The history of sewing on a sewing machine. The history of the sewing machine

The history of the creation of the sewing machine.

The story begins at the very moment when the ancient woman first picked up a bone needle. Later, a hook was invented for threading thread through holes punched in fabric. And after that there is a needle with an eye for thread.

A kind of sewing machine originated in the 14th century in Holland.

The first sewing machine design was proposed by Leonardo da Vinci in the 15th century. However, the idea of the great scientist was never realized. It was only in 1755 that Karl Weisenthal was able to obtain a patent for the invention of a sewing machine that copied stitches made by hand. And in 1790, the Englishman Thomas Saint created a machine designed for sewing boots. The machine was manually driven; the boot blanks were moved relative to the needle by hand. A more advanced single-thread chain weave machine was created by the Frenchman Barthelemy Thimonnier. However, all these mechanisms have not received widespread practical application.And only at the beginning of 1845, the American mechanic Elias Howe designed the first practically usable machine, which produced a double stitch and made 300 stitches per minute.

The first sewing machine, more or less similar to the modern one, appeared in the 18th century. All the inventions mentioned above only recreated hand sewing and could only sew with one thread. In this case, the fabric had to be in a vertical position, and the seam itself unraveled quite easily.

The real history of the sewing machine begins with Singer.

Isaac Singer, a self-taught engineer, worked in a small sewing machine repair shop. One day, while repairing another machine, he decided that he could come up with a more advanced device. Singer borrowed $40 from a friend, spent 11 days working and built a new sewing machine. This device made it possible to make not only straight seams, but any kind. The fabric was pressed to the tabletop with a special “foot”, and the mechanism itself was activated by a convenient foot pedal, which freed the dressmaker’s hands and allowed him to hold and guide the fabric.However, Singer did not stop there, continuing to improve his invention. Singer also became the first manufacturer of sewing machines who decided to sell spare parts for them separately from the units.

The first sewing machines from this company were very expensive - $125. Then Singer decided to sell cars in installments. This move increased sales to 1,000 copies per year. And by 1875, his company’s turnover increased by as much as 200 times. This jump helped reduce the cost of the machine from $200 to $10.

At the end of the 19th century and throughout the 20th century, sewing machines became incredibly popular. They are bought and sold in huge quantities. More and more new companies are appearing to produce these units, although the Singer company remains the world leader in the number of machine sales.

In Russia, the first factory for the production of sewing machines was opened in St. Petersburg in 1866. Its founder was Robert Goetz, and later Leon Castellion expanded the factory, establishing the production of various types of machines. In 1902, a factory for the production of Singer typewriters was founded in Podolsk. At first, the company consisted of several small workshops where cars were assembled. However, later the factory grew so that it had 65 representative offices in various regions of the country.

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L. BELYUSEVA.

Over its 130-year history, the Polytechnic Museum has become the largest repository of various kinds of rarities in our country - monuments of science and technology. Here, for example, is the largest collection of sewing machines in Russia. This summer it is shown for the first time at the exhibition "TECHNICS AND FASHION".

European clothing of the 19th-20th centuries

One of the first lockstitch sewing machines

Sewing machine "Original Express"

Factory-craft sewing machine "Go"

Naumann lockstitch sewing machine

Sewing machine from Singer (USA, 1900-1915), designed for making fastenings and strengthening loops, sewing bows on shoes and dresses.

Factory-craft sewing machine from Durkopp

This American lockstitch sewing machine (1895-1905) was purchased by the famous Moscow merchant-baker Filippov for Nastya Kolesanova (the sister of his maid) in the Moscow Trading House of J. Blok.

Shoe sewing machine

On the right is a children's chain stitch sewing machine with a wooden base and a cast figured body, decorated with multi-color painting (Podolsk Mechanical Plant, 1935-1940). On the left is a children's chainstitch sewing machine with a molded artistic body.

Lockstitch sewing machine for stitching fabrics

Science and life // Illustrations

Above - a double stitch sewing machine with an arc needle from the company

Lockstitch sewing machine (Germany, 1900-1910). Sold by the Rosenthal Trading House in Moscow. This type of machine received medals for its design and decoration at international exhibitions in 1885, 1892, 1896 and 1900.

Computerized sewing and embroidery machine

The exhibition features more than 50 of the 200 sewing machines that the museum has. They are successfully complemented by antique dresses, hats, handbags, lace collars, gloves, shoes, modern patchwork and stitched items from the collections of Moscow museums, clothing and shoe factories, as well as from private collections.

