The Forgotten History of Sewing Machines
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 20 พ.ค. 2024
- While sewing needles have been around for tens of thousands of years, a machine to mechanically reproduce their work is relatively new. The History Guy recalls the forgotten history of an invention that transformed economies, industries, and culture.
This is original content based on research by The History Guy. Images in the Public Domain are carefully selected and provide illustration. As very few images of the actual event are available in the Public Domain, images of similar objects and events are used for illustration.
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Script by CDH
#history #thehistoryguy #sewing
I had a repair business called “The Sewing Machine Man” and my slogan was: “$25 Reward For Any Sewing Machine I Cannot Repair.” I repaired thousands of machines in the Northern California area and never had to pay the reward. Most of the machines were 30 years or older and I really liked those the most but I repaired any kind of machine that was ever made ‘till I closed the business. I did free house calls so most of my repairs were for older machines owned by seniors. Now I’m a senior and I never learned to sew😊
My mom passed along her New Home to me years ago when she took up quilting and bought a computerized new one. It’s about 50 years old, all metal, and I make most of my clothes with it. I used to take it to a place that repaired them and sold new & used machines. The salespeople always tried to get me to trade it in, but the repair guys just smiled and said this one will last me a lifetime. Now I take it to a second-generation family-owned shop where the guys love working on old machines. I took it to a sewing class recently, and the instructor commented on its wonderful hum as it works.
I’m sitting at it right now, getting ready to sew silk with it. I got to sew on a Bernina once, but I can’t imagine giving up this one, even though it weighs a ton when I have to carry it anywhere.
pvanpelt1 One of the things I did that other shops didn’t do was to make any machine not skip on stretch fabrics like Lycra. I was able to modify the timing and some other secret things to the older machines.
I sure wish there were more people like yourself still in the business of fixing sewing machines and other small appliances.
Living in Northern California and sewing for well over half a century, I REALLY wish I'd known you! I had a Viking with tension issues... It wasn't much different from the tension issues my mother's Industrial Viking fro the 1950s had, but in the end I owned at least two operating machines, a "good" one and a cheapie on sale in a box under the table. It got so I' was using the cheapie and just replacing the box under the table with a new one because it cost more to fix the things than it did to replace them.
Hated that. The Viking and a vintage Kenmore (mid 50s with all the accessories) are still in storage. Neither of them work. My last cheapie is on the table and might actually survive me, given that I use it to mend things and make masks but only under duress.
I’ve got one here in Bangladesh for which I might have been able to cash in on that reward. I have taken it to repair people here who have had no success with it and tell me it has a broken part that cannot be repaired or replaced. I have a new one that has weird bobbin tension issues intermittently within the same seam.
I have personally seen my neighbors lifted out of poverty by buying those singer's sewing machines years ago.those ingenious machines inspired me to become a mechanical engineer
: )
I saw plenty of those pedal powered machines in Indonesia. Made out of heavy steel parts. They last forever
I have 2 treadle sewing machines & love them
What would they make with the machines that lifted them out of poverty?
@@MatterhornbigthunderpiratesHe is a tailor,obviously he used sewing machine to stitch clothes for his customers.
It’s obvious this invention has affected the very fabric of society.
This pun has me in stitches
sew what.
you've started a very fine thread
Oh very nice! That was sew funny!
You and I are cut from the same cloth my friend.
I bought one a few years ago, made mom teach me to use it. I work as an industrial welder.
The occupation is extremely hard on clothing. Machine saves me some money, I keep it
Inside the garage, to me it's an important maintenance tool.
whenever we had get a piece of equipment that ran well Dad would proudly proclaim "runs like a Singer Sewing Machine"
@@captainamericaamerica8090 cannot confirm or deny any statements regarding sewing machines based upon first hand knowledge so I shall accept your analysis for now
@@johntabler349 My better half has a 30+ year old Singer as her regular use machine, plus a 1930's electric and a 1919 hand cranked one. The old ones get used when she's feeling historical, they just keep on working. She'd have more if I didn't keep moaning about space :-)
I own a 120 year old singer, and can confirm. She still ( after cleaning, and regular oiling) runs smoothly, and is so quite and relaxing to work with.
I'm reminded of a scene from the 1971 movie "Fiddler on the Roof" where Tevye's son-in-law, a tailor, proudly demonstrates the perfectly even stitches produced by his newly acquired sewing machine.
I just Love Every Part of that movie!!! That movie takes me back when I was a young man. When we all went to see it I sung that song every time my mom sat at her sewing machine sewing gloves for the glove factory. If I was a rich man la da da da da da da da la da da da da da da.
As a quilter, I appreciated this video. As a lover of history, will share this....Elias Howe was having issues with his first machine design. The original needle he wanted to use was like that we use for hand sewing, cross stitch, embroidery, etc. today - the needle had a sharp point on one end, eye on the other. As hard as he tried, he could not make the machine work. Frustrated and pursued by his creditors, he went to bed and had a nightmare, where cannibals were chasing him with spears that had an eye at the pointed end. Howe awoke, realized the eye at the pointed in was what he was looking for, and went on to make the first truly useful machine. So, all the quilts I have ever made....trace back to a nightmare.
You remember that from back when you was living on the prairie Nellie?
@@davidelkins3229 now... that was funny.
Nellie, my wife is also a quilter. So I want to ask you a question, one I have been having a problem with for years. Is it customary to have fabric in one form or another scattered though every room of the house? Asking for a friend.
I've heard that story too, and it sounds quite feasible to me.
David Elkins You have no idea how I hated that show, LOL..it came on when I was in second grade. I was named for my great granny, and Nellie is a rough name to give a little kid.. everybody was a Kim or a Jennifer, and there I was with this ugly name....
