First it was necessary to devise the right type of a needle. And this did not happen until 1755, when an Englishman Charles Wisenthal devised a needle with pikes on both ends and with an eye in the middle. Later, in 1790 Thomas Sain made the first sewing-machine, which was intended for sewing shoes. It was very like a modern sewing-machine, but it didn’t use Weisenthal´s needle and very soon it was forgotten. Barthelemy Thimonnier tailor from Amplepuis, not far from French Saint-Etienne, constructed a sewing-machine in 1830. This was made mostly from wood and was using Weisenthal's needle. He celebrated a too big success. His colleagues, all of whom where sewing in hand, were afraid of the fact, that the sewing-machine might take them their jobs away. So that they mobbed and took his work-room by storm. Thimonnier successfully escaped and saved at least on of his machines. In 1845 one manufacturer asked him to make the latest model, but not from wood, from metal. Thimonnier made more of them and the army uniforms were sewn with them. But all over the country the news was spread about the danger which these machines represented. And so a crowd mobbed again. This time it was bigger and it demaged the tailors' work-room totally. The manufacture was interrupted and never renewed again. Thimonnier died in beggary in 1857. However the sewing-machines started to be manufactured by many others – e.g. Elias Howe, the deviser of the quilting sewing-machine with the tied stitch. He was an American, who came to London to sell here his invention to the corsets´ manufacturer, who he later worked for. However the first sewing-machines for the domestic use was invented by Isaac Merritt Singer from Boston and he stole the show with it. Singer equipped his machine with a needle, that had an eye, with a feed flat for the shift of the fabric (already Howe used it), with the vertical needle-going and the pendent shoulder – everything that Thomas Saint has already used in his original design (except the new type of the needle). Singer's sewing-machine was first sold in 1851.

A classic “Singer” from 60's of the last century.
(from page http://www.sew-n-time.com/singer.htm)

Since that time the sewing machine has constantly been improved and many new manufacturers appeared. Except of the classical stitching of fabrics, the nowadays sewing-machine is used also for sewing the edges, sewing around the holes, sewing on the buttons, embroideries… Sewing machines are even used for the manufacture of the leather goods and for bookbinding.

But how does the sewing-machine sew? The needle with a thread, that’s interlaced through the eye in the tip of the needle, makes the hitch. A shuttle, that runs under the work-flat, runs through the hitch and so it makes a stitch. This is the most common adjustment, so called one-needle machine with a shuttle and a double stitch (stitch made from two threads). In this case one thread (top) is brought with the eye of the needle and the second (lower) comes from the cop in the shuttle.

The classical sewing machines were usually propelled with the legs´ movement (footing). The first electric sewing machine was made by Singer Manufacturing Company in 1889 already. The electric machines simplified and quicked the work a lot. Nowadays fast-running mashing can make over 2.000 stitches in a minute. Also electronic reached this area. Machines are equipped with a display, where the function are pictured. They can do many operations, which the original machines didn’t know. They are even equipped with programmes. The most simple ones have 10, those for more demanding work have got about 150 programmes. For simplifying the creation of the embroidering-models you can even use a scanner, just like when you scan a text.

Nowadays Japanese sewing and embroidering machine model Memory Craft 9000
(from page http://www.aska.cz/domaci.htm)