The exhibition organizers believe that none of the technical inventions of mankind has contributed so much to the rapid spread of fashion in clothing, shoes, and all kinds of accessories as the sewing machine.

Moving from exhibit to exhibit, getting acquainted with the first household, factory-craft and industrial machines of the mid-19th century and the latest design developments of well-known manufacturing companies, it is easy to notice how far technical progress has gone, and also to trace the connection between the development of machine design and changes in manufacturing technology sewing products. The demands of fashion inevitably caused the appearance of special machines, which, in turn, influenced fashion trends. Significant changes in clothing occurred with the development of not only the production of sewing machines, but also transport. At the beginning of the last century, women stopped wearing fluffy and long dresses of complex styles: in such dresses it was inconvenient to ride on trams. The cut of clothing became the same for all segments of the population, only fashion changed its individual details from time to time. The great achievement of women's clothing reform was the suit. Gloves were considered at that time one of the signs of sophistication. Good manners required that they should not shine anywhere. An attribute of the highest elegance were white goatskin gloves. Elegant stockings were made from fildekos and fildepers yarn.

Behind the glass windows are hats: straw, felt, fur - and the machines on which they were sewn.

Most of the exhibits at the exhibition are foreign samples. After all, the production of equipment for tailors originated in the West and received its development there. The annals of history have preserved the names of the inventors of mechanical stitching, which cannot but be told about.

THEY WERE THE FIRST

The sewing machine was born much later than mechanized spinning and weaving machines, although attempts to mechanize the work of tailors have been made since the mid-14th century.

The first patent for a device equipped with a needle with two sharp ends and a hole for thread in the middle was received in 1755 by the Englishman Charles Weisenthal. The needle pierced the material back and forth without turning over. The design of the invention was very imperfect and therefore was not widespread.

From 1755 to 1846, inquisitive minds continued to work persistently to create a sewing machine. Thus, in 1790, the Englishman Thomas Saint received a patent for a machine for sewing shoes and boots, which produced a single-thread seam. It is curious that almost a century later people tried to reproduce Saint’s machine from the drawings (after all, none of the first sewing machines survived), and it turned out that it was inoperable without significant modifications. However, this invention still needs to be given its due: the very fact of the appearance of a machine, replacing manual labor, spurred inventors to develop new designs for mechanical stitching.

The first to use two threads for the same seam was the Austrian tailor Joseph Madersperger from Vienna, who built a machine on the same principle as the weaving machine. However, due to design imperfections, it was not widespread. After Madersperger invented the needle with an eye at the point in 1814, researchers began working on producing stitches with such a needle. Happiness smiled on the Frenchman B. Thimonier, who in 1830 manufactured a machine that produced a chain seam. It was produced in an amount of 80 copies and served mainly for the needs of the army. Soldiers' uniforms were sewn on these machines in special workshops in Paris. In 1832, readers of the Berlin Illustrated Newspaper were struck by the following message: “It is reported from Paris that the tailor B. Thimonnier showed in Villefranche a sewing machine he had designed, the reality of which can be doubted if you do not see it with your own eyes. Any student can do it in just a few hours to learn how to sew on it. They say that on this machine you can make two hundred stitches per minute. All this and much more in the design of the sewing machine is on the verge of fantasy." Meanwhile, the bulky Thimonnier machine, made mainly of wooden parts, produced a fragile seam of one thread. The main disadvantage of this seam is that it unravels easily; it only takes one stitch to break.

The honor of inventing the lockstitch sewing machine goes to America. The shuttle was first used in a sewing machine by Walter Hunt, who in 1832-1834 built a machine with a straight needle with an eye at the point and a shuttle similar to a weaver's. However, it was not patented because it was unstable.

At the same time as Timonier and Hunt, the American Elias Gow, who worked in a factory that produced textile equipment, worked on the creation of a sewing machine. In his invention he incorporated some elements of a loom, including something like a shuttle. In 1845, E. Gow received a patent for the first real lockstitch sewing machine (its principle - securing the stitches with a second thread passing from the bottom - is still used in sewing machines), which worked at a speed of three hundred stitches per minute. In this case, the needle moved horizontally, and the tissue to be stitched was located in a vertical plane and could only move in a straight line.

