Wilson’s model of Thomas Saint’s sewing

machine design
 Early 18th Century: Many Attempts, Many Fails

It’s worth mentioning that all attempts of designing a sewing machine before the first
successful one, all moved the needle side to side and were powered with a winding
handle.

 1810: Balthasar Krems invents an automatic machine for sewing caps. He didn’t
patent his design but it didn’t work anyway.
 1814: An Austrian tailor, Josef Madersperger, was issued a patent in 1814. He
was persistent, attempting several different designs, but all were unsuccessful.
 1818: John Adams Doge and John Knowles invent America’s first sewing
machine, but it could only sew a few bits of fabric before breaking.

1830: The First Successful Sewing Machine

Joy! 40 years since Thomas Saint first drew and described a machine for
sewing, we finally have a functioning sewing machine. Barthelemy
Thimonnier, a French tailor, invented a machine that used a hooked
Madersperger, the Austrian tailor.
needle and one thread, creating a chain stitch.

Barthelemy Thimonnier’s first sewing machine, 1830.

1830: A Riot & Near Death Experience

After the successful patent, Thimonnier opened the world’s first

machine based clothing manufacturing company. His job was to
create uniforms for the French Army. But when other French
tailors got wind of his invention, they weren’t too pleased. They
feared his machine would result in their unemployment so they burnt down his factory
whilst he was still inside. Never take your sewing machine for granted ever again; this
guy almost died for it.

1834: Morals Over Money

This is an example of sticking true to your beliefs. Walter Hunt created America’s first
functioning sewing machine, but he had second thoughts. Hunt thought such a machine
would cause unemployment for many, so he didn’t bother to patent the design. Now you
see where things are going to get messy.

A model of Walter Hunt’s sewing machine, based on his

patent drawings.

1844: A Lost Patent

The sewing machines we’ve seen so far are all

made up of disjointed elements, with nothing
really working together. In 1844, English
inventor John Fisher designed a sewing machine that would eliminate this disparity
between the moving parts. However, a botched filing job at the Patent Office resulted in
his patent getting lost, so he never received any
recognition.

A woman on an Elias Howe Lockstitch sewing

machine

1845: Elias Howe & the Lockstitch

Elias Howe from America invents a sewing machine that resembles Fisher’s, with some
tweaks and adjustments. His patent was to invent “a process that uses thread from 2
different sources.” His machine has a needle with an eye at the
point, which goes through the fabric creating a loop on the
reverse, a shuttle on a track that slips the second thread
through the loop, creating what is called the lockstitch.He
struggled to market his design, so he took the plunge and sailed
to England. After a lengthy stay, he returned to his motherland
only to find others had copied his lockstitch mechanism. One of
those was an Isaac Merritt Singer.

Elias Howe’s Lockstitch sewing machine, patented 1846.

1851: Introducing Isaac Singer

Isaac Merritt Singer is one of the most well-known sewing machine manufacturers,
building an empire that is still going today. His iconic Singer sewing machines are
beautifully ornate and somewhat legendary. He developed the first version of our
modern day sewing machine, with a foot pedal and the up-and-down needle. He was
also inspired by elements from the Howe, Hunt and Thimonnier inventions, causing
Howe to file a lawsuit.

Isaac Merritt Singer’s first sewing machine, patented 1851.

1854: A Real Stitch Up

Elias Howe
Elias Howe took Singer to court for Patent
Infringement, where he defended his case and won.
Isaac Singer tried to refer back to Walter Hunt’s
design, expressing that Howe infringed upon his idea. Unfortunately
for Singer, this didn’t have any impact at all. The lack of patent on
Hunt’s design meant it was intellectual property for anybody to use.

What’s interesting is that if John Fisher’s patent hadn’t have been

filed wrong in the Patent Office, he too would have been involved in
the law suit as both Howe and Singer’s designs were near enough
identical to the one Fisher invented.

Isaac Merritt Singer

Consequently, Singer was forced to pay a lump sum of patent

royalties to Howe, as well as giving him a share in the I.M. Singer

& Co profits.

Despite all the allegations, drama and legal disputes, Howe and

Singer both died multimillionaires, and each of these pioneering inventors gave the
world the sewing machine. Without the early failed attempts and sheer persistence to
create something that would relieve the women and factory workers of long, perilous
hours, who knows what our clothing manufacturing industry would look like today.