The Moral Vision
Total Involvement
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TOTAL INVOLVEMENT
Elias Howe (1819-1867) was born in Massachusetts,
U.S.A. He died at the young age of 48. Although his
life was short, his contribution to the world of
clothes—that of the sewing machine—will always
be remembered.
The sewing machine invented by Elias Howe was at
first utilized, not for sewing clothes, but for
stitching shoes. The main breakthrough was the
development of a lock-stitch by a shuttle carrying a
lower thread and a needle carrying an upper thread
which passed through a hole situated at the tip of
the needle.
For thousands of years, people had been
accustomed to making a hole at the base of the
needle. So, following their lead, Elias Howe made
the needle of his machine with a hole at the base,
instead of at the tip as is now the practice. The
placement of an eyelet, simple as it may seem to us
now, remained a big hurdle for its inventor for
quite some time. It was only a dream which finally
brought about the desired solution.
