sewing machine: Quick Facts

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The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Photos

Diagram of a sewing machine with labeled parts including the needle, presser foot, wheels and dials, and bobbin, along with explanations of each component's function and a lockstitch illustration.

Barthélemy Thimonnier

Illustration of Elias Howe's first lock-stitch sewing machine with a large hand wheel, shown on a wooden base, from a 1915 Wills's Cigarettes card labeled Howe's Sewing Machine.

Vintage Singer treadle sewing machine with ornate black metal base, wooden tabletop, and side drawers.

Close-up of a contemporary sewing machine showing the needle, presser foot, feed dog, and metal plate on the machine bed.

Singer Company: sewing machine

Woman using a sewing machine.

Singer sewing machine

Singer's first sewing machine

Black and white illustration of Elias Howe's early lockstitch sewing machine, showing a large hand wheel, mechanical parts, and a piece of fabric under the needle.

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Topics

Dress textile cloth sewing machine home appliance drilling machinery Spinning jenny typesetting machine sawing machine calender Farm machinery knitting machine Fourdrinier machine spinning mule carding machine

Key People

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Barthélemy Thimonnier

French inventor

Industrial designer Charles Harrison

Charles Harrison

American industrial designer

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Isaac Singer

American inventor

Elias Howe

Elias Howe

American inventor

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James Starley

British inventor

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Lyman Reed Blake

American inventor

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Amos Whitney

American manufacturer

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Frederick Webster Howe

American inventor and manufacturer

Alberto Santos-Dumont. Postcard of Brazilian aviator Alberto Santos-Dumont's (1873-1932) airship or dirigible and Eiffel Tower. The Santos Dumont Air-Ship rounding the Eiffel Tower; on Octoboer 19th 1901. airplane

A History of Everyday Technology in 68 Quiz Questions