Editing Sewing machine (section)

{{short description|Machine used to stitch fabric}}
{{lead too short|date=November 2023}}
[[file:Sewingmachine1.jpg|thumb|Diagram of a modern sewing machine]]
[[file:Sewing machine animated.gif|thumb|Animation of a modern sewing machine as it stitches]]

A '''sewing machine''' is a [[machine]] used to [[sew]] [[fabric]] and materials together with [[Thread (yarn)|thread]]. Sewing machines were invented during the [[first Industrial Revolution]] to decrease the amount of manual [[sewing]] work performed in clothing companies. Since the invention of the first sewing machine, generally considered to have been the work of Englishman Thomas Saint in 1790,<ref>{{Citation | url = http://www.ismacs.net/sewing_machine_history.html | publisher = ISMACS | title = A brief history of the sewing machine}}.</ref> the sewing machine has greatly improved the efficiency and [[productivity]] of the [[clothing industry]].

Home sewing machines are designed for one person to sew individual items while using a single [[Stitch (textile arts)|stitch]] type at a time. In a modern sewing machine, the process of stitching has been automated, so that the fabric easily glides in and out of the machine. Early sewing machines were powered by either constantly turning a [[flywheel]] handle or with a foot-operated [[treadle]] mechanism. Electrically-powered machines were later introduced.

Industrial sewing machines, by contrast to domestic machines, are larger, faster, and more varied in their size, [[cost]], appearance, and tasks.