If Elias Howe Invented the Sewing Machine, Why is it Called a Singer?

Tue, 22 Jan 2008 11:08:06 PST

Discovered this article on the history of the sewing machine. While we've not personally validated the claims, we thought you'd all find the info quite interesting...

Happy Sewing,

Kim & Linnette

| by Joey Robichaux | November 24, 2005

Sorry ... the history books aren't quite right. Elias Howe did not invent the first sewing machine. In fact, if you define sewing machine as "a machine that can sew items in a practical and usable manner", then he didn't invent a sewing machine at all!

Actually, the first sewing machine patent was received in 1755 by Charles Weisenthal in London. Technically, his machine did embroidery, but it was the first to recognize that an eye-pointed needle did not need to pass entirely through a garment. This machine was not labor or time-saving, though, and was thus not a practical solution as a "machine that can be used for sewing".

Another machine was invented in Paris in 1804 by Thomas Stone and John Henderson -- it involved a pair of pincers on either side of a piece of material. The pincers would grab a needle as it passed through the material. This machine was no faster than hand-sewing and was not accepted as a solution, either.

In 1790, Englishman Thomas Saint patented a machine that had many of the features of a real sewing machine: an overhanging arm, a straight, perpendicular needle, a horizontal cloth table, and needle fed from a spool. It's doubtful whether or not Saint ever really built his machine, though. A version made in 1873 from his original patent plans did not work.

In 1830, Frenchman Barthelemy Thimonnier patented the next sewing machine. This one actually worked -- although it was a huge device set in a frame similar to a wooden loom.

It was able to sew a straight chainstitch and was about as fast as a hand sewer. By 1831, Thimonnier had about 80 seamstresses in his tailoring shop using his machines to sew uniforms for the French army. The machines could sew about 100 stitches a minute by that time.

Technically, Thimonnier invented the first machine that could be used to really accomplish some sewing.

Unfortunately, for him, the social structure of the time was not ready to accept this type of technilogical advance. Fearful for their jobs, mobs of journeyman tailors rushed his shop and destroyed his machines. Thimonnier tried at least twice more to introduce his machines (now improved to 300 stitches a minute), but similar bad luck dogged him. He finally gave up and died a poor man in 1857.

In 1834, the sewing machine was invented again in New York by Walter Hunt. Hunt's machine was a major improvement over previous one's. Instead of stitching the easily unraveled chainstitch like all previous machines, Hunt's could produce a lockstitch. He did this by using two thread spools: one above, one below. He used a shuttle to push the lower thread through the loop caused by the needle pushing through the fabric. This same principle has since been used by all successful sewing machines.

Unfortunately, for Hunt (and others, it turns out), he neglected to patent this machine with the two threads and a shuttle system. Hunt was also a Quaker; when his daughter suggested his machine would do harm to seamstresses who might be put out of work, Hunt seemed to agree. He took no further interest in his sewing machine.

Not long after, in 1839, a Bostonian machine shop owner named Ari Davis was approached by two men who wanted to build a knitting machine. During their discussions, Davis suggested they try a sewing machine instead. The men figured such a machine would be a financial bonanza and Davis attempted -- and failed -- to create such a machine.

The noteworthy part of this Boston venture was that Davis had an apprentice who took an interest in this matter. The apprentice's name was Elias Howe.

Howe began trying to develop a sewing machine on his own. He came up with the idea of using two threads and a shuttle -- the same idea Hunt had used ten years earlier. Howe continued to develop his machine; by 1845 he had completed a machine that was able to perform all the stitchwork to assemble two suits of woolen clothes. In 1846 Howe received a patent on his device.

The journal, "Scientific American" was impressed as they praised Howe's "extraordinary invention". Perhaps Hunt would have received similar praise had he bothered to patent his device more than ten years earlier.

Unfortunately, "Scientific American" were the only ones impressed. Howe spent three years trying to drum up interest in both American and England. By 1849, he was basically broke. His wife died (and he had to borrow the money to reach her bedside before she died). He attended her funeral in a borrowed suit; he then heard that the ship containing all his household goods was wrecked and all his goods were lost. Discouraged, He gave up his sewing machine quest and took a machine shop job for a weekly wage.

Actually, Howe's machine failed for a good reason, it was not quite a practical solution. His machine did not have a presser foot; in order to sew fabric, the pieces had to be matched inside a metal frame. This frame was then attached to the machine and guided the stitching. Once you reached the end of the frame, it had to be removed and the fabric reset. This meant that A) no continuous stitching was possible, and B) you could only stitch in straight lines, you could not follow a curve. Because of this, Howe's machine could not be considered a serious solution to the sewing problem and was therefore not a true and practical "sewing machine".

In 1850 a familiar name entered the sewing machine world -- Isaac Singer. I think that Singer should be considered the inventor of the first practical sewing machine -- it could stitch continuous lines, it could stitch around curves, it used a pressor foot, and it was a marketable solution available for a reasonable price.

Other inventors also introduced sewing machines to compete with Singer -- and the sewing machine industry was born.

However, Elias Howe was not quite finished. He noticed that all sewing machines used two threads and a shuttle.

He held a patent on this method (even though Hunt had invented it first a decade earlier) Howe then embraced that great American business plan, "Those who can, do -- those who can't, sue!"

Howe began a vigorous legal campaign against all sewing machine manufacturers. It's interesting to note that it was impossible to build a practical sewing machine solely by using Howe's patents. It took many patented items (they soon ranged into the 100's) in order to construct a workable sewing machine. Still, the idea of two threads and a shuttle was also an essential component of a usable sewing machine.

