What is the oldest sewing machine?

Answer 1

In 1791 British inventor Thomas Saint was the first to patent a design for a sewing machine. His machine was meant to be used on leather and canvas. A working model was never built. In 1814 an Austrian Tailor, Josef Madersperger, presented his first sewing machine, the development started in 1807. In 1830 a French tailor, Barthelemy Thimmonier, patented a sewing machine that sewed straight seams using chain stitch. By 1841, Thimonnier had a factory of 80 machines sewing uniforms for the French Army. The factory was destroyed by rioting French tailors afraid of losing their livelihood. Thimonnier had no further success with his machine. The lock stitch sewing machine was invented by Walter Hunt in 1833. His machine used an eye-pointed needle (with the eye and the point on the same end) carrying the upper thread and a shuttle carrying the lower thread. The curved needle moved through the fabric horizontally, leaving the loop as it withdrew. The shuttle passed through the loop, interlocking the thread. The feed let the machine down - requiring the machine to be stopped frequently and reset up. Hunt eventually lost interest in his machine and sold it without bothering to patent it. In 1842, John Greenough patented the first sewing machine in the United States.