It is clear that Gou's invention needed improvement. This process was accelerated by talented American inventors Allen Wilson, James Gibbs, John Bachelder and the brilliant entrepreneur Isaac Merritt Singer, who emigrated from Germany and settled in New York. In 1851, Singer created one of the first household sewing machines, in which the needle was fixed in a vertical position. Now the fabric, pressed by the foot, was located on a horizontal plane and could be advanced thanks to an intermittently moving gear wheel. A year later, A. Wilson received a patent for a four-stroke rack-and-pinion fabric engine (conveyor), thanks to which the speed of the sewing machine increased significantly.

In 1852, Singer sold his first sewing machine for $100, and in 1854, together with Edward Clark, he founded the Singer Company. A year later, his invention won first prize at the World Fair in Paris. Singer's cars were in great demand throughout America. This was also facilitated by the fact that in 1856 the company made a decision that was unique at that time: installment sales. By 1863, the Singer Company sold 20 thousand sewing machines a year, 4 years later it already had several factories in America, opened its first factory in Scotland, and subsequently factories of the Singer empire appeared in many countries around the world.

The design of sewing machines became more complex and improved at a fairly rapid pace. With each innovation they became faster and more specialized. It's hard to believe, but already in the 1870s the first electric cars appeared. One of them was patented by Jones in America, the other (the Wheeler-Wilson system) was proposed by V.N. Chikolev in Russia and presented at the All-Russian Polytechnic Exhibition in Moscow in 1872.

By 1900, in addition to machines for sewing clothes, special machines were created for sewing canvas tents, sails, mail bags, book bindings, travel chests, saddlery, shoes, haberdashery (belts, ribbons, umbrellas), hats, hoses, etc.

At the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, women had the opportunity not only to sew, but also to embroider using a machine, and even darn stockings. By the way, the exhibition displays a darning machine for a Singer machine from the beginning of the last century, and next to it is a sample of a darned stocking. Well, where else can you see this!

It’s amazing how the appearance of the sewing machine changed at first: its body either bent in a graceful arc, or straightened out; the cast iron platforms were varied and unusually beautiful. And one of the machines shown at the exhibition simply sunk into my soul, striking not so much with the shape of its body (although it is also unusual), but with its foot drive in the form of two footprints.

Over the years, car design has become simpler. Beginning in the second half of the 20th century, their cases and cases were no longer painted by hand; artistic figure casting, mother-of-pearl inlay, multi-colored images of famous people, wood carvings and other delights became a thing of the past. This always happens: things put on stream become unified. It's a pity.

PRODUCTION OF SEWING MACHINES IN RUSSIA

Behind the glass display cases are patterns and fashion magazines, yellowed with time, tailor's scissors, cutters, buttons and other rarities from various periods of the 150-year history of the sewing machine. The stands contain interesting information from the history of sewing technology in Russia.

It turns out that the first factory of domestic sewing machines was opened by Robert Wilhelm Goetz in 1866 in St. Petersburg. Here, later, the merchant of the first guild Leon Castellion established the production of sewing machines for various purposes.

For a long time, the leaders in the production of sewing machines were US and German companies. In Russia, from the 60s of the 19th century until the beginning of the 20th century, the most famous machines were those of the companies Singer, Wheeler and Wilson, Wilcox and Gibbs, Seidel and Naumann.

At first, all trade in Singer sewing machines was concentrated in the hands of Georg Neidlinger, a German citizen who had a head warehouse in Hamburg and 65 branches in Russia. When the company's products were firmly established in the Russian market, the company's management decided to take over the entire trade in sewing machines and in 1897 founded the joint-stock company Singer Manufacturing Company. However, importing finished sewing machines from abroad required considerable costs. This led to higher prices for products and, as a consequence, to difficulties in selling them, especially due to increased competition with other companies. This is how the idea arose to found our own mechanical plant in Russia. The choice fell on Podolsk, which at that time was a provincial town with five thousand inhabitants. In September 1900, the Singer company acquired 30 acres of land here. By 1902, construction of the plant was completed. Walter Frank Dixon, a German by birth, was appointed its director, who remained in this position until 1917. The documentation was kept in German (which is probably why many of our compatriots still believe that Singer is a German company). By 1913, the plant's gross profit increased more than seven times, the production of so-called family (household) cars reached more than 600 thousand units per year (about 2,500 units per day). In addition, the plant produced special machines for the sewing, shoe, haberdashery and other industries. These products were sold in company stores that were scattered throughout the Russian Empire. The Singer company has even earned the right to be the “Supplier of the Court of His Imperial Majesty.”

By 1914, Russia ranked second in the world in sales of sewing machines (after the North American States), selling them annually in the amount of 700 thousand pieces worth 63.5 million rubles.

