The Development of the Sewing Needle

Phase II
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July 2, 2022
 
           Understanding the historical background of industrial design is essential for any engineer, manufacturer, or designer. On the one hand, it allows him to appreciate better how the design was made in relation to the needs of the time. On the other hand, it also allows him to produce better designs based on the evolution of such products. In line with these, this article will focus on the evolution of the 'Sewing Needle', which was analyzed in Phase I of this research. This includes the history of this product, the needs that were met during those times, and the trend of consumption by the public. All in all, it is the author's belief that knowing these is important for anyone who aims to create an innovative and successful demand that would meet the market's needs in the future. 
The Development of the Sewing Needle
           Mechanical sewing has already existed for several centuries until now. Records show that mechanical needles were invented by the time that Charles Fredrick Wiesenthal was given a patent for the sewing machine in 1755 (Mossoff, 2011). During its inception, the first sewing machine needle that he created with the sewing machine consisted of a double-pointed needle with an eye at one of its points. He initially designed this kind of needle to be used in tandem with a pair of mechanical fingers that would imitate hand sewing, wherein the needle and the thread would be caught at the opposite end of the cloth. However, even though Wiesenthal did not transform his initial design into a marketable product, the sewing machine and the needle suffered many lapses since the double-pointed needle was designed to pass entirely through the fabric (Alexander, 1862). It necessitated the full-length of the threat to pass through the cloth and led to more abrasive movements that broke the needle frequently. In other words, the aim to imitate hand sewing created problems that required a shift in the new approach. 
           After that, several inventions and patents were created for the sewing machine. Accordingly, this also modified the configurations of the sewing machine needle in order to function correctly with the new attachments and mechanisms added. Since the demand for a faster and more efficient way of sewing is on the rise, several inventions were created with efficiency in mind rather than an imitation of Wiesenthal's hand-sew...