Vigo County Historical Society

Sewing machine history keeps us in stitches

Sewing machines, like other appliances have come a long way. An Englishman named Thomas Saint invented the first sewing machine in 1790. It used a single thread chain stitch to stitch leather. It fed the thread automatically to a needle that had a notch instead of an eye. An awl made holes for the needle to pass through the leather. This machine was not practical.

In 1830, Barthelemy Thimonmier of France patented a machine for making soldiers’ uniforms. This machine used a hooked needle that made a stitch by passing back and forth through the cloth. Thimonmier almost was killed by angry workers, who wrecked his machine because it put many people out of work.

An American, Walter Hunt, invested a sewing machine in the 1830s but never patented it. Perhaps he was afraid the same fate awaited him as befell Thimonmier.

Elias Howe usually is considered the inventor of the sewing machine as we know it today. He patented his machine on September 10, 1846. Howe endured a long legal battle trying to protect his patent and receive the compensation that was due him.

Benjamin Wilson and Isaac Singer patented inventions that made many improvements on Howe’s invention. In 1851, Singer patented the foot-operated treadle and presser foot with yielding spring, which held fabric down on the feed plate. Wilson introduced the automatic feed used on nearly all present-day machines.

There are now special machines for sewing boots, shoes, books, umbrellas, brooms and carpets.

Nearly all sewing machines in use today are electric. Attachments can be fitted to the machine for hemming, cording, braiding, ruffling, tucking, quilting and embroidery.

But along comes the computer and all of these various attachments are built in. All you have to do is punch a button and sit back and let the machine do the work.

One room on the museum’s second floor is called a "dressmaker’s shop." This room resembles a seamstress shop at the turn of the century.

The Historical Museum of the Wabash Valley, 1411 S. Sixth St., is open from 1 to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday. Previous articles can be found on the society’s Web site at web.indstate.edu/community/vchs.