. Bulletin - United States National Museum. Science. This raised the question whether Saint had built even one machine. Nevertheless, the germ of an idea was there, and had the inventor followed through the sewing machine might have been classed an 18th- century rather than a 19th-century contribution. 1800-1820 There is no doubt that the successful late-18th- century improvements in spinning and weaving meth- ods, resulting in increased production of fabrics, had a great effect in spurring inventors to ideas of stitching by machinery. Several efforts were made during the first two decades of
. Bulletin - United States National Museum. Science. This raised the question whether Saint had built even one machine. Nevertheless, the germ of an idea was there, and had the inventor followed through the sewing machine might have been classed an 18th- century rather than a 19th-century contribution. 1800-1820 There is no doubt that the successful late-18th- century improvements in spinning and weaving meth- ods, resulting in increased production of fabrics, had a great effect in spurring inventors to ideas of stitching by machinery. Several efforts were made during the first two decades of the 19th century to produce such machines. On February 14, 1804, a French patent was issued to Thomas Stone and James Henderson for a "new me- chanical principle designed to replace handwork in joining the edges of all kinds of flexible material, and particularly applicable to the manufacture of cloth- ; " The machine used a common needle and made an overcast stitch in the same manner as hand sewing. A pair of jaws or pincers, imitating the action of the fingers, alternately seized and released the needle on each side of the fabric. The pincers were attached to a pair of arms arranged to be moved backward and forward by "any suitable ; 8 This machine was capable of making curved or angular as well as straight seams, but it was limited to carrying a short length of thread, necessitating frequent rethreading. The machine may have had some limited use, but it was not commercially successful. On May 30 of the same year John Duncan, a Glas- gow manufacturer, was granted British patent 2,769 for "a new and improved method of tambouring, or raising flowers, figures or other ornaments upon mus- lins, lawns and other cottons, cloths, or ; This machine made the chainstitch, using not one but many hooked needles that operated simultaneously. The needles, attached to a bar or carrier, were pushed through the vertically held fabric fro
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