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Sewing is the craft of fastening pieces of textiles together using a sewing needle and yarn. Sewing is one of the oldest of the textile arts, arising in the Paleolithic era. Before the invention of spinning yarn or weaving fabric, archaeology believe Stone Age people across Europe and Asia sewed fur and leather clothing using bone, antler or ivory sewing-needles and "thread" made of various animal body parts including tendon, catgut, and .Anawalt (2007), pp. 80–81
For thousands of years, all sewing was done by hand. The invention of the sewing machine in the 19th century and the rise of computerization in the 20th century led to mass production and export of sewn objects, but hand sewing is still practiced around the world. Fine hand sewing is a characteristic of high-quality tailoring, haute couture fashion, and custom dressmaking, and is pursued by both and hobbyists as a means of creative expression.
The first known use of the word "sewing" was in the 14th century.
During the Middle Ages, Europeans who could afford it employed and tailors. The vital importance of sewing was indicated by the honorific position of "Lord Sewer" at many European from the Middle Ages. An example was Robert Radcliffe, 1st Earl of Sussex who was appointed Lord Sewer at the coronation of Henry VIII of England in 1509. Sewing for the most part was a woman's occupation, and most sewing before the 19th century was practical. Clothing was an expensive investment for most people, and women had an important role in extending the longevity of items of clothing. Sewing was used for mending. Clothing that was faded would be turned inside-out so that it could continue to be worn, and sometimes had to be taken apart and reassembled to suit this purpose. Once clothing became worn or torn, it would be taken apart and the reusable cloth sewn together into new items of clothing, made into , or otherwise put to practical use. The many steps involved in making clothing from scratch (weaving, pattern making, cutting, alterations, and so forth) meant that women often bartered their expertise in a particular skill with one another. Decorative needlework such as embroidery was a valued skill, and young women with the time and means would practice to build their skill in this area. From the Middle Ages to the 17th century, sewing tools such as Sewing needle, and were included in the Dowry of many European brides. Sewing birds or sewing clamps were used as a third hand and were popular gifts for seamstresses in the 19th century.Munro, Heather, "A Little Token of Love: The Sewing Bird," Western Illinois Museum, February 2014 Sewing Bird. National Museum of American History. Patented 15 February 1853, to Charles Waterman of Meridan, Connecticut
Decorative embroidery was valued in many cultures worldwide. Although most embroidery stitches in the Western repertoire are traditionally British, Irish or Western European in origin, stitches originating in different cultures are known throughout the world today. Some examples are the Cretan Open Filling stitch, Romanian Couching or Oriental Couching, and the Japanese stitch. The stitches associated with embroidery spread by way of the trade routes that were active during the Middle Ages. The Silk Road brought Chinese embroidery techniques to Western Asia and Eastern Europe, while techniques originating in the Middle East spread to Southern and Western Europe through Morocco and Spain. European imperial settlements also spread embroidery and sewing techniques worldwide. However, there are instances of sewing techniques indigenous to cultures in distant locations from one another, where cross-cultural communication would have been historically unlikely. For example, a method of reverse appliqué known to areas of South America is also known to Southeast Asia.
While much clothing was still produced at home by female members of the family, more and more ready-made clothes for the middle classes were being produced with sewing machines. Textile full of poorly paid sewing machine operators grew into entire business districts in large cities like London and New York City. To further support the industry, piece work was done for little money by women living in slums. Needlework was one of the few occupations considered acceptable for women, but it did not pay a living wage. Women working from home often worked 14-hour days to earn enough to support themselves, sometimes by renting sewing machines that they could not afford to buy.
Tailors became associated with higher-end clothing during this period. In London, this status grew out of the dandy trend of the early 19th century, when new tailor shops were established around Savile Row. (2025). 9781847885920, Berg. ISBN 9781847885920 These shops acquired a reputation for sewing high-quality handmade clothing in the style of the latest British fashions, as well as more classic styles. The boutique culture of Carnaby Street was absorbed by Savile Row tailors during the late 20th century, ensuring the continued flourishing of Savile Row's businesses.
