What Came First

In the twenty-first century we don’t give much thought to where we get our clothes or any other article put together by a sewing machine. One hundred and fifty years ago people gave a lot of thought to their clothes because everything was handmade and took a long time to create.

The concept of attaching two pieces of material together to make a garment or other useful item is not new. However, the early method took a very long time and was a tedious job. The quality of the finished products was rather crude but functional.

Needle & Thread by Wendi D.

People have been sewing for thousands of years and it has all been done by hand. The first needles could have been made from bone or ivory sharpened to a point to push some kind of thread through a hole in the desired material. As time progressed and we move in to the Iron Age needles were made from iron. Iron was a stronger material for the needle but the methods were still the same (by hand).

During the mid-eighteenth century, people starting thinking about how to improve the system and methods in sewing. During the eighteenth century and early in to the nineteenth century all kinds of machines were being created to make life easier, why not a machine to mass produce clothes and other things. A machine to make sewing quicker, neater, and easier was the main goal for many inventors both European and American alike.