Really interesting history and such a changemaker culturally.
Here's what COVID-19 did. My wife was laid off at the sewing machine dealer on a Saturday in March and called back to work on Monday. The COVID-19 shutdown had their phone ringing off the hook, voicemail entirely full, hundreds of emails!
Every message wanted a sewing machine or to "fix my mother's Singer from 1962." The dealer sold out of under $1,000 machines that week, then sold out of machines costing as much as $20,000 in later weeks. Now in July every machine under $3,000 is reserved for sale before it is shipped to the store. And their repair business is working overtime.
Buyers made masks, COVID-themed quilts, clothes, and more with their new hobby. The stay at home was a boon to the sewing industry in many ways.
The dealer never stopped sales or repair, just moved pickup & dropoff to the curb outside and wiped down every machine before bringing it in the door. Inside they separated all the workspaces and wear masks if they move from their workspace.
No COVID-19 problems except for the bosses daughter bringing it home from college, which caused the boss to work from home.
memathews Just read your comments. My wife owns a sewing machine she inherited from her mom. My wife made clothes on it for herself in high school. Since she graduated in 1971, it has to be a 1960s machine. Fortunately we took the machine in for repair this passed fall. Hums like a sewing machine now. Glad we got it fixed before the big rush.
@@clydeparker7423 That's great news. She is fortunate her machine was still in good shape. I'm class of '71, too👍
Same here, only we have our repairs in a 3 day quarantine before working on them.
Likewise, vacuum repairs up, and desperately want another repair tech, but there is a shortage on unemployed people who have mechanical experience---somehow we need the return of erector sets! So more people understand mechanical interactions.
@@friendlyone2706 You're so right, there's a huge shortage of mechanical repair people. One of the repair folks at the shop is an airline pilot who likes to tinker on his days off and he does an incredible job. Some of the repair guys, some in their 70s, are training their grandkids, too,. Nationwide there is already a shortage of manufacturing technicians that will exceed 2.4 Million people by 2028 (from a Deloitte study).
@@memathews Sounds like Mike Rowe needs to get the word out even more---although I'm not sure what more he can do.
Sewing machines are miracles of mechanical engineering. Thanks for remembering them!
And sergers are the bane of tailors. I’ve never found a device that is so cranky of maintenance.
LETS BET ....
SEWING MACHINES HAVE DONE MORE GOOD FOR HUED MAN...
THAN CALENDARS & CLOCKS HAVE DONE.
I'll bet with TURDEAUS RAINBOW SOCKS.
@@Cydonia2020 ARE YOU MARRIED ?
NO CHILDREN ?
Kenneth Kustren Divorced. No kids.
The importance of the "walking foot" to the modern sewing machine can not be over stated.
It's history... That deserves to be remembered.
@@nathanjasper512 :-)
It’s too bad THG couldn’t find any connections of sewing machines to pirates. “Every good story includes pirates!”
This was a great THG episode!
Paolo G I’ve never heard of a walking foot machine. I have a walking foot attachment for my machines. Will you tell me more about them?
@@deanfordcreative How many patent pirates did Singer have to sue?
I recently inherited my great-grandmother's treadle sewing machine. It's over 100 years old now, but still works. She purchased it as a young adult in the 1920s. She sewed all my baby quilts on it. I love it, but not as much as I love her.
Some of my fondest childhood memories are of Mom sitting at her Singer sewing machine. She would sit there for hours. It was her favorite hobby. She made everything from doll clothes to dresses. She even made our livingroom curtains. Much of what she wore she had made herself.
Sounds like my mom! She made a lot of my clothes, and now I make most of mine, along with curtains and such. I used to fall asleep to the hum of the machine in the next room at night.
I have mom mothers 1948 Singer. I see on it today and it brings fond memories of all the things she made. She was a home Ec teacher and sewed all the time. Wish she was here so she could guide me as I rehone my sewing skills.
My first wife was British. She was happy also to be a preacher's daughter. So she could bring together decorum, moderate fashion, and sensible style.
When she came to the US from Rhodesia she brought a simple, black sewing machine that loooked for all the world like my mother's and grandmother's old Singers. But it had no name on it. Daisy was a good seamstress.
She also had a treadle machine. On this she made a lovely dress to wear to her youngest brother's wedding. I was very impressed. Then the airlines lost our luggage. So Daisy didn't get to wear that dress to that wedding.
One time I saved up a lot of money, then one day I took her to her favorite fabric store. And I told her to get whatever machine she wanted.
Daisy got a White. I was surprised. But she knew what she was doing. She loved using that machine for the rest of her life.
After many years as a widower I married Gloria. She too is a good seamstress. Almost a year before Covid 19 she got a good used machine from a lady of means who was upgrading, and so selling her old machine. Again I was surprised. This one is a Husqvarna. I have owned several Husqvarnas. But they are all chain saws. (Recently a gent showed me his Husqvarna. It is a nice deer rifle!) Some of these companies are more diverse than we know!!
Anyway you are right. I love the sound of a sewing machine in the home.
Thanks for another great video.
Singer made firearms too - the Singer M1911 pistols are the most collectible around and noted for their extremely tight tolerances. Remington made both sewing machines and typewriters.
My mother bought a Husquvarna machine in the 50’s, she made good use of it for decades. I inherited her machine recently, sadly it wasn’t the Husky.
It is kind of strange that Husqvarna Viking is a brand of sewing machine and not a brand of firearm.
help8help My mom’s first Machine was a 1979 Viking that I pretty much took from her when she replaced it with a 1999 Viking 1!
Paolo G they are making one again but I’ve heard that it’s just under license and possibly same with the sewing machines.
