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The Sewing Machine Gets Its Patent

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Use the arrow keys to move between letters. Press Enter or Space on the first letter of a word, then again on the last letter. Press Escape to cancel.

A few of the words

LOCKSTITCH
Howe's key innovation was the lockstitch, two threads, one from above and one carried by a bobbin below, locking together with each pass to form a seam that would not easily unravel.Find this word in the grid to read its note.
TREADLE
Early sewing machines were powered by a foot-operated treadle, a rocking pedal that kept both hands free to guide the fabric, a design that remained popular well into the 20th century.Find this word in the grid to read its note.
BOBBIN
The bobbin, a small spool that feeds thread from below the fabric, was central to Howe's lockstitch design and remains a staple of home sewing machines to this day.Find this word in the grid to read its note.
HOWE
Elias Howe grew up in Spencer, Massachusetts, and spent years perfecting his machine before September 10, 1846, the date his patent was finally granted and his place in history secured.Find this word in the grid to read its note.

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sewing machine patent word search

The Sewing Machine Gets Its Patent: a free online word search

Sewing machine patent word search, playable online right now, tracing the invention Elias Howe locked down in 1846, bobbin and all.

About The Sewing Machine Gets Its Patent

On September 10, 1846, Elias Howe received U.S. Patent No. 4,750 for his lockstitch sewing machine, a device that could sew a seam faster and more evenly than the most skilled hand. Before that day, every stitch of every garment was set by human fingers, needle by needle, inch by patient inch. Howe's machine changed not just workshops and tailoring shops, but the rhythm of domestic life itself, moving the craft from exhausting labor toward something that felt almost like magic.

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    Find a word.Tap its first letter, then tap along to its last. The trail fills in and finishes itself when it spells a word. Or press the first letter and drag.
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