The History of Sewing – Stitches in Time

No one knows who the first seamstress was, but sewing goes back as far as 8,000 BC, when early man used long strands of sinew to stitch together animal skins to form protective coverings. We’ve come a long way! Bone needles were used then and little changed over the years, although certainly the refined Greek women who horn needles and fine stitches to sew up the sides of linen tunics would disagree in 600 to 500 BC. Their needles were much more delicate and eventually they gave way to polished metal ones over time that they also used to embroider elaborate trim along tunic edges. Sewing also gave way to adding linen trim such as strips of contrasting colored banding and other decorative borders for the elite in Roman society.

By the 1100’s, the Dutch had invented a simply brilliant devise – the thimble, thereby saving millions of thumbs from injury as sewing became more complex. Clothing was still fairly simple except for the upper classes, since it took so long to sew things by hand and cut all of the cloth with knives.

The invention of scissors in the early 1300’s was another great leap forward for sewing, and fashions became more and more elaborate for the upper classes and the wealthy aristocrats. Of course, this was partly to show off just how much free time they (or their servants) had to spend on sewing!

It’s interesting that some innovations have become more useful over time than they were originally intended to be. Buttons first came into popularity in the 13th century as fasteners; before that they were simply decorative elements sewn onto clothing. People fastened clothing with ties, broaches or buckles and didn’t think they needed anything else. As they began sewing more elaborate clothing; however, they realized they needed something lighter and at the same time more reliable – the button!

Naturally, once buttons became popular as fasteners in the 13th century, competition to see who could have the fanciest became fierce. Check out some of the Dutch Master paintings and you’ll see some elaborate clothing that includes jeweled buttons and sumptuous fabrics.

For the next several centuries, clothing continued to become more and more elaborate for the wealthy but remain relatively unchanged for the lower classes. After all, sewing was still time intensive and the methods hadn’t changed much. You spent hours making one dress or shirt and, if you were a member of the working class or owned a farm, your clothing wore out quickly.

The one exception for most families was quilting. Because quilts were used indoors for warmth and could last for years, often even being handed down to the next generation if cared for properly, this type of sewing was given a special type of status in even the poorest of homes. Quilting bees became social functions in colonial communities. Women were willing to use precious (and expensive) colorful threads and ribbons to accent a quilt made from scraps of their discarded clothing in order to make it pleasing to the eye. Sewing a quilt might take the better part of a winter, but it would become the focal point of a room and last for decades.

The next revolution in sewing came in the early 1900’s, when the Butterick company issued a standard dress pattern that could be purchased for anyone to use to copy a dress design to size. It was an immediate sensation, and they began producing others. Women loved the ease of following an already designed pattern and other companies soon followed suit with patterns for children’s clothing as well.

Nothing revolutionized sewing, of course, as much as the invention of the sewing machine about 1848. There are lengthy disputes still going on about who should get the rightful credit for this. Most people think of Isaac Merritt Singer when they think of the sewing machine – he is the person who first designed a useful model for home use around 1853. However, he built his concept around the designs of Elias Howe, who had patented an industrial sewing machine in 1846 for use in factories. The designs were so similar that Howe sued Singer for copyright infringement and won, getting royalties for years on every sewing machine that Singer sold.

Two new players, Wilson and Wheeler, then developed a quieter more reliable sewing machine and so on…by 1877 when the patents all expired, there were so many people in the business that most decided to merge, forming a few large companies. Later, Singer founded the Singer Sewing Machine Company and introduced the world’s first electric machine for homes in 1889. It was an immediate hit.

Home sewing became less popular as ready-to-wear clothing became more available and more affordable during the industrial revolution. In fact, it was in danger of becoming a dying art.

In the past ten to fifteen years, however, there has been a resurgence of interest in home sewing. First, it is a great cost saver in an economy where it’s getting harder to make ends meet. Second, many people are realizing that they don’t want what everyone else has, and sewing is a creative outlet that is also practical – art they can wear and be proud of!

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