I would never have guessed that there were iron sewing needles so early. It does make sense as the needles would hold their points longer. My great grandmother had a treadle powered Singer and and her daughter, my grandmother had an almost identical machine except it had an electric motor. My 95 yo mother still sews her own costumes for dance competitions. That's right. Still dancing competitively and winning her age group nearly every time. I have long been fascinated by sewing machines, especially the heavy-duty ones for leather, canvas and the like.
Thank you, History Guy!
dbmail545 wow, how many in her age group, 1 or 2?
Yea seriously, iron artifacts don't tend to last all that long, they just rust away....especially a damn needle
Go, granny, go!
Perhaps Bernadette Banner is an interesting channel for you to follow, if you like sewing and costumes?
plus, iron is dirt cheap. once you can process it, you replace copper and especially bronze wherever you can.
A Singer sewing machine provided the background music for my early childhood, something I haven’t thought about since the death of my mother when I was nine, until today. Thanks for today’s fascinating video, and the memories of my mother it stirred from their long forgotten resting places.
The whirring sound of that treadle running down a seam is one that is lost today but is deeply imbedded in my memory. I can still recall it and the machine's setting in grandma's dimly lit sewing room with shades drawn against the summer sun. The solitary light is over her work and she bends over it for seemingly long hours.
As a sewist who loves history, I really enjoyed this. Thank you THS!
I guess you could say that the success of the first five machine patents was only “sew-sew”?
A really good or bad pun, depending how you look at them, will elicit a groan--------GROAN.
Keep making us groan!!
@@stevengrotte2987 A groan in time , etc. ... Stay free, S R 😎
I use a sewing machine every day, and still think of it as magical.
Wait, every day Jeff ? You are either a professional or a weirdo.
@@richardholmes2268
Both.
@@jeffhohreiter9177 a professional weirdo ? cool.
Me too, Jeff. I started when I was 4 years old sitting at my mother’s feet and using the scraps to make doll clothes. My modern machine “bought the farm” during quarantine so its by the door to go for repair and “old faithful” is back in its proper place......my grandmother’s Singer featherweight. It’s still the best machine by far with the best tension and stitches. I even have the original card table made for it that was used in the Speak Easy during prohibition. I also have my great-grandmother’s Singer Red Eye treble machine that she bought in 1916 and it still sews brilliantly. Recently a friend gifted me a Singer featherweight that was from England. My old sewing machine repair guy and shop owner tried for years and years to get me to sell him my featherweight. He tried tempting me with a straight up trade for some fancy computerised machine. NO sale. You can’t replace history and quality with plastic and computer chips.
I've been sewing for - oh my - over 50 years! This is my favorite episode so far. 👍 Thank you THG. The puns and colloquialisms in the comments is a bonus.
Used to watch my Mom sew stuff back in the 50's. The closeness of her fingers to the needle and the speed at which she moved scared the heck out of me. Still got the machine, don't know if it works, wish I had learned how to use it.
@@oldgrunt5806 I understand what you mean. It's really pretty difficult to sew a finger because of the spacing of the working parts. 🙂 In all those years and 3 jobs as different types of seamstresses, I only caught the edge of my finger once and, yes, I was careless.😏
I decided that I needed to make masks in March. For about 20 years I have had a flip-top sewing machine that I used only as a table. It was about 60 years old but I was able to get it working and taught myself to sew in about 3 hours. The engineering that goes into a sewing machine is amazing and hasn't changed much at all in 100 years. I always assumed a little bit of magic was involved in the process and now that I know Howe it works, I still believe that.
Really glad that I discovered your channel during the original stay-at-home directive. I still haven't watched all the back episodes, but I'm working on it!
had one like that as computer desk
I love this, as someone who enjoys Sewing and history, this was a perfect way to start my day.
In that case, you will probably like the sewing machine episode of ' The Secret Life of Machines". It's on youtube.
ThePenultimateNinja Yes, I’ve watched that Video many, many times 🤗, I also belong to many Vintage sewing sites. Alex Askaroff (on TH-cam) has an amazing collection of Sewing Machines 😍 along with Vintage Sewing Machine Garage (TH-cam) and countless others.
Me too, those are two of my favorite things!
As someone who’s loved sewing her entire life, this is an amazing video! Thank you!
I learned to sew on a 1920 Singer treadle machine that had been fitted with an electric motor back in the 1940s. My mother said I'd need the skill because tall girl were difficult to find back in my childhood.
I no longer have that machine. But it didn't break; when my daughter got married, I sent it to live with her. Like me, my mother, and her mother before her, my daughter gives it plenty of use.
@misssophisicated six feet even here. Mom was 5'11", and my baby sister is 6'1". We'd have bankrupted the family trying to buy tall girl clothes.
Everyone in my village knows the story of how the three amigos used sewing machines to help defeat el guapo.
Sewing machines also helped the Mystery Men defeat Casanova Frankenstein.
@Rodger Hodgson In my village we learned to sew, sew like the wind.
There was nor is no more comfortable feeling than to hear mom’s working away at some project or other on her sewing machine. Thank you History Guy Team
It was one of those “all’s right with the world” sounds, wasn’t it?
Yes, Especially as it carries on to the next generation. My daughters’ hum and singer along.
I fully agree my mom uses an old foot powered one she always had.
My dad worked for Singer for 41 years from before ww2 to the early 1970s.
Singer (and his wife) are buried in my home town. His funeral was very expensive for the time (80 horse drawn carriages) and his mausoleum is quite lavish. His mansion is in the next town and the interior is incredible.
en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oldway_Mansion
I still remember my Grandmother at her pedal powered Singer . You never forget that sound 🙏👍👍🇺🇸
My mom uses one and I love when she uses it.
