13 June is National Sewing Machine Day, a day that honours the invention of the sewing machine, which eliminated having to sew things together by hand – stitch by stitch.
Thomas Saint, a skilled cabinet-maker and English inventor, received the first patent for the design of a sewing machine in 1790. This sewing machine was intended for leather and canvas, but it was never advertised and no other evidence, save for his drawings, could be found for many years. In 1874, William Newton Wilson found Saint’s drawings in the London Patent Office, made some adjustments and built a working model. Wilson’s model is currently owned by the London Science Museum.
The first American lockstitch sewing machine was invented in 1832 by Walter Hunt, while John Greenough patented the USA’s first sewing machine in 1842.
The industrial use of the sewing machine reduced the burden that was placed upon housewives by moving clothing production from them and seamstresses to large scale factories. This move also resulted in a decrease in production time, causing the price of clothing to drop considerably.
Today, many people are once again becoming interested in the art of sewing and making their own clothes. Craft fairs and flea markets are filled with booths full of beautiful sewing machine-made clothes and craft items.
To celebrate today, use #NationalSewingMachineDay to post on social media.
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