Nowadays, it’s not common to see a sewing machine in every house as before. But there is no doubt that sewing machine is a symbol of the development of society.
Human beings are familiar with sewing hundreds of years ago, but the sewing machine was invented just 200 hundred years ago, with the advent of the Industrial Revolution.
The sewing machine has changed the way the whole industry operate, increasing the speed of production crazily, which couldn’t be matched by hand at all. At that time, the invention has been regarded as a great progress of economy and society. As well, that’s the reason why we call sewing machine a symbol of society development.
The industrial sewing machines origins stem from England, France and also the United States of America. Many countries can claim to have a hand in the development of one of the most vital pieces of equipment that is used world wide. The truth is that lots of countries do all play a role in the advancements of the industrial sewing machine.
The first patent for an industrial sewing machine was in 1790 by a man called Thomas Saint. This sewing machine would allow leather and canvas to be stitched. Like many early industrial sewing machines that followed this machine copied the action of the human arm when sewing. It wasn’t until 1807 when a new innovation by two Englishman, William and Edward Chapman saw an industrial sewing machine with the eye of the needle at the bottom of the needle and not at the top.
Industrial sewing machines were becoming so good at their job that they started to require less people in the industrial factories where these sewing machines were being used. A patent by the Frenchman, Bartheleémy Thimmonier’s, increased production of the French Armies uniform. As a result, over 160 tailors were not required so they rioted: They destroyed all the machines and almost killed Thimmonier in the process.
In 1834, Walter Hunt, an American, created an industrial sewing machine that produced a locked stitch from underneath the machine with a second thread. Hunt is also credited with inventing the safety pin. This industrial sewing machine design was however never patented. It was down to a fellow American Elias Howe who got credit for the invention of the sewing machine. In 1846 he designed and patented a machine which he made, while a friend helped him financially, so he could concentrate all his efforts on the industrial sewing machine.
With the development of science and technology, more an more advanced sewing machines are on the process of production. Once again, I intend to emphasize the fact that we can see the development of society represented by the increasingly improved sewing machines.