When I was a kid, I'd sit for hours next to my grandmother while she sewed an incredible variety if things on her 1949 Kenmore. When she died in 1997, I saved almost everything she owned. My aunt asked, "Why do you want the sewing machine? You don't know how to sew!" "Because it was important to her, & she's important to me."
I've been thinking that this year, I'd get it repaired, & bring it out of retirement. It's hard to find dresses I like in Size 14. Pesky lanky six-foot frame.
@@emilyadams3228 that's the spirit , go for it 👍👍🇺🇸
It was the sound I loved the most about it. It was a gentle, beautiful sound.🐝🤗❤️
Love this channel. A genuinely nice guy who genuinely wants to educate people.
Thank you.
LEARN ALL YOU CAN!
When I was a kid, my mother made a lot of our clothes. That was about 50 years ago. Now, sewing is only a hobby. Materials and patterns are so expensive, and clothes are so cheap, it is a lot more expensive to make your own than to buy.
Ain't that the truth
But you get what you pay for! Now people throw those clothes away...
But so satisfying to make your own
It has become hard to find decent fabric. I’m a senior citizen and when I moved to my town of residence in 1970 there were about 6 or 7 places in town to buy fabric but now only two, Walmart and Hobby Lobby and you only rarely find fabric for clothing they carry mostly craft or quilting fabric. Don’t even get me started on the absurd cost of patterns today. Thankfully I am able to make a lot of my own patterns.
Thats how it is with a lot of hobbies and crafts. I always think, oh psh i can make that myself! Then end up spending double 🤦but, its good to be creative and it feels good to create something entirely yourself!
Thank you for this episode on the history of an ubiquitous invention. Please bring more. Modern society often fails to appreciate just how difficult surviving was just a couple centuries ago.
I'm always fascinated by the people who invent items. Many of these things we don't even think about who made them and what they went thru.
Part of my childhood was watching my mother and grandmothers sew on their machines. One was peddle powered, the others from the 70's.
My mother's first sewing machine was a treadle machine, but my dad never quibbled when she bought an electric when I was 9. Heck; she'd made all his shirts, and he got them faster, so why worry? I had my first lessons on my grandma's treadle machine when we visited her on long weekends (long story there I won't go into unless asked), so really enjoyed the convenience of the electric when mom let me use it.
My great grandmother's treadle powered Singer was in her daughter's home. Eventually the needle was removed for safety as we kids could not resist playing with it.
@@adriennegormley9358 Similar reaction on the farm in the 1950's. Mom updated from treadle to electric Singer with no concerns voiced by Dad. Money was tight and convinces few, but the advanced technology was seen as worth it. Not all our clothing was made on the farm, but the patching and repairing was. Mom and "transformed" a pair of my jeans to bell bottoms in the sixties. Split the leg seam from the knee down and added fabric to flair it out and make the leg longer. Looked very good over my Dingo boots. All the "well to do" kids couldn't figure out how the farm boy had fancier bell bottoms than they had. Money really isn't everything!
@@ronfullerton3162 Indeed. I loved sewing and made my iwn clothes for years. I eventually found a great book on making my own patterns and design and after that stopped buying the commercial ones as they never took into account the infinite variations in human physiognomy as well ss the few things that don't change even when a person gains or loses weight. As in, if a person gained weight and had to wear a size larger, per the commercial patterns their shoulder blades also move farther apart--ignoring the fact that this us based on the skeleton, which doesn't shrink or grow with weight change.
@@adriennegormley9358 Would you please share the name of that book? Please.
History without bias or agenda is like the cool summer breeze blowing through my window.
Not to worry, today's bolshevik outrage mobs are bound to find all of history 'racist' soon enough..
@@commiessuckballs2287 The cult always MUST make an appearance
Pretty sure that back when everyone was scared about Communism, mentioning how The Shirtwaist Triangle Fire demonstrated the need for labor laws and building safety codes would have been decried as Bolshevik propaganda.
How comes this with 36 votes gets above others with over a 100?
I think it's the difference between a historian presenting an video article, versus content-mill channels churning out lazy articles. Historians are taught to refrain from judgement when describing prior events. If only journalists could do the same for new events.
Sewing, knitting, crocheting, all making a comeback!
The History Guy deserves to be remembered!
I have been fascinated by antique sewing machines for many years and own a number of them. What many people today do not realize is that the antique machines, even pre-1900, can sew the most intricate designs and stitches perfectly. Some of the attachments are veritable engineering masterpieces. Thank you for your presentation of the history of the sewing machine which is fascinating and also sometimes tragic. Many young persons today have no idea how to use a sewing machine, nor do they think about what their world would be like without this invention. I think it is one of the most important inventions ever.
Hey, Some of us quilters aren't old ladies!
Iam old man and a quilter
@@dancanavan2812 I'm only old according to my children. They're 4 and 6, lol
It's called quilt by association ♨😈♨
Agreed I am 68 and have been quilting for more than 30 years.
Not a quilter, but I learned to sew on a treadle singer model 27 out of simple utility. If I can make stuff by welding sheets of steel together, why can't I also fabricate (ha ha) things from sheets of cloth/leather/vinyl/filter material/etc? It's just another tool, and frankly, it's a really handy one. Like learning to soft solder aluminum and stainless steel, it covers one of those fabrication edge cases where a lot of people just resign to thinking "oh I can't do that, nevermind" or "oh, just use glue".
Awesome bit of history! Thank you for sharing. My mother and her two older sisters all worked in Lowell, MA as seamstresses while younger. I remember going with my aunt Yvette on a Saturday so she could get some work done as they were paid piece work. Thanks for the memories of a forgotten foundation of American labor.