In 1918, the Podolsk plant of the Singer Company JSC was nationalized by the Bolsheviks and until 1923 was practically inactive. When the production of cars was resumed, Singer began to be sold first under the Gosshveymashina brand, and from 1931 under the PMZ brand (Podolsk Mechanical Plant).

In the 1930s, the production of sewing machines was organized in other cities of the country.

THERE IS NO LIMIT TO PERFECTION

Grandmother's Singer sewing machines, produced a hundred or more years ago, have safely survived to this day. And the most surprising thing is that they do not while away their time somewhere in a closet, but continue to work properly. Of course, their functionality cannot be compared with modern sewing machines. Anyone who has ever tried to sew using the miracle technology of our days will never want to go back to the old ways. Because this is equivalent to a person sitting down at a typewriter again after typing on a computer.

Today's models of sewing machines become outdated as quickly as other household appliances. Manufacturers are constantly improving their products and release new models every few years.

In our market, in addition to the American SINGER, you can now buy the German PFAFF machine (the history of this company dates back to 1862, when its founder Georg Michael Pfaff assembled his first sewing machine; its designers gave the world a rotating shuttle and an electronic pedal starter ), the Swedish "HUSKVARNA VIKING" (the first machines of this company were created in 1872, by the way, before the revolution they were already sold in Russia), the Swiss "BERNINA" (the founder of this company, Karl Friedrich Gegauf, in 1893 produced a specialized machine for embroidering monograms) and etc.

The current generations of household sewing machines are divided into two large groups: electromechanical and computerized. There is also a subgroup - computerized sewing and embroidery machines. All of them are light and compact, since cast iron has been replaced by modern plastics or lightweight metals. They have a light body and a streamlined shape. The standard platform can easily be transformed into a narrower “sleeve” platform, convenient for processing trousers or cuffs. But the main thing is the number of stitches and operations. Electromechanical machines can perform an average of 10 to 40 seams.

Seams today are more often called “programs”. They are usually divided into groups: working, decorative, overlock. On the control panel it is customary to display the program in the form of an icon that literally repeats the stitch configuration.

Many models have a program for making loops in automatic or semi-automatic mode and an auto-threading function, which is so necessary for people with poor vision.

Unlike electromechanical machines, computerized machines perform a huge number of operations (there are up to 250 types of stitches alone, and also many pictograms for decorating things with initials or logos). Their memory contains the optimal settings for a certain type of fabric and the sequence of actions necessary to perform certain operations.

Computerized sewing and embroidery machines have more than 500 sewing programs (220 working and decorative stitches, 11 types of buttonholes, 324 letters, 4 alphabets). They can be connected to a personal computer, which allows you to create embroidery patterns by manipulating the mouse. Machines with such capabilities from the Swedish company HUSKVARNA VIKING and the German company PFAFF were also among the exhibits presented at the exhibition. Sewing on them is truly a pleasure. And things turn out amazing! You are convinced of this by looking at the snow-white vest, literally strewn with embroidered motifs, and samples of embroidery in the embroidery modules of the machines.

On September 28, the exhibition will close, and grandma’s “Singers”, “Durkopps”, “Naumanns” will again end up in storage. If you have not yet visited it, we advise you to hurry up.

Photo by V. Pirozhkov.

The exhibition "Technology and Fashion" takes place in the Marble Hall of the Polytechnic Museum at the address: Moscow, Novaya Ploshchad, 3/4, entrance No. 3; telephone numbers for inquiries: 923-42-87, 925-72-57 .

The topic of our article is the history of the creation of the sewing machine. We'll talk about when the first machine appeared and who created it. Let's consider the history of the most famous typewriter company - Singer. And we will try to find out when the first sewing machines appeared in Russia.

Where it all began

The history of the creation of the first sewing machine began at the very moment when our distant ancestor first picked up a bone needle. Note that this tool then looked more like an awl than a needle. Later, a hook was invented for threading thread through holes punched in fabric. And after that there is a needle with an eye. Moreover, the hole for the thread was made at the very base of the needle, as on modern machines.

However, some semblance of a sewing machine arose only in the 14th century in Holland. At this time, sag sewing workshops were for the first time equipped with wheeled machines that sewed long canvas sheets. Unfortunately, the name of the inventor of this design has not reached us. However, it is known that such structures were very large and took up a huge amount of space. The Dutch machine was completely different from modern sewing machines.

