The first functional sewing machine was invented in 1790 by English shoemaker Thomas Saint. Since then, the sewing machine has been continuously developed, including by the American machine builder Elias Howe from 1846 onwards. The first successful industrial launch also took place in 1846 by the company M. Singer & Co. The basic principle of the sewing machine is to produce a seam by intertwining an upper thread with a lower thread. Here, the upper thread is pushed or pierced through the material by means of a sewing machine needle. After piercing through the fabric, a thread catcher picks up the upper thread in the so-called looping stroke. The looping stroke is the upward movement of the sewing needle towards the stitching point shortly after reaching its lower dead center. In the subsequent interlacing, the upper thread is guided by the thread catcher around the bobbin with the lower thread and the resulting thread loop is used to create the seam under mechanical tension from the upper and lower threads.
Source:
Schlums, Ulla; Dressler, Heike; Decker, Sonja; et al. (2022), Fertigung Bekleidung, 1. Auflage, Haan-Gruiten: Verlag Europa-Lehrmittel, S. 8