Those skilled in repairing our sewing machines are Craft Heroes.
We depend on them to get us back on sewing.
And they usually do.
We take our hats off to them and thank all of them for their skills and help.
We have the best Sewing Machine and vacuum repair man in the state! He works six days a week between Soldotna and Anchorage. He is always swamped with work. He serviced my treadle when I bought it, and has serviced two of my Husqvarna's since the original dealer retired. They now have that dealership, in addition to Pfaff, Brother and now Juki. He grew up around singer treadles and owns at least 20 of them.
I would likely never choose to research the sewing machine on my own, but your ability as a storyteller compels me to watch anyway, and the result is that I find myself learning, enjoying, and sharing the information with others. Thank you, History Guy!
I love this video. I'm a guy that started my sewing hobby about three years ago. In March I started making face masks, and to date I've made and mailed out nearly two hundred to friends and family. Cheers from Vancouver, British Columbia.
A stitch in time saves nine.
The sound of a sewing machine is a sound I have never tired of and love dearly.
THG, I DID enjoy this video. My step-aunt, GOD rest her soul, worked in the garment industry in St. Louis. ALL of her clothes were made on her sewing machine ( 1942 White) which I am happy to say is in my possession. My step-mother, GOD rest her soul, a former employee of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, also made all of her own clothing. These women were wonderful folks and I am sure that you would have appreciated their company. Your video today brought back many fond memories of times long past. Peace, Love and Happiness to you and your family.
Absolutely fascinating. I collect and refurbish vintage sewing machines, and really enjoyed this 👌
I recently swapped some animal fencing for an antique Singer treadle sewing machine. It's missing the drive belt and a couple of wooden cabinet trim pieces but otherwise seems to be serviceable. I found an interesting fold out wooden box containing all manner of tools and accessories in one of the drawers. All so well machined and finished, wonderful engineering. I've no intention of sewing, I'm just an old man who appreciates fine old machines.
@@3ducs you can get a belt from Central Michigan Sewing Supplies. Great service and fast shipping.
@@ronalddevine9587 Thanks Ronald, I'll check them out. My sister just told me she has a Singer Featherweight that was made in the '30s, looks like these things run in the family. It would be good to get my machine back in running order, it deserves it.
@@3ducs one of Singer's most treasured and valuable machines. Check out the prices on eBay. The Featherweight is also known as model #221
@@ronalddevine9587 Looks like my machine is a K27, or K28. It has the Sphinx decal. With careful cleaning and fresh oil it may run again. I don't want to damage those decals!
Check out the beautiful scene in "Fiddler on the Roof" when Mottel the tailor gets a new sewing machine. All the women crowd around to see the marvelous contraption, and they all ooh and ah about how small and even the stitches are.
As someone who sews, I love that scene!
And the sewing machine is blessed by the Rabbi. :)
There is a blessing for everything :-)
@@idontwantachannel7542 "May the Lord bless and keep the Czar -- far away from us!"
@@rabbi120348 mazel tov, mazel tov, the tailor Matl Tomzoil🎵🎵 (sp!)
Brings back fond memories of my Mum at her machine.... Thanks THG.
I Love this programme. Being someone who has a "family" of antique sewing machines. My oldest one was born in 1887. And I love using the treadle machines as treadle machines. Thank you for creating this programme.
Thank you History Guy! Sewing machines have always fascinated me and I still struggle to understand how the needle interacts with the bobbin to create a stitch. I stand in amazement watching my wife sew things on her "magic" machine. I like farm equipment and have noticed that the square baler implement uses sewing machine technology to tie the bales of hay together. This is another example of a wonderful invention still in use today. I would enjoy you doing a history segment on the development of some farm machinery or heavy equipment. I enjoy your channel. It makes me appreciate the efforts people made to make our lives better today.
Putting up hay is an interesting topic in itself. People in the same area did it differently than others, and people in other parts of the country did it very much differently than others.
@@robertneal7004 Hi Robert! That would be a great topic. The history of hay production. The newest thing going is using hay as silage. Where I live they put hay up in a moist condition and store it in long plastic tubes. They want the hay to ferment and it makes it easier for cows to digest. Go figure, drunk cows.
As a side note to clothing and fashion, many sewing machines have mended packs and field gear for Servicemen to get back on patrol, with serviceable equipment.
I subscribed a long time ago and it is great to see a History channel nearing a million subscribers!
Great video! Yall take Care and be safe, John
My mother collected treadle driven sewing machines for the last forty years. She was very happy in her hobby, and would explain and inform anyone who was interested - covering many of the things mentioned in this video. When she recently died, she left us a tremendous collection of antique sewing machines which we've worked diligently to find new homes for. A few of the machines went with her handwritten notes on where they were acquired and any history of them that she knew. A quintessential point of change in history - the "simple" sewing machine deserves to be remembered. I cried through most of this episode. Thank you, THG.
Yesterday, I used my wife's Sears Kenmore sewing machine to fix a broken stitch. All was well until the bobbin ran out of thread. Had to view a TH-cam video on how to refill the bobbin, then I struggled to get it back together, all the while thinking of the ingenuity of the engineer who designed it.
Then THG enlightens and entertains me with the machine's marvelous history. The story made so much more relevant because of my struggle.
Thank you, THG! Perfect timing!
Love this one, I think the sewing machine is as important as the refrigerator in the home.
Short snippets of forgotten history made interesting!
