Elias Howe's Life And Accomplishments

774 Words4 Pages

Elias Howe, was the son of Elias Howe Sr, and Polly Howe. He was born, and raised in his parents’ farm, which was in Spencer, Massachusetts. Howe worked at his father's grist-and-saw mill. This is where he was inspired to become an inventor. Howe had little education. This is because he only got through primary school, but had to leave when he was sixteen years old. After he stopped going to school, he got a job. His job was a machinist’s apprentice, which was close to his home. Shortly after working there. He overheard a customer’s conversation. This conversation helped inspire Howe to invent a sewing machine. He heard that the person who invented a sewing machine that could make a lock stitch would make a fortune off it. People wanted a lock stitch, because there were only chain stitches before that. Chain stitches can easily unravel, so they were not a very good stitch to hold together fabrics. Before Howe’s lockstitch sewing machine, it took approximately 14 …show more content…

Karl Wiesenthal, a German inventor, devised the first sewing machine needle, but did not produce a complete machine. The sewing machine itself was first invented by Thomas Saint. Saint’s sewing machine could only sew a chain stitch, which is not beneficial for the clothing, because it can unravel. Elias Howe was not the only person who tried to invent a machine that included the lock stitch, he was just the only one who succeeded. The machine used an awl to make a hole in the material that was being sewn so a needle could pass through it. Karl Wiesenthal, a German inventor, devised the first sewing machine needle, but did not produce a complete machine. Thomas Saint was at first accused of stealing Karl Wiesenthal’s invention. Since Wiesenthal did not make a sewing machine, just the needle, the design for the sewing machine was owned and patented by Thomas

Open Document