Sewing Machines From the Past to the Present – Sewing Machines Los Angeles

People started sewing more than 20,000 years ago. Iron needles were invented in the 14th century. The first needles were made of animal horns or bones. In the early 1800s, clothes were made by hand. Sewing machines, along with clocks and agricultural equipment, played a major role in developing 19th century American industry. The first sewing machine was created in 1790 by Thomas Saint – a British inventor. His machine used only a single thread. It was designed to sew leather and canvas.

In 1804, a French patent for a sewing machine was granted to Jamas Handerson and Thomas Stones. This machine was designed to “copy” hand sewing. The first sewing machine in the United States was created in 1818 by John Knowles and John Doge. Their invention failed. The first functional machine was developed by Barthelemy Thimmonier in 1830. This French tailor went into business with a mining engineer who made the drawings of the machine. His factory had 80 machines at work by 1841. An enraged group of workers burnt down this facility and nearly killed Thimmonier because they feared unemployment as a result of his invention.

America’s first successful sewing machine was built by Walter Hunt in 1834. This new invention only sewed a straight seam. Walter Hunt never patented the machine. The first American patent was issued to Elias Howe. The major improvement he made was to have the needle starting from the eye and running away from the point. This was the first machine that did not try to emulate hand sewing. It could only produce straight seams.

The world’s first rigid-arm sewing machine was created by Isaac M. Singer in 1851. This machine was designed for home use. Its inventor was sued by Howe for infringement of Howe’s patent. This entitled Howe to royalties for all sewing machines built in the United States. In the meantime, Isaac Singer added other innovative features to his machines. A notable improvement was the needle’s up-and-down movement.

Howe and Singer have both become millionaires. Elias Howe earned more than two million dollars from his invention between 1854 and 1867. The first electric machines were developed by Singer in 1889. Singer has initiated a number of marketing strategies of major importance, such as the provision of service along with sales and installment buying. Without the work of these two great inventors, mechanized sewing would never have been realized.