I have been sewing for 64+ years. I learned on my Grandmother's Singer Treadle when I was 8 yrs old. I graduated to my Mother's New Home electric when I was ten and was making my own clothes. I got my own first sewing machine from my cousin when I was 17. It was a Kenmore. I made my own clothes, my husbands dress clothes, my boys clothes, sewed for my nieces, my Foster Sister's, Army friends, fellow officer's, etc. Today I have 9 machines, ranging from a Singer Treadle, Two Husqvarna/Vikings, 3 sergers, another singer, white and a Long Arm quilting machine. I gave my sister a Husqvarna/Viking from my collection last year. The Sewing machine, in all forms has been and is a VERY Important part of my Life. Thank you THG for this great vide on the sewing machine history in a Nutshell.
Another wonderful snapshot of history, HG. You are the best. Back in the 50's , my grandmother would visit and use our sewing machine, a Singer, to mend clothes. She always had me thread the needle, since she was in her 70's and I was a teenager with good eyes...😊
I love that you knock these videos out, so early.
Thanks for being a wonderful light that works to not change history, you work diligently to only share it.
Cheers to you and the misses.
My mum had an ancient Singer. I'm not sure what happened to it, though. Both her and my Dad worked in a shoe factory when I was young and the machines for sewing leather always fascinated me, the smell of the motors and 3-in-1 oil, and this hugely complex looking piece of machinery was so fast and smooth when running that I was entranced.
Remember when almost every store carried sewing machine oil. There was a can in every household. Now the only place that you can buy 10W lubricanting oil not to be confused with motor oil is at a industrial supply.
@@andyZ3500s True. I was going to warn against that 3-in-1 oil, it develops a residue over time that gunks up the machines. When I bought my first industrial sewing machine the salesperson spent a significant amount of time explaining why I had to always use oil specifically made just for sewing machines. I've looked inside other peoples' home sewing machines since then, who've used the 3-in-1 oil, and there's usually a sticky brownish gunk all over the oiled parts.
@@WWZenaDo You are correct. 3-in-1 oil is one of many products which has been marketed for applications far outside its original purpose and capabilities. IIRC, the product was developed in part to suit the maintenance of bicycles over a century ago. It needed to clean, lubricate, and protect against rust, hence the name. Toward the latter function, the oil contains an oxidizing vegetable oil (a citronella blend iirc) which would help to seal non-wearing parts of a bicycle's mechanisms against rain and corrosion. Forming an oil varnish is an intended function of the product.
So while 3-in-1 oil may be perfectly suited to the task of oiling a bicycle in 1900, it's a disastrous choice for fine mechanisms. That addition of a drying oil will glue tight-fitting mechanisms together tightly, and using it in motors with porous bronze sleeve bearings will result in the porous microstructure of the bearings being clogged permanently -- preventing them from drawing oil from their wicks. Considering the options that are available today, there are few modern applications for which 3-in-1 oil is both appropriate and a superlative choice.
@@WWZenaDo I was recently looking into different oils. The only thing that is available from a hardware store or auto parts store is 30W SAE non detergent lubricating oil or air compressor oil witch is basically the same thing. Then there 3 - 1 witch you can only get in 20W now and costs over four dollars for 3 ounces. I was going to order a gallon of high quality 10W spindle oil for around $20. I would be interested in hearing about the sewing machine oil that you have been using.
I agree those leather machines did something for me. My brother bought one just before his death. I would love to have had it but not sure what would have done with it. I just wanted it. I have memories of a shoe repair shop when young and he used this type. My brother had bought for saddle work.
As a professional seamstress for over 40 years, with a collection of sewing machines including an 1886 Eldridge "B", (with some impressive feet, including a hemmer), I love sewing history. I have 14 antique sewing machines, the Eldridge being the oldest. It still runs. And I have collections of all sorts of sewing paraphernalia, some dating back to the early 1900s.
Had a fellow Marine in my unit who kept one and knew how to use it: He made good dough on the side altering uniforms for us as needed, and we found a reliable and punctual place to have it done while supporting our fellow Marines. Good skill to learn.
As a long-time sewing machine aficionado/repairperson i want to say thank you so much for this video! I wish you'd hold the pictures still though so we could look at them better. :)
In 1977 I was learning to hang glide in San Diego. My fourth weekend into my adventure, I had my one and only accident, where I stalled over a rocky hillside. After getting off that little 300' hill, I went to the hospital, as I busted my chin open, along with four missing teeth - the front upper four. As I was getting prepped for the surgery to reconstruct my chin, the plasttic surgeon comes in and introduces himself as Dr. Singer. Well, I couldn't let that one go and made the comment, "Nice to have a competent Seamstress on the job" (in my defense, I had been given an anisthetic and was feeling a bit giddy). He reminded me I had best be nice or suffer a botched sew-up. That stopped the quips. He did do a great job, as the scar is barely visible today. Years before that incident, I asked my mother to teach me how to use the sewing machine (a portable Singer model) and made (attempted would be a better term) my first item of clothing - a T-shirt w/ the word Aquarius (this was 1970) printed in horizontal lines (like stripes). I then attempted a pair of blue jeans - much more difficult and it took me a week to complete, after several re-dos. That center crotch seam was a real bugger to get right. RIP Mom, I still remember how to load the bobbin and use the machine. lol
It is truly remarkable how one device can change and touch so much.
The fact that I have been a seamstress since I was 5 years old and I'm 72 now I really enjoyed that video , I have a flury of machines and yet I don't like Singer..ha ha my utmost favorite is Janome but before that it was Kenmore ( Sears) but anyway it got you a new subscriber THANKS.......
More history that I didn't know that I needed. It is always a good start of a day when the History Guy starts it off.
When I was growing up back in the 1950s and 1960s, my great grandmother, who was born in 1876, had a Singer sewing machine complete with treadle in a small room adjacent to her bedroom which I often heard her using.
