History often tells a black and white story of events, but as most people come to realize as they grow older, reality is not always as we remember.



The patent filed by Elias Howe in 1846 certified the first practical sewing machine.

The machine he patented was designed to achieve a locked stitch by passing thread on a curved needle through fabric and wrapping that thread around a shuttle carrying a second thread.

The new invention revolutionized the sewing world. Previously, ever stitch had been done my hand. Now the 250 stitch per minute machine could match five of the best hand sewers and win every time.

It was joked that Elias Howe was not actually the inventor of the sewing machine. Some said it was actually his wife. She got so upset with her husband that one day she made up her mind and in two hours invented the sewing machine. Elias, however, filed the patent taking credit for everything. (Russel Conwell, 1877).

It is one thing to invent. It is quite another to profitably market a new invention. While Howe did file his patent, he found himself almost immediately swamped with competitors and legal fights over his patent rights.

The race to market became furious. While Elias Howe was working, his competition was also working. Numerous enhancements were made and marketed by others including Isaac Singer and Allen Wilson.

Soon, significant advances were made to Howes original designs making the new sewing machine more efficient and user friendly. Isaac Singer introduced his foot driven model which employed the soon popular treadle device. Many contemporary devices used hand crank devices to power the sewing machine.

Prior to Elias Howe filing his patent, someone else had already produced a working model of a lockstitch machine using two threads like Howes invention, but he never filed a patent. His name was Walter Hunt and the year was 1834 " twelve years earlier than Howe. Hunt had stopped working on his invention due to social pressures among garment workers fearful of losing their jobs to a machine. Still, Elias Howe later sued Hunt for patent infringement.

Howe filed suit to protect his patent rights. He engaged in one court battle and another. In 1854, he finally wins the court battles over his patent rights, but during the fight, his competitors had gained a huge advantage over him in marketing.

Elias Howe marketed his machine earning an estimated two million dollars by the end of the Civil War.

The best known name in the sewing world quickly became Singer. Even today, it is the best known brand of sewing machines. Isaac Singer produced many machine advancements and profitably marketed his machines for now over 150 years.

Communities were desperate to get their hands on this exciting new invention. Towns would join together to buy one machine for the whole town. Soon the sewing machine became a necessary appliance for every home. By the 1950s every home expected to have a sewing machine and a vacuum cleaner.