First project

The history of the creation of the sewing machine was not complete without the participation of Leonardo da Vinci. 5th grade (“Technology” - this topic is discussed within the framework of this subject), studying history, according to the new school curriculum, also covers the creation of household appliances. In this regard, children will be interested to know that the first sewing machine design was proposed by Leonardo da Vinci in the 15th century. However, the idea of the great scientist was never realized.

It was only in 1755 that Karl Weisenthal was able to obtain a patent for the invention of a sewing machine that copied stitches made by hand. And in 1790, Thomas Saint created a machine designed for sewing boots. Then he created his own model of the sewing machine B. Thimonier. However, all these mechanisms were not common.

It was only at the beginning of 1845 that Elias Howe created a machine that was truly suitable for sewing, although it had many shortcomings.

The emergence of the first garment factory

The history of the creation of the sewing machine continues. 5th grade, having briefly familiarized itself with the above information, will probably be interested in the fact that the first sewing machine, more or less similar to the modern one, appeared in the 18th century.

All the inventions mentioned above only recreated hand sewing and could only sew with one thread. In this case, the fabric had to be in a vertical position, and the seam itself unraveled quite easily. However, this did not prevent Barthelemy Timonyev from becoming the founder of the first automated garment factory in 1830, which was equipped with these very imperfect first mechanisms.

The history of the Singer sewing machine

It all started in a small workshop specializing in repairing sewing machines. Isaac Singer, a self-taught engineer, worked here. Once, when he had to repair another imperfect unit, he told his owner that he could come up with something better than the devices that were constantly falling into disrepair. The owner didn't believe him. Then Singer borrowed $40 from a friend and built a new sewing machine. It took him exactly 11 days to complete the work.

This device made it possible to make not only straight seams, but any kind. In this case, the fabric was pressed to the tabletop with a special “foot”, and the mechanism itself was activated by a convenient foot pedal, which freed the seamstress’s hands and made it possible to hold and guide the fabric. However, Singer did not stop there, continuing to improve his invention.

Singer Marketing

We can say that the real history of the creation of the sewing machine begins with Singer. Briefly speaking about the merits of this man, it is necessary to mention that he owes his success not only to his engineering skills, but also to his marketing decisions. For example, Singer quickly realized that the main buyers of his products were women. There were no magazines then, but all the fair sex regularly attended church. Then Singer began distributing advertising brochures for his cars along with religious ones.

The history of the creation of the sewing machine, in addition to everything already said, includes another remarkable fact. It was Singer who became the first manufacturer of sewing machines who decided to sell spare parts for repairs separately from the units. In addition, this event can be called the first example in the history of “post-sales” service.

19th-20th century

At this time, the history of the creation of the sewing machine can be said to reach its apogee. The fact is that it was at the end of the 19th and throughout the 20th century that sewing machines became incredibly popular. They are bought and sold in huge quantities.

More and more new companies are appearing to produce these units, for example: Verits, Pfaff, Kaizer and a number of others. Nevertheless, the Singer company remains the world leader in the number of machine sales.

Russia

The history of the creation of a sewing machine also includes the appearance on the Russian market. 5th grade, whose students are just beginning to get acquainted with history, should know when the first cars began to appear in our country.

For the first time in 1866, a factory for the production of sewing machines was opened in Russia. Its founder was Robert Goetz, and it was located in St. Petersburg. Later, Leon Castellion expanded production by establishing the production of various types of machines.

These years, sewing machines are becoming incredibly popular - they are considered the best gifts and dowries.

"Zinger" in Russia

The Russian history of the creation of the sewing machine was not complete without the Singer company. 5th grade should definitely be interested in such information.

So, in 1902, a factory for the production of Singer machines was founded in Podolsk. By the way, it still works today. At first, the company consisted of several small workshops where cars were assembled. However, later the factory grew so that it had 65 representative offices in various regions of the country. At the same time, first the Imperial Court, and then the Soviet government, collaborated with the Singer company.

The history of the creation of the sewing machine itself is very fascinating. However, it would be better to tell the children interesting facts related to it. It will be difficult for them to listen to a long story, but they will remember several striking historical events well.

Let's start with a few fascinating facts about the Singer company and its products. So, the first cars from this company were very expensive - $125. At that time, this was the budget of an ordinary American family for about 3 months. It should be taken into account that sewing was usually earned by single women or widows, whose income was much less. Then Singer made, one might say, a fateful decision: to sell cars in installments. This move increased sales to 1,000 copies per year. And by 1875, his company’s turnover increased by as much as 200 times. This jump helped reduce the cost of the machine from $200 to $10.