I love my Singer sewing machine! It's 49 years old and only had 2 major repairs. I will never replace it. Before I bought this machine, I learned to sew on my grandmother's machine from the 1930's. Sewing has been both a necessity and pleasure for me for all these years.
THG, very topical subject. I pulled out my mom’s 60’s Singer sewing machine (which I kept in the family) to sew hems in canvas. Not for making masks but for sourdough making, another popular craze during the Covid lockdown.
As always, an enjoyable video. I've often thought how firearms and sewing machines marked a country's early technical development. The sewing machine requires a surprising amount of precision to work. The needle and shuttle must interact with precision in the thousandths of an inch (hundredths of a millimetre), and they have to attain that precision, in essence, at great distance from each other. Consider the "C" shaped frame of the sewing machine, it allows the cloth to pass through, yet the working elements are at each end of the "C" and must have a consistent, relative precision. No wonder the early sewing machines were built so robustly. Many were truly works of mechanical art.
My mother had a sewing machine from before WWII. She was conscientious in keeping things in order, the instruction manual was still with the old sewing machine. Recently reading the old instructions I noted they admonished "to get the most out of this sewing machine, the user should read the instructions fully". It made me laugh, things never change, people still rush ahead and don't bother to read the instructions!
My German wife, who is an apparel engineer is going to be disappointed you did not make any reference to Pfaff.
There are truly few things that can be called game changing. The sewing machine seems to be one.
I have been sewing since I was eight. The sewing machine is a truly liberating machine. It meant that I was not a slave to what the fashion industry produced each season. Thanks for this episode.
been in love since the 1950's with Singer sewing machines. My grandmother had a treadle, 4 drawer machine. I have a modest collection (3) of machines. Would have more but space is at a premium in my abode. One was made in Scotland with wood vertical legs.
I relate so much to your comment!
Personally i also have 3 machines (a regular jack of all trades ones, an overlock and a handturned pfaff) but if space would allow it i'd love to have a pedal style singer, or by the gods an actual loom! Like those 1.5 by 1.5 meter professional ones. But alas a girl can only dream
Sewing is an ongoing hobby for many people. I don’t believe they were ever totally packed away and forgotten.
What a storied, patchwork history of this humble labor saving machine! I own several, home type to walking foot industrial, and I use them all as needed. Thanks THG! I have a deeper appreciation for all these units when I sit at one now 👍!
Great timing for this video, I dusted off my old Singer, the 15-91, when I realized there was a need for face masks. I have some friends who couldn't get any, so I quickly made some up for them. There suddenly arose hundreds of DYI patterns on TH-cam. In my extra time I have taken an interest in my old machine, which is close to my age. I bought it used when I was 19. Now in my early 70's I truly love this machine, it was made with such quality. I was disappointed that Singer had no interest in his product, other than the money he could make from it. They have always been very expensive purchases. But someone in his company definitely cared about quality and compatibility. The Singer Co. still makes common replacement parts for some of their oldest machines. I have a renewed appreciation for this amazing machine and treat it as a piece of art, when in fact it is hard to find anything quite as durable. Thank you History Guy for this video.
Hey THG, you should really delve more deeply into isaac singer and his connections to other things like, monthly payments, credit, industrial techniques, gun parts amd gun manufacture ,statue of liberty. Fascinating man
James Thomas - Yes he was! Wrote a paper on him once, we think ourselves smart in this modern age, he made me feel so incredibly dumb. 🤣
Truly. During WW2 Singer Co converted it's production lines to manufacture anti-aircraft guns and ammunition. Only one machine was being produced at that time, the 221 featherweight, and there was a two year waiting list to get one.
Singer m1911s can go for around $100k
@@kenny344 No. No, no, no.... We the one out years ago. My grandfather worked in the factory as a child.
Wow. So the sewing machine seems to have actually boosted the US economy. I didn't ever consider how game changing it was.
The sewing machine marked the beginning of the end of the stay at home wife. Full time home attendance was no longer strictly necessary just to keep up with home maintenance while the man worked 12 hour days. Before the sewing machine and the washing machine, two income households weren't cost effective because you'd have to pay someone to do the housework.
The US and foreign economies. Even today developing nations often hang a large part of their economy on unskilled laborers running sewing machines.
I won’t lie. I hadn’t watched any of your videos in probably a week because life and the other option happens. Tonight I was in withdrawal. This fixed me right up. Repairing sewing machines for Simmons mattress was one of the most challenging maintenance jobs I’ve ever learned to do. Yes troubleshooting a sewing machine can be extremely difficult. The history behind them is like all of your other episodes. Truly fascinating. Thanks again for such enlightenment on something so few would ever think about. Quite amazing.
I always find your topics fascinating. The way you show the future effects of the events you highlight is amazing. I hope you do an episode on the burning of the Library of Alexandria, and the effects on civilization, to this day.
I think I've heard almost all parts of this story in bits and pieces, but this is by far the best "whole story". As someone else mentioned, maybe something more on Singer's inventions or war industry conversions would be interesting.
My mother was a home economics teacher for many years. I learned to sew on a pedal powered Singer sewing machine and made my first shirt at the age of five. I still have this shirt, and my son later worn it for awhile when he was young.
As a sewist that loves old sewing machines, -my favorite being my grandmother’s treadle Singer bought new in 1921, thank you for this video.
