A Stitch In Time

Before the sewing machine came into being, a series of attempts were made to create the invention which would revolutionise the clothing industry. Looking at some of these documented endeavours we can begin to embroider a picture of how the sewing world began to evolve in the 1800s.
The birth of the sewing machine is connected to Charles Weisenthal, who in 1755 Germany, issued a patent for a needle designed for a machine, however what that machine may have been was never described. Five years on in 1790 the English Cabinet maker and inventor Thomas Saint issued the first patent for an actual sewing machine, but whether or not that sewing machine was ever built is unknown.

Over to Germany in 1810, Balthasar Krems invented an automatic machine for sewing caps, this idea was never patented as it apparently failed to work correctly.

It was in 1818 when the first American sewing machine was invented by John Adams Doge and John Knowles. Their machine could make a reasonable stitch, but it failed to sew any useful length of fabric before malfunctioning.

The first sewing machine that functioned as it should was invented by the French tailor, Barthelemy Thimonnier, in 1830. This machine used one thread and a hooked needle making the same chain stitch used in embroidery. Thimonnier had a factory running with around 80 machines, but French tailors feared the impact his new machine would have on the sewing industry and in revolt they burnt the factory down. The first practical instance of the sewing machine is often attributed to Thimonnier, though it never made him a rich man as he died in the poor house in 1857.
Walter Hunt built the first eye pointed needle sewing machine in 1833, this was the first machine built which didnt replicate the act of hand sewing. Although the invention became somewhat successful, he stopped the idea as he was concerned that his new discovery could cause unemployment despite the fact that it could only produce straight seams.

Amongst the array of inventions, most Americans claim that Elias Howe was the inventor of the sewing machine as we know it today. It was 1845 when the first American patent was issued to Elias Howe. The machine Howe invented had a needle with an eye at the point, the lockstitch mechanism that Elias Howe used within his creation was later adopted by others.
It was the 1850s when sewing machines went on mass, attributed to Issac Singer who built the first commercially successful machine. The first machine invented by Singer moved up and down rather than from side to side and it had a foot treadle to power it. This machine caused patenting wars between Elias Howe who sued Isaac Singer for patent infringement; Howe won the case in 1854.

If Walter Hunt had patented his invention back in 1833, Elias Howe would have lost his case and Isaac Singer would have won. However, as Singer lost he had to pay Elias Howe patent royalties. Therefore the first sewing machine invented is often accredited to Elias Howe as a result of this.

It stems back to the Industrial Revolution where Sewing Machines came into being to decrease the amount of manual sewing work needed in clothing companies. In 1790 the English inventor Thomas Saint was first patented the design for a sewing machine

The story of where the sewing machine began in 18th Century London it was invented by a German immigrant, Charles Weisenthal took out a patent for a needle to be used for mechanical sewing. There was no mention of a machine to go with it, and another 34 years were to pass before Englishman Thomas Saint invented what is generally considered to be the first real sewing machine.