About Moores Sewing Center
The History of Sewing Machines, Part Two
By George Moore
In 1818, John Adams Doge and his partner, John Knox of Vermont, made a machine that could create a line of stitches. However, it could only produce a short line of stitches in a piece of fabric before it had to be set up again, a laborious task.
Walter Hunt is credited with inventing the first American lockstitch machine in 1832. A curved needle went through the material horizontally, and the loops it left as it withdrew allowed a shuttle to pass through them, making an interlocking stitch. However, long downtimes while the worker reset the machine caused Hunt to lose interest in it, and he finally sold it.
John Greenough was the first American to patent a sewing machine in 1842. In 1845, Elias Howe of Spencer, Massachusetts, patented his own version of the sewing machine. He traveled to London looking for investors but no one was interested. On his return to America, he discovered that some people had infringed on his patent, including Isaac Merritt Singer. Howe sued Singer and the others and won his case in 1854. Singer was ordered to pay a lump sum for the machines already sold and $1.15 on every future machine produced. In later years, Singer and his partner, attorney Edward Clark, allowed people to make purchases and pay for them over time. Howe and Singer were multimillionaires when they died.
This was the start of the modern sewing machine era. Various changes and improvements have been made over the years, and some names have emerged as leaders in the field, but every one of them are the result of hard work and some ingenuity from the 18th century. The modern sewing machine can be as simple as a small battery-powered handheld unit that produces only one basic stitch, or it can be as elaborate as a computer-driven machine with endless stitch possibilities as well as embroidery capabilities, all at the touch of a button.
Author Biography
George Moore is the owner of Moore’s Sewing Center,a fourth-generation family owned company featuring high-end sewing machines and vacuum cleaners. The stores are located in Southern California.
By George Moore
In 1818, John Adams Doge and his partner, John Knox of Vermont, made a machine that could create a line of stitches. However, it could only produce a short line of stitches in a piece of fabric before it had to be set up again, a laborious task.
Walter Hunt is credited with inventing the first American lockstitch machine in 1832. A curved needle went through the material horizontally, and the loops it left as it withdrew allowed a shuttle to pass through them, making an interlocking stitch. However, long downtimes while the worker reset the machine caused Hunt to lose interest in it, and he finally sold it.
John Greenough was the first American to patent a sewing machine in 1842. In 1845, Elias Howe of Spencer, Massachusetts, patented his own version of the sewing machine. He traveled to London looking for investors but no one was interested. On his return to America, he discovered that some people had infringed on his patent, including Isaac Merritt Singer. Howe sued Singer and the others and won his case in 1854. Singer was ordered to pay a lump sum for the machines already sold and $1.15 on every future machine produced. In later years, Singer and his partner, attorney Edward Clark, allowed people to make purchases and pay for them over time. Howe and Singer were multimillionaires when they died.
This was the start of the modern sewing machine era. Various changes and improvements have been made over the years, and some names have emerged as leaders in the field, but every one of them are the result of hard work and some ingenuity from the 18th century. The modern sewing machine can be as simple as a small battery-powered handheld unit that produces only one basic stitch, or it can be as elaborate as a computer-driven machine with endless stitch possibilities as well as embroidery capabilities, all at the touch of a button.
Author Biography
George Moore is the owner of Moore’s Sewing Center,a fourth-generation family owned company featuring high-end sewing machines and vacuum cleaners. The stores are located in Southern California.