This video brought back childhood memories of my grandmother, who worked at a commercial laundry, in Amityville, NY. She would collect loose buttons. Not just a few, but jars and jars of buttons. She taught me, and my siblings, how to sew buttons, by sewing her collection to pieces of 3 by 5 index cards. We were then taught how to use her sewing machine, a trustworthy Singer. Years later, as I got married and had children, it was not my wife who taught my daughter and two boys how to sew. It was me. To hear my son pipe up at a cub scout event, years ago, when asked if his mommy could sew on her badges, he said, "Mommy doesn't know how to sew, my daddy does!" It caused quite the chuckle from all of the adults there. Now, my kids are all grown up, and know how to mend any rips or tears that might befall their clothes. And if they lose a button? You'd better believe they know how to sew on a button! Thanks for bringing back such a great memory from my childhood.
Great history. My grandmother taught me how to use a trundle machine before I was ten, but I was never as good at it as she was.
This is a great topic! I’m a needleworker, I used to make my own clothes but got away from that, my machine(s) are mostly used for repairs but I’ll be doing quilting on it.
My mom was a Home Economics teacher, I wonder what part the sewing machine had in having a class in home economics? Since it was mainly sewing and cooking I would think it started this class to be standard in schools. However many schools don’t teach this anymore. Very sad.
I do a lot of hand stitching, mostly on ‘samplers’, which have a fascinating history of their own.
I teach needlework and have given lectures on Samplers, I’m open for any questions if you use this for a topic.
My grandmother passed on my great grandmother's sewing machine to me. I still have it and use it from time to time.
I participate in a "Repair Cafe" event 4 times a year, fixing small appliances and such for community residents, at no charge. Every such event will see a sewing machine, or two, in need of repair, typically having frozen up from lack of use. Typically I or another volunteer can get them operational by heating the mechanisms with a heat gun or blow driver, and adding fresh oil. Many people only use the machine every 6 months or every couple of years and the original lubrication turns to something resembling peanut butter, or glue.
He's done it again...sat down to sew a couple of masks, turn on TH-cam while I work and yep, another timely video from THG.
I think he's in my head....what am I thinking now?
At one time I thought I'd give auto upholstering a try, bought an industrial Singer that had been used in a shoefactory. My plans fell through when I discovered a lack of auto upholstry suppliers in the local area. Sold the machine to another car oriented person.
But the urge to piece things together took me on an unexpected course: historic reenactment. Yes, when I started I bought a decent 1880's style, modern frock coat, but the vest pocket was wrong. Thought I'd buy anothet sewing machine and make a period correct coat (minus the horse hair filler), I have since created six period frock coats , many proper vests for the different eras, men's pants, etc.
If it wasn't for owning two sewing machines I doubt if I would have noticed the differences in men's clothing over the ages, would not have paid as much attention to the details of everyday lives during the course of time.
I have since managed to combine what I have discovered into puppet making where I have to figure out how to "dress" my mechanical nightmares.
As for my desire to uphoster cars? Someday I will get aroind to it...
I inherited my grandmother's Singer Sewing machine 1917. Had it repaired recently and the man told me it was such a pleasure sewing on it! He and I are probably the only people in town who can thread the bobbin. I chances on another machine exactly like it, bought it for parts and cabinet. My cabinet had gotten damaged. I am going to teach my daughter how to thread it next time she is here.
I’ve used the daylight out of my machines making things like bags, straps, and modifications to uniforms in the manner that the Riggers from WWII did.
Right! For the first time in the last 10 years, we dusted off our sewing machine to make ... face masks!
Or you can get Chinese made ones.
Why haven't you used it in 10 years? I use mine 3-4 times a year to fix things...
@@CB-fn3me We have been trying to make our home maintenance free. We used to make and replace the upholstery coverings of some chairs (using the sewing machine), but now we have seats with artificial leather covers that will last a very long time. We have also replaced our curtains (which we used to sew) with blinds, and so on. If a house is a machine for living in, we want to live in a maintenance-free machine.
John C. Ringe was inventor for Singer and travelled extensively and was 3 great grandfather to my children. Wish he would have left more than newspaper articles about his inventions it would have been great to share his memory with the world.
Thanks to Lance, Heidi, and the rest of the History Team for all of the wonderful videos that you so faithfully publish for us every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. I can't believe the tight schedule that you have to research, write, and produce each episode. Best channel on youtube.
You may have done an episode on the 1790's Austrian Army repeating air powered rifle, if so I would like to see it, if not I hope you can produce an episode that covers it.
Thank you.
Walking in the village of Oradour-Sur-Gland one item that was still in the remains of every house was a sewing machine.
Most Americans do not know the sad history of Oradour-Sur-Gland
@@geoffgill5334 many Europeans don't either, I didn't know about it till I saw it on the t.v. series 'World At War' back in the 70's.
@@uncledodge9396 The story of Oradour-sur-Glane opens the first episode of "The World at War," and closes the final episode, both leading into Carl Davis' haunting theme music.
@@tygrkhat4087 indeed it does, a haunting series, I've got every episode on DVD. Worth watching.
@@uncledodge9396 My sister has the DVD set of the series. About the only thing not in the series was Blechley Park as that wasn't declassified until 1975 (or 76?), after it was televised.
Quilts weren't a hobby, back in the day. People couldn't afford waste a single scrap of fabric, so the leftovers from clothing making, flour and sugar sacks, and anything that could be salvaged from worn out clothes were turned into blankets, which, like store-bought clothes, were expensive when ready-made. I have many of these, made by my great-great grandmother, great-grandmother and grandmother. They aren't beautiful, but they are practical and warm. It wasn't until my mother's generation that quilting became a hobby, and you could buy fabrics and special notions specifically for making them.
I'm a retired machinist, and I always maintained its harder to fabricate small parts than big parts, hats of to those early machinists, now I'm going to klick onto watch making,
Thank u Mr Felton
My mom has an ancient foor powered Singer that still works. I have no idea how old it is, but it's an heirloom.