A sewing machine is a textile machine used to stitch fabric or other material together with 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 working sewing machine, generally considered to have been the work of Englishman Thomas Saint in 1790, the sewing machine has vastly improved the efficiency and productivity of fabric and clothing industries.

Though some older machines use a chain stitch, the basic stitch of a modern sewing machine consists of two threads and is known as lockstitch. Industrial machines are usually specialized for a specific task, and so different machines may produce a different type of stitch. Modern sewing machines are designed in such a way that the fabric easily glides in and out of the machine without the hassle of needles and thimbles and other such tools used in hand sewing, automating the process of stitching and saving time.[citation needed] The fabric shifting mechanism may be a simple workguide or may be pattern-controlled (e.g., jacquard type).

Some machines can create embroidery-type stitches. Some have a work holder frame. Some have a workfeeder that can move along a curved path, while others have a workfeeder with a work clamp.

Needle guards, safety devices to prevent accidental needle-stick injuries, are often found on modern sewing machines. The main stitch of most older sewing machines, chain stitch, has one major drawback – it is very weak and the stitch can easily be pulled apart . When the machines started being used, people realized a stitch more suited to machine production was needed, and it was found in the lock stitch.

A lock stitch is created by two separate threads interlocking through the two layers of fabric, resulting in a sturdier stitch that looks the same from both sides of the fabric .

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