The history of the creation of the sewing machine is rich in another interesting fact related to the Singer company. It is not directly related to sewing machines themselves, but it deserves mention. In 1908, the corporation rebuilt the building, which became the first skyscraper in New York - it had 47 floors. The miracle was located at 149 Broadway.

During the time of Mao Zedong in China, there was a saying that characterized the well-being of a family: “One talker, three spinners.” This meant that the family had a watch, a sewing machine, a radio and a bicycle.

From the 1990s to 2000s, there were rumors that some parts of antique sewing machines were made from various precious metals, such as palladium and platinum. This explained the appearance of many buyers of rarities. In 2001, because of this myth, a crime occurred - teenagers killed a pensioner and took an old sewing machine from her apartment. Of course, information about precious metals has nothing to do with the truth.

As noted above, today the history of the creation of the sewing machine is also studied in school. Grade 5 (FSES is a new curriculum that includes this topic), for example, is studying this issue in technology lessons.

And among the interesting facts that you can tell children about the history of the machine, there is a very recent incident. In 2012, a deputy from the Rostov region, Leonid Shafirov, invented a way that could increase the employment of mothers of large families and single mothers in one of the most backward mining regions - he distributed about a hundred sewing machines to women for free. The action was held in two cities. To receive a machine, it was necessary to send an application to the deputy and written confirmation from relatives and neighbors that the mother of many children knows how to sew.

The history of the creation of the sewing machine and iron

Along with the history of the sewing machine, we can also talk about such an indispensable item today as the iron. This household appliance has a very ancient history. According to archaeologists, a similar iron was used already in the 4th century BC. e. in Ancient Greece. Originally it was a heated stone used to smooth clothes. It was only in the 18th century that a cast iron iron appeared, which was similar in shape to the modern one. As for the electric iron, it appeared in 1903 and was created by Earl Richardson.

Thus, the history of household appliances can be no less interesting than the history of civilization.

In those days when the processes of making threads, spinning, and weaving them into fabric (the ancient Egyptians already used looms) were mechanized, sewing remained exclusively handmade. Attempts to come up with a machine capable of reproducing hand sewing were made already in the 14th century. Evidence tells of a huge wheeled mechanism created by the Dutch in the mid-14th century, which was capable of making long straight lines, sewing large sheets of fabric. The unit was used in the manufacture of sails. However, neither the name of the inventor nor even the drawings have survived to this day - one legend suggests that the first machine was not at all like what we use now.
The next attempt to create a sewing machine preserved in history was the drawings of the ubiquitous Leonardo da Vinci (late 15th century). According to the drawings of the tireless inventor, the unit was more like a workbench with rulers clamped in a vice. One way or another, this idea was not destined to come true.

Invention of Thomas Saint, a machine for sewing boots and shoes, 1790
Photo: madeupinbritain.uk

The subsequent attempts to mechanize the work of tailors were also not very successful, but each of them gradually brought the inventors closer to the discovery. For example, in 1755, Karl Weisenthal received a patent for a needle that could be used in a sewing mechanism - the mechanism itself, however, turned out to be “unviable.” In 1790, Thomas Saint invented a machine for weaving shoes and boots - it sewed with one thread. A century later, enthusiasts tried to reproduce the unit, following Saint's drawings. The machine was assembled, but it was not possible to get it to sew. In 1814, the Austrian tailor Joseph Madersperger tried to make a sewing machine based on the design of a loom: this experiment was also unsuccessful, but history acquired a needle with an eye at the point, like modern machines.

Josef Madersperger's machine
Photo: polytechnic.edu.na

“Two hundred stitches per minute”!

In 1830, the Frenchman Bartholomew Thimonnier managed, using a needle invented by Madersperger, to make a sewing machine that actually worked. The unit was immediately replicated in an amount of 80 pieces and used for the needs of the army for sewing uniforms. Two years later, the Berlin Illustrated Newspaper wrote: “They report from Paris that the tailor B. Thimonnier showed in Villefranche a sewing machine he had designed, the reality of which can be doubted if you do not see it with your own eyes. Any student can learn to sew on it in just a few hours. They say that this machine can make two hundred stitches per minute. All this and much more in the design of the sewing machine is borderline fantastic!” The machine produced a chain stitch using one thread - as soon as one stitch broke in such a seam, the whole thing unraveled.

