eye at the bottom of the
curve. The shape of the needle together with the position of the eyes
permitted the pointed shuttle, carrying the second thread, to pass
freely through the loop in the ascending needle thread. The fabric was
carried by a pair of cloth rollers, capable of sliding in a horizontal
plane in both a lateral and a lengthwise direction. These combined
movements were sufficient to enable the operator to produce almost every
embroidered design. The ornamenting, which might be a yarn, cord, or
gimp, was carried by the shuttle thread. There was no tension on the
shuttle thread, which was held in place by the thread from the needle.
The stitch produced was a form of couching.[32] It was in no sense a
lockstitch. Fisher, who was the inventor, readily admitted at a later
date that he had not had the slightest idea of producing a sewing
machine, in the utilitarian meaning of the term. Although it has not
been established that this machine was ever put into practical
operation, Fisher's invention was to have a far-reaching effect on the
development of the sewing machine in England.

FOOTNOTES:

[1] CHARLES M. KARCH, _Needles: Historical and Descriptive_ (12 Census
U.S., vol. X, 1902), pp. 429-432.

[2] FLORENCE LEWIS MAY, _Hispanic Lace and Lace Making_ (New York,
1939), pp. 267-271.

[3] Diderot's _L'Encyclopedie, ou dictionnaire raisonne des sciences,
des arts et des metiers ..._, vol. II (1763), Plates Brodeur, plate II.

[4] The term "crochet," as used today, became the modern counterpart of
the Spanish _punto de aguja_ about the second quarter of the 19th
century.

[5] _Sewing Machine News_ (1880), vol. 1, no. 7, p. 2.

[6] This model of Saint's machine was bequeathed by Mr. Wilson to the
South Kensington Museum, London, England.

[7] _Sewing Machine News_ (1880), vol. 1, no. 8, p. 2.

[8] Ibid.

[9] ERICH LUTH, _Ein Mayener Strumpfwirker, Balthasar Krems, 1760-1813,
Erfinder der Naehmaschine_, p. 10, states that the machine used an
eye-pointed needle. WILHELM RENTERS, _Praktisches Wissen von der
Naehmaschine_, p. 4, states that Krems used a hooked needle. Renters
probably mistook the hooked retaining pin for the needle.

[10] Dr. Dahmen, Burgermeister of Mayen, stated in a letter of October
8, 1963, that the original Krems machine was turned over to the
officials of Mayen by Krems' descendants about the turn of the century.
He verified that the machine used an eye-pointed needle. About 1920 t