Sewing Machines   1790 - 1840

Imagine a world where all your clothes had to be sewn by hand! That's how things were until the 1800s, when a number of inventors began building mechanical sewing machines. Until that time, sewing was a difficult, time-consuming job -- and hard on the hands. Plans for sewing machines were patentend by many inventors, including Thomas Saint in England in 1790, Thomas Stone and James Henderson in France in 1804, and Barthelemy Thimonnier in 1830, also in France -- who produced the first practical, commercial sewing machine -- made almost entirely out of wood. But during the French Revolution, Thimonnier's shop was attacked by a group of tailors who thought the machine would put them out of business, and they destroyed everything. A number of American inventors furthered the design during the 1800s, but perhaps the best known is Massachusetts farmer Elias Howe, who built a machine in 1844. Despite his patents, Howe's design was produced by a number of other manufacturers, including Issac Singer (who formed the Singer Sewing Machines, which is still in operation). Both Howe and Singer became multi-millionaires, and the world got... more clothes! Thanks to Christina A., 11, Sandy, and Ben for suggesting this invention!