The creator of the first working sewing machine was Barthelemy Thimmonier of France, in 1830. It was a fairly clumsy device, mainly made out of wood. In the 1940's, the machine's initial use was for making army clothing. Unfortunately, his workshop was destroyed by a mob. Being a determined man he improved his device in 1848, and applied for patents in England and America. He never got round to marketing his product though, and sadly in 1857 he died in poverty.
Perhaps one of the most famous contributors to the development and production of the sewing machine was Isaac Merritt Singer. After only a short period of time, there was barely any middle-classed household which did not contain a Singer sewing machine.
This newfangled piece of equipment brought about major changes in the fashions of the late 1860's and early 1870's. Clothing became much more complicated, and certainly more glamourous. Since those times, machine design has advanced with the introduction of electric motors.
The sewing machine works with an electric motor driving a belt which turns a shaft, this in turn links to a drive needle bar which pushes the needle up and down.
