Tuesday, 11 August 2015

The History of the Sewing Machine

Just a quick post for you today! Terry's Fabrics sent over this infographic about the history of the sewing machine and I found it really interesting so I thought some of you might too! Even more amazing than the fact that the first sewing machine was around over 250 years ago, is the fact that up until then the clothes of every single person were made entirely by hand. No wonder people wore the same clothes day in, day out! I sometimes work at Shakespeare's Globe Theatre in London and the costume department there has an 'original practice' store of costumes. All the costumes in there have been made as they would have been in Elizabethan times...entirely by hand! There are some absolutely spectacular pieces in there; doublets and hose, farthingales and gowns. All made with such beautiful tiny stitches. I can't even imagine how long each item must take and the skill involved.

Anyway, I've got a little side tracked! Enjoy!


History of Sewing Machine by Terrys Fabrics
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8 comments:

  1. Katie M12 August 2015 at 00:25

    Thanks for sharing this. It was an interesting read. The Sewing Machine Wars … who knew??

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  2. Linda L13 August 2015 at 11:44

    I enjoyed reading this history. Glad you posted this.

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  3. Unknown13 August 2015 at 21:34

    So interesting, especially the part about Thimonnier's factory being burned down by tailors. The fear of being replaced by technology is nothing new!

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  4. Unknown14 August 2015 at 07:49

    That's really cool! Thanks for sharing. So similar to the technology and robotics industries today with all of their litigation.

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  5. Jen14 August 2015 at 13:56

    This is so interesting! Thank you for sharing. The Sewing Machine War sounds so dramatic!

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  6. Elizabeth J. Neal15 August 2015 at 06:52

    All the costumes in there have been made as they would have been in Elizabethan times...entirely by hand! There are some absolutely spectacular pieces in there; doublets and hose, farthingales and gowns. All made with such beautiful tiny stitches. read more

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  7. Caroline28 August 2015 at 00:11

    Very interesting, thanks for posting. My 3 x gt grandfather Thomas Sugden was an original partner of George Bradbury - according to family stories, he/Bradbury's didn't have the money to sufficiently develop all their ideas for sewing machines, but that Isaac Singer did and became incredibly successful with it. Reading the history, I wonder if Bradbury's fell victim to Singer's patent infringement tactics as well.

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