Grace Scott, age 13, of Rockford, I11., for her question:
WHO INVENTED THE SEWING MACHINE?
An Englishman named Thomas Saint patented the first sewing machine in 1790. It was made of wood and made a single thread chain stitch which sewed two pieces of leather together.
Saint's sewing machine fed the thread automatically to a needle which had a notch instead of an eye. An awl made holes for the needle to pass through the leather. It was soon discovered, however, that this machine was not practical.
Then in 1830, a Frenchman named Bartelemy Thimonnier patented a sewing machine for making soldiers' uniforms. His machine used a hooked needle that made a stitch by passing backward and forward through the cloth.
The French government had as many as 80 of these machines in use at one time. Thimonnier was almost killed when a mob of angry workmen wrecked his machines because they put many men out of work.
Later in the 1830s an American named Walter Hunt invented a type of sewing machine but never patented it.
Inventor of the sewing machine as we know it today was an American named Elias Howe. He came up with a practical machine in 1846 that won wide acceptance.
Howe's machine had a needle with an eye near the point. A shuttle carried the thread below the cloth on a small bobbin. The needle, carrying an upper thread, was fastened to an arm that vibrated on a pivot. Movement of the arm forced the needle through the cloth.
The shuttle on Howe's sewing machine carried the under thread through the loop of the upper thread, thus making a lock stitch. Nearly all sewing machines used in the home today are of this double thread, lock stitch type.
The lock stitch is much like weaving in formation. It is less likely to ravel than the chain stitch, which is somewhat like the stitch used in crocheting.
Two of the important inventors who came after Howe included A.B. Wilson and Isaac Singer. Wilson introduced the four motion automatic feed used on nearly all present day machines which was patented in 1984. In 1851, Singer had patented the foot operated treadle and the presser foot with a yielding spring, which holds the fabric down on the feed plate.
Today there are special types of sewing machines to do a wide variety of jobs. There are machines for sewing boots and shoes, books, umbrellas and brooms. There is even a sewing machine for joining carpets together.
The Singer Sewing Machine Company was the first organization to put an electric motor on a sewing machine. This was done in 1889.
Today a popular machine is the slant needle sewing machine which resembles the straight needle type, but has its needle slanted toward the user so the operator can see the work more easily.
The swing needle sewing machine is also popular and especially suited for use by those who do much decorative or hobby sewing. It does zigzag stitches as well as other fancy decorative stitches without special attachments.