Machine Bartholomew Timonier, 1830
Photo: science4fun.info

Shuttle as a revolution

A revolution in the process of creating a sewing machine was made by the use of a mechanism in its structure that acted like a shuttle. This method took inventors away from trying to force the machine to reproduce a hand-stitched stitch with one thread, made the stitching stronger and brought the units closer to the look and design of modern sewing machines. Now the Americans have seized the initiative of European inventors. Several not very successful attempts in the 1830−40s, and finally, in 1846, the American Elias Howe created a high-speed (300 stitches per minute!) machine that went on sale. Scientific American magazine calls the invention extraordinary, but tailors, accustomed to sewing the old fashioned way, are in no hurry to buy a new product. Having failed to achieve entrepreneurial success in America, Howe goes to England to promote his invention, but does not achieve much success there either. Almost ruined, Howe returns to his homeland and discovers that his brainchild is being sold quite successfully here. However, a completely different person is listed as the creator and runs the affairs!

Elias Howe's car
Photo: recollections.biz

How Singer became the inventor of the Howe machine

The man who made Howe's idea popular and forced the world to switch to machine stitching was Isaac Merritt Singer. In fairness, it must be said that before giving Howe’s invention his name and launching the unit into widespread sale, Singer significantly improved it. Coming from a family of German immigrants, Singer was distinguished by courage and independence from childhood. At 12, he dropped out of school and ran away from home, worked as an apprentice for a mechanic, then ran away from there, becoming a traveling artist. Having traveled around America thoroughly and, obviously, having gotten to know himself and people, Singer again decided to settle down and start working with mechanisms. At the age of 20, he got a job in a workshop, including repairing Howe machines. These machines constantly required repairs, and the young mechanic had a chance to thoroughly study their structure. One day, in his hearts, he told his boss that he could make a more perfect and durable machine than Howe. Having borrowed $40 from a friend, in just 10 days Singer seriously modified Howe’s car. He placed the shuttle horizontally - the threads stopped getting tangled when sewing, he added a table-board for the fabric and a “foot” that pressed the material to the surface. Unlike its predecessor, the new machine could make an arbitrarily long seam and not necessarily a straight one.

Singer's first sewing machine
Photo: thespruce.com
In 1851, Singer received a patent, in 1852 he sold his first machine, in 1854, together with Edward Clark, he founded the Singer Company, and a year later his invention received first prize at the World Fair in Paris. By the way, Elias Howe, who returned to America and discovered this state of affairs, filed a lawsuit: his claim was satisfied, and Singer had to share the profit with the “discoverer” of the mechanism.

Article about Singer's machine in Scientific American
Photo: smithsonianmag.com
The profit, meanwhile, was not bad. Despite the very high price, Singer machines quickly gained popularity in America. Firstly, because of the unique offer for those times to buy them in installments, and secondly, because of the million dollars spent by the entrepreneur on advertising. By 1863, the Singer Company was selling 20 thousand sewing machines a year, 4 years later it already had several factories in America, opened its first factory in Scotland, and subsequently factories of the Singer empire appeared in many countries around the world. These include the first plant in Russia, opened in 1902 in Podolsk. True, by that time Singer himself had already retired, having sold his share of the business to a partner. By the way, today the company named after him produces, in addition to sewing machines, a lot of everything, from furniture and household electrical appliances to complex military and space equipment.

For those who sew:

In the footsteps of Singer

Silhouettes of vintage sewing machines
Photo: etaji.info
Further improvement of the sewing machine moved at a much higher speed. The Singer empire itself developed and complicated its brainchild, plus companies following in its footsteps appeared all over the world: Pfaff, Veritas, Kaizer, Husqvarna, Janome... It’s hard to believe, but already in the 1870s the first cars with an electric drive appeared. One of them was patented by Jones in America, the other was proposed by V. N. Chikolev in Russia and presented at the All-Russian Polytechnic Exhibition in Moscow in 1872. By the beginning of the 20th century, special machines were used to sew not only clothes, but also canvas tents, sails, shoes, belts, hats, hoses and book bindings. Around the same time, embroidery and even darning machines appeared.

One of the Pfaff sewing machines of the last century
Photo: jomottershead.com
Over the years, along with the functionality, the silhouette and finish of the machine body changed. Car design was simplified. Starting from the second half of the 20th century, their cases and cases were no longer painted by hand; artistic figure casting, mother-of-pearl inlay, multicolored images of famous people, wood carvings and other delights became a thing of the past.

