This was on the burdastyle blog. I found it very interesting.
"In the beginning was the needle, or better, the patent for a needle designed to be used by a machine; since the patent didn't describe the machine, the needle was of no great use either. That was 1755. The next 75 years should see at least six new patents for all sorts of different attempts to develop sewing machines, none of them successful and all them soon to be forgotten.
Finally in 1830, a French tailor, Barthelemy Thimonnier, cracked the nut and designed the first functional sewing machine that used one thread and a hooked needle, but rather than fame and money, the machine almost cost him his life, as a mob of enraged French tailors burnt down his garment factory, fearing the new invention would threaten their jobs.
Maybe this was the reason why Walter Hunt who built the first somewhat successful sewing machine just a few years later had no interest in patenting it. The next in line, Elias Howe, in contrast fought vehemently against competitors to get his machine with lockstitch mechanism patented. His most dangerous rival was Isaac Singer, with whom Howe entered into a tedious patent battle (by the way Singer was not just an inventor but also an actor!). Having won the battle, and therefore rights to a share in the profits of Singer's commercially successful invention, Howe earned close to 2 million dollars from his earlier invention.
How did these first sewing machines look like: in principle just like today's sewing machines with the main difference that they were powered manually via a big wheel on the back of the machine. That may not sound hugely comfortable or time efficient compared to what we know today, but in comparison to sewing by hand these machines were definitely much faster. The "lock stitch" mechanism invented by E. Howe, which uses two threads, one passing through the needle and one being fed from a bobbin, is still today the basic stitch performed by any sewing machine."
Image © Smithsonian
Finally in 1830, a French tailor, Barthelemy Thimonnier, cracked the nut and designed the first functional sewing machine that used one thread and a hooked needle, but rather than fame and money, the machine almost cost him his life, as a mob of enraged French tailors burnt down his garment factory, fearing the new invention would threaten their jobs.
Maybe this was the reason why Walter Hunt who built the first somewhat successful sewing machine just a few years later had no interest in patenting it. The next in line, Elias Howe, in contrast fought vehemently against competitors to get his machine with lockstitch mechanism patented. His most dangerous rival was Isaac Singer, with whom Howe entered into a tedious patent battle (by the way Singer was not just an inventor but also an actor!). Having won the battle, and therefore rights to a share in the profits of Singer's commercially successful invention, Howe earned close to 2 million dollars from his earlier invention.
How did these first sewing machines look like: in principle just like today's sewing machines with the main difference that they were powered manually via a big wheel on the back of the machine. That may not sound hugely comfortable or time efficient compared to what we know today, but in comparison to sewing by hand these machines were definitely much faster. The "lock stitch" mechanism invented by E. Howe, which uses two threads, one passing through the needle and one being fed from a bobbin, is still today the basic stitch performed by any sewing machine."
Image © Smithsonian
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