Currently, many activities cannot be imagined without the use of sewing machines - both as an element of a 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 familiar form?
History of the sewing machine
It dates back to the time of cavemen, when a bone needle was first created, more like an awl and used to punch holes in the skin into which the thread was threaded. Later, a hook was used for the last action. And a couple of centuries later, people learned to make an eye in the needle, which was located on the base (looking ahead, the first needles with an eye near the tip 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 he remained on paper, not being embodied in life.
Again returned to this invention only in 1755, in Germany, the culprit of the invention became Karl Weisenthal, which patented a device that copied the manual stitch method. 35 years later in England Thomas Saint invented a shoe-making machine. After that, in France, Barthelemy Timonier came up with his version of the mechanism and was the first to establish an automated sewing factory. But none of this came into use, and the Barthelemy factory was burned by tailors for fear of competition.
And only after another 55 years, already in the XIX century the American inventor Ellias Howe has developed a model of a machine that is really suitable for sewing quality clothes, which, however, was still very far from modern versions. She allowed to do about three hundred stitches per minute.
When was the first sewing machine created
The story of its occurrence 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 However, the name of its creator was not preserved in historical documents.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 wheel mechanism for striking long canvases, it was huge in size and occupied a considerable space. Sewing machines of this kind could be seen in sail manufacturing workshops. To our time, neither the image nor the description of such units have come down, however, later models have been preserved.
That's what Thomas Sent's device looked like.
And this is Barthelemy Timonier and his invention.
And finally, it looks like the first sewing machine using the shuttle stitch principle created by Elias Howe.
The principle of operation of the first sewing machines
As mentioned earlier, Karl Weisenthal's project copied the formation of a stitch by hand. Thomas Sent's machine was mainly used to create boots and had a manual drive, that is, in order to set it in motion, it was necessary to twist a special wheel. The device, created by Barthelemy Timonier, acted on the principle of a single-strand chain weave.
Sewing machine: history of development
Ellias Howe's invention contained a shuttle operating on the same principle as in looms. The fabric was punctured on the studs of the conveyor and mechanically moved, and the needle moved in the 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 other inventors did.
In the middle of the XIX century, it turned out to be done by Isaac Singer.. He created a foot drive model, freeing the hands of tailors, which allowed them to move the fabric in any necessary directions, and therefore, to produce not only straight seams. The fabric was fixed with a special foot, and then moved using a gear. With the help of such machines, seamstresses managed to create much longer seams than in earlier versions.
The name of 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 after more than 150 years!
REFERENCE. Prior to Howe and Singer, the prototype of their sewing machines using the upper and lower threads was invented in America by Walter Hunt, who did not patent it, worrying that a huge number of tailors would be left without work.
Isaac Singer began his career as an engineer in a sewing equipment repair workshop. The impetus for the work on improving the Howe machines was that they often fell into the hands of Singer in a broken condition, so he 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 interchangeable mechanisms, which made it possible to independently buy the necessary spare parts and significantly accelerated repair work.
Since it was much more profitable for industrial companies to maintain a low-wage seamstress staff than to acquire Singer’s expensive equipment at that time, they were issued more compact versions for home usewhich could be purchased by installments. Thanks to this, a large number of people could afford to buy them, which ensured the creator's popularity.
However, progress moved forward and after several decades electric sewing machines appeareddriven by a small motor and with a standard feature set. They are still used, including in everyday life, because they are simple and convenient to use.
Currently, the latest models of sewing machines are provided with an integrated electronic microprocessor. They can be programmed to create lines and patterns of the highest complexity. Human participation in sewing is now limited only by setting the necessary parameters, the machine does the rest.
Thus, the history of sewing machines has come a long and long way, and we can only guess what metamorphoses will happen to it in the future.
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