Walter Hunt

American manufacturer who patented an improved sewing machine in 1851 and pioneered installment purchasing, making the Singer Manufacturing Company the dominant sewing machine brand of the 19th century.

A slender metal fastener used to hold fabric layers in place before stitching; mass-produced brass pins from the 1830s replaced costly handmade ones and became a household essential.

French tailor who patented an early chainstitch sewing machine in 1830 to make army uniforms; rioting tailors, fearing job losses, destroyed his workshop in 1831.

A stitch formed by looping thread through a previous loop in a continuous chain; quick to sew but prone to unraveling if pulled from the end, it was used in early sewing machines.

American inventor who patented a working lockstitch sewing machine in 1846, using a needle with an eye near its point and a shuttle carrying a second thread.