One of the first Bernina household sewing machines
Photo: bernina.com

With the advent of plastic in the industry, it partially replaced wood and metal in the production of machine bodies. With the invention of the computer, electronic cars appeared. A modern sewing machine is often a unit so complex and multifunctional that you cannot learn all its capabilities even after a few days of work. Meanwhile, many families are still alive - and even able to work! - cars made a century ago at the Podolsk plant founded by the Singer company.

“Evolution” of a sewing machine using the example of Janome

1921

1948

1954

1964

1976

1983

2001

2006

2010

2015
Photo: janome.co.jp

History of invention

Needle plate, foot and feed dog of a sewing machine

The creation of the sewing machine dates back to the second half of the 18th century. The first sewing “machines” were distinguished by the fact that they completely copied the method of manually producing a stitch. But in 1814, an Austrian tailor Joseph (Josef) Madersperger created a needle with an eye at the tip of one of the ends (hereinafter it is assumed that the top of the needle is the one with the eye). A few years later, Fisher, Gibbone, Walter Hunt, Elias Howe and other scientists began working on creating a stitch using an eyelet needle. In 1845, Elias Howe in the USA developed the lockstitch and received a patent for a sewing machine with this stitch, which worked at a speed of 300 stitches per minute. The peculiarity of the mechanism of this machine was that the needle moved horizontally, and the stitched fabrics were located in a vertical plane and could only move in a straight line, which caused some inconvenience.

In 1850, in A. Wilson's sewing machine, and later in 1851 in Singer and Gibbs machines, the needle moved vertically, and the fabric, pressed with a special foot, was located on a horizontal platform and its advancement was carried out by an intermittently moving gear wheel, and subsequently by a gear plate (slat).

With each sewing machine model created, the design of the sewing machine became more complex and improved, they became faster and more specialized.

Classification

According to their purpose, sewing machines are divided into stitching and special: overcasting, blind stitch, button stitching, etc. There are also universal sewing machines (allow you to make seams of various types, lines of different lengths and in different directions) and semi-automatic ones (designed to perform certain operations) .

Depending on the type of thread weave in the stitch, sewing machines are divided into 2 subgroups: lockstitch and chain stitch machines.

All sewing machines included in one subgroup have much in common both in the principle of operation and in the design of the working parts. The most widespread among universal-type sewing machines is the single-needle lockstitch sewing machine, the main elements of which are the mechanisms of the needle-main shaft, thread take-up, shuttle device and fabric motor (rack).

Household sewing machines*

Lockstitch sewing machines

Mechanical and electromechanical

In mechanical sewing machines, specially shaped gears, levers, wheels, copiers and similar mechanics are responsible for the movement of the needle and the movement of the fabric conveyor. Mechanically controlled machines, due to technological features, cannot perform stitches of complex shapes and have a limited number of stitches. Mechanical machines are driven by rotation of the handwheel handle or have a foot drive. The flywheel of an electromechanical machine rotates the electric motor, and the sewing speed is adjusted by pressing the pedal.

Microprocessor controlled machines

In microprocessor-controlled machines, the movement of the fabric and needle is controlled by a microprocessor. This control principle removes restrictions on the complexity of lines and their number. Everything is determined by the amount of memory and the program that the manufacturer has included in a particular model. Only computer-controlled machines can produce eyelet buttonholes and beautiful decorative stitches. There are models that allow you to sew without a pedal (they have a start/stop button and a sewing speed controller).

Embroidery machines When working on an embroidery machine, the fabric is secured in a hoop. The hoop drive mechanism receives commands from the computer to move the fabric in accordance with the program - “machine embroidery design”. Sewing and embroidery machines Machines of this class are microprocessor-controlled machines to which you can connect an embroidery unit and use the machine as an embroidery machine.

Chain stitch sewing machines

Overlockers Flat stitch machines Coverlocks Hemming machines

Industrial sewing machines

Design

Application

Sewing machines are used in the sewing, knitting, shoe and other light industries, as well as in everyday life.

The principle of stitch formation using a lockstitch machine

The needle drive mechanism causes the needle, into the eye of which the thread is threaded, to reciprocate. As a result, the needle pierces the material, threads the upper thread through it, and creates a loop at the eye of the needle. The shuttle mechanism ensures that the loop is captured and looped around the bobbin with the lower thread. The thread take-up mechanism unwinds the thread from the spool, pulls it off the shuttle and tightens the stitch. The fabric conveyor mechanism moves the material along the length of the stitch. All mechanisms receive movement from the main shaft, driven by an electrical or mechanical drive.

Additional Information

Literature

Great Soviet Encyclopedia