Queen of Inventions: How the Sewing Machine Changed the World

by Laurie Winn Carlson

Looks at the history of sewing and how it was transformed in the 1850s when an American inventor, Isaac Singer, not only invented a practical sewing machine, but also a way for everyone to afford one.

Genres: Nonfiction

32 pages, Library Binding

First published January 16, 2003

Reviews

[Audra J · Rating 4 out of 5]

Queen of Inventions begins by explaining to the reader the history of how things were sewn before the sewing machine, setting the stage for the need for such an invention. It includes a variety of black and white photographs, paintings and sketches which illustrate relative events in the timeframes presented. The readers learn of the very first attempts, at a sewing machine, including many failures. The book then goes on to explain how the first machines were produced, and they are designed honed in to make them more affordable. The book doesn’t stop there but goes on to show many ways that the invention of the sewing machine had positive affects on history like allowing more girls to attend school because they didn’t have to spend all day sewing.

I selected this book as I enjoy sewing and thought it might be interesting to know more about the history of the sewing machine. I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this book and how much I learned. It was interesting to see how much impact the sewing machine had on so many areas of history and into influencing changes in the world at the time.