The courts agreed. Howe soon received royalties of up to $25 per every sewing machine sold. Without selling a single machine of his own design, Howe became rich.

Singer and others tried to oppose him. They uncovered Walter Hunt's earlier work and tried to find some proof that was presentable in court in order to break Howe's patent. Unfortunately, when Hunt lost interest in his device, he neglected to keep any of the devices he had already constructed or notes of their workings.

Although Hunt was first, it was impossible to prove in court and Howe's suit held up.

So -- it's apparent that Elias Howe did not invent the first sewing machine. He didn't even invent the first sewing device. What he did do was be the first to patent a component that was used by the real inventor of the first workable, usable, and marketable sewing machine, Isaac Singer.

Article Source: http://www.articleset.com

About the Author

Joey Robichaux maintains the Free Sheet Music Downloads website at http://www.freesheetmusic.net. This directory is one of the oldest websites on the internet covering sources of free sheet music. In addition, you'll find many public domain pieces of sheet music classics available for download. » Read more articles by Joey Robichaux

Antique Buttons

Fri, 04 Jan 2008 09:21:04 PST

by Seth Miller

There is something intriguing about an antique – a long-ago far away feeling – that is almost enigmatic. A sort of mystery surrounds an antique object. Who were the people who first used it; what all has the object witnessed? History lives on through antiques.

Buttons are perhaps the most popular antique collectible. Buttons date back to ancient Egypt and China. But most antique buttons are from Europe and are not more than 200 years old. In fact, the period from 1830 to 1850 has been labeled as the Golden Age of buttons. Victorian buttons are an antique collector’s delight. The black ‘jet’ buttons worn by the Queen while she was mourning the death of her husband are extremely rare and valuable.

Antique buttons with pictures engraved or painted on them are the best storytellers. They have truly captured the essence of the bygone times. Another kind of antique buttons is the ‘realistic’ buttons that are shaped like real objects. ‘Habitat’ buttons take the idea of realism a step further; they have dried plants or insects nicely sealed under glass domes.

Often made of precious material like gold, mother of pearl and ivory, and handcrafted by artists, antique buttons are priced very high. The older and more rare the buttons, the more valuable they are. An antique button can cost up to a few thousand dollars. Enthusiasts around the world collect antique buttons. Collectors’ clubs organize competitions and exhibitions for its members. Antique buttons are increasingly being exhibited on the Internet.

Antique buttons came to be preserved because they were too beautiful to be thrown away. And in present times antique buttons hold a legacy that is too precious to be thrown away.

Buttons provides detailed information on Buttons, How To Sew A Button, Sewing Buttons, Antique Buttons and more. Buttons is affiliated with Rubber Wristbands .

Fun and Easy Rag Quilting

Tue, 23 Oct 2007 18:04:05 PDT

Fun and Easy Rag Quilting
by Penny Halgren

The first time I heard the term “Rag Quilting,” I though it had something to do with using big, long rags of fabric and somehow weaving them together to make a quilt.

Boy, was I wrong!

It turns out that rag quilting got its name from the ragged edges on the quilt. No doubt in my mind that this quilt design was created by a quilter as a variation of a Quilt as You Go kind of pattern – whether it was intentional or accidental is something only that quilter knows.

Wide seam allowances are common for rag quilting – usually at least 1.” So, if you would like each block to be an 8” square when finished, you should cut 10” squares of fabric and 7¾” batting or flannel.

To make a rag quilt, you take 2 squares of fabric (could be triangles or any other shape, but squares are most common), and a piece of batting for each block in your quilt. You could use a piece of flannel instead. The batting or flannel should be cut about 1¼” smaller than the squares of fabric.

Place one square of fabric right side down on your table. Place the piece of batting or flannel in the center of the fabric. And then place the other piece of fabric right side up on top of the batting. You now have a stack with 3 layers, and the right sides of the fabric are facing out.

Stitch through all of the layers, to secure them in place. Usually these squares are machine stitched, using a simple straight stitch, making an X through the square. To do that, you begin in one corner and stitch to the opposite corner. Take your square out of the machine, and repeat the process on the other corner. You could do some fancy quilting in each block if you would like.

Continue this layering and stitching for as many squares as you would like – depending on how large you would like your quilt to be.

Once you have all of your squares/blocks stitched, it is time to begin to sew them together to make your quilt.

The process is the similar as if you were sewing blocks together to make a quilt top, with just a slight twist or two. Take two blocks and place them WRONG sides together. Stitch them together using a 1” seam allowance. Sew the seam along the entire edge of the fabric, and do not backstitch.

Sew the blocks in each row together. Now you have a bunch of rows of blocks with all of the seam allowances facing to one side (usually the front side).

Once that is done, open the seam allowances, and sew the rows together, continuing to place the WRONG sides of the fabric together, so your seam allowances will face the top (right side) of the quilt.

After all of your blocks are sewn together, clip the seam allowances – that is what makes the “ragged” edge, or fringe. Take a very sharp pair of scissors and cut about ½” into the seam allowance, making sure not to cut into the stitching. Make these slices about ¼” apart from each other.

Once all of the seams are clipped, shake your quilt out to remove as many of the loose threads as possible, then wash the quilt and place it in the dryer. This will cause the clipped seam allowances to fringe even more.

Happy Quilting!

Penny Halgren

Penny Halgren is a quilter of more than 24 years who seeks to interest new quilters and provide them with the resources necessary to create beautiful quilts.