antique sewing machine

Before sewing machines were invented women spent much of their time maintaining their family's clothing. Middle-class housewives, even with the aid of a hired seamstress, would devote several days of each month to this task. It took an experienced seamstress at least 14 hours to make a dress shirt for a man; a woman's dress took 10 hours; and a pair of summer pants took nearly three hours. Most individuals would have only two sets of clothing: a work outfit and a Sunday outfit.In 1790, the English inventor Thomas Saint invented the first sewing machine design. His machine was meant to be used on leather and canvas material. The first practical and widely used sewing machine was invented by Barthélemy Thimonnier, a French tailor, in 1829. The first American lockstitch sewing machine was invented by Walter Hunt in 1832. His machine used an eye-pointed needle (with the eye and the point on the same end) carrying the upper thread and a falling shuttle carrying the lower thread.
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