s been
found not to answer for the hard wear and tear and limited means of our
frontier service. Particular attention has been paid to this subject,
and we have abandoned the use of machines for coats, jackets and
trousers, etc. and use them on caps and bands that are not exposed to
much hard usage...."[79] At this period prior to the Civil War, the Army
manufactured its own clothing. As the demands of war increased, more and
more of the Army's clothing supplies were furnished on open
contract--with no specifications as to stitching.[80] Machine
stitching, in fact, is found in most of the Civil War uniforms. One of
the problems that most probably affected the durability of the machine
stitching in the 1850s was the sewing thread, a problem that was not
solved until the 1860s and which is discussed later under "thread for
the machine."

[Illustration: Figure 55.--BLAKE'S LEATHER-STITCHING MACHINE patent
model of July 6, 1858; the inventor claimed the arrangement of the
mechanism used and an auxiliary arm capable of entering the shoe, which
enabled the outer sole to be stitched both to the inner sole and to the
upper part of the shoe. (Smithsonian photo 50361.)]

SHOE MANUFACTURE

Another industry that was aided by the new invention was that of shoe
manufacture. Although the earliest sewing-machine patents in the United
States reflect the inventors' efforts to solve the difficult task of
leather stitching, and, although machines were used to a limited extent
in stitching some parts of the shoe in the early and mid-1850s, it was
not until 1858 that a machine was invented that could stitch the sole to
the inner sole and to the upper part of the shoe. This was the invention
of Lyman R. Blake and was patented by him on July 8, 1858; the patent
model is shown in figure 55. Blake formed a chainstitch by using a
hooked needle, which descended from above, to draw a thread through the
supporting arm. Serving as the machine's bedplate, the arm was shaped to
accommodate the stitching of all the parts of the shoe.

[Illustration: Figure 56.--HARRIS' patent thread cutter, 1872.
(Smithsonian photo P-6397.)]

[Illustration: Figure 57.--WEST'S patent thread cutter, 1874.
(Smithsonian photo P-63100.)]

[Illustration: Figure 58.--KARR'S patent needle threader, 1871.
(Smithsonian photo P-63101.)]

The increased number of shoes required by the Army during the Civil War
spurred the use of the sewing machine in their manufacture. Th