Before Elias Howe's time, many inventors had attempted to make sewing machines and some had just fallen short of success. Thomas Saint, an Englishman, had patented o… See more

The idea of a mechanical sewing machine obsessed Elias Howe. However, Howe was married and had children, and his wages were only nine dollars a week. Howe found support fro… See more

Elias Howe made a machine which, crude as it was, sewed more rapidly than five of the swiftest needle workers. But his machine was too expensive, it could sew only a strai… See more

Elias Howe's second sewing machine design was an improvement on his first. It was more compact and ran more smoothly. George Fisher took Elias Howe and his prototype t… See more