Historian Judith Bennett explains that the nature of women's work maintained a consistent pattern from the medieval period through the Second Industrial Revolution, characterized by tasks that were low-profit, low-volume, and low-skilled, often performed alongside other responsibilities. Similarly, Judy Lown argues that although women's work transitioned from the household to the factory, its essence—remaining low-skilled and poorly paid—persisted without significant change.
The transition to industrialization introduced a growing dependence on cash income in Northwestern Europe. For many working-class families, opportunities to earn wages were often located in distant cities, prompting many girls to leave their rural homes and migrate to urban areas. The changing nature of work in general raised questions about how women fit into rising industrialization and how both men and women should navigate gender roles. One of the concerns of the 19th century was the impact of industrialization on women's morality. According to Mariana Valverde, many male factory workers and union leaders alike argued that women working in industrial settings would be contrary to their nature and symbolized a "return to barbarism."
This perception not only reflected prevailing gender biases but also influenced labor policies and union strategies, which often sought to exclude women from better-paying industrial jobs. Such debates reinforced the belief that women were best suited for domestic roles or low-skilled work, limiting their economic opportunities and perpetuating a cycle of inequality.
The spread of sewing machine technology to industrialized economies around the world meant the spread of Western-style sewing methods and clothing styles as well. In Japan, traditional clothing was sewn together with running stitch that could be removed so that the clothing could be taken apart and the assorted pieces laundered separately. The tight-locked stitches made by home sewing machines, and the use of Western clothing patterns, led to a movement towards wearing Western-style clothing during the early 20th century. (2025). 9780230273665, Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 9780230273665 Western sewing and clothing styles were disseminated in sub-Saharan Africa by Christian missionaries from the 1830s onward. Indigenous cultures, such as the Zulu people and Tswana people, were indoctrinated in the Western way of dress as a sign of conversion to Christianity. First Western hand sewing techniques, and later machine sewing, spread throughout the regions where the European colonists settled. However, a recent examination of new online learning methods demonstrated that technology can be adapted to share knowledge of a culture's traditional sewing methods. Using self-paced online tutorials, a Malaysia sewing class learned how to tailor and sew a traditional men's Baju Kurung garment in 3 days, whereas a traditional Malay sewing class would have taken 5 days to teach the same information. (2025). 9781905305124, Academic Conferences Limited. ISBN 9781905305124
Advances in industrial technology, such as the development of during the early 20th century, have brought profound changes to the textile industry as a whole. Textile industries in Western countries have declined sharply as textile companies compete for cheaper labour in other parts of the world. According to the U.S. Department of Labor "employment of sewers and tailors is expected to experience little or no change, growing 1 percent from 2010 to 2020". It is estimated that every lost textile job in a Western country in recent years has resulted in 1.5 jobs being created in an outsourcing country such as China. Textile workers who perform tasks with sewing machines, or do detailed work by hand, are still a vital component of the industry, however. Small-scale sewing is also an economic standby in many developing countries, where many people, both male and female, are self-employed sewers.
Most clothing today is mass-produced, and conforms to standard sizing, based on body measurements that are intended to fit the greatest proportion of the population. However, while "standard" sizing is generally a useful guideline, it is little more than that, because there is no industry standard that is "both widely accepted and strictly adhered to in all markets".
Home sewers often work from sewing patterns purchased from companies such as Simplicity, Butterick, McCall's, Vogue, Burda Style, and many others. Such patterns are typically printed on large pieces of tissue paper; a sewer may simply cut out the required pattern pieces for use but may choose to transfer the pattern onto a thicker paper if repeated use is desired. A sewer may choose to alter a pattern to make it more accurately fit the intended wearer. Patterns may be changed to increase or decrease length; to add or remove fullness; to adjust the position of the waistline, shoulder line, or any other seam, or a variety of other adjustments. Volume can be added with elements such as pleats, or reduced with the use of darts. Before work is started on the final garment, test garments may be made, sometimes referred to as or .
Rotary cutters may also be used for cutting fabric, usually used with a cutting mat to protect other surfaces from being damaged. Seam rippers are used to remove mistaken stitches or basting stitches. Special washable markers or chalk are used to mark the fabric as a guide to construction.
Pressing and ironing are an essential part of any sewing project, and require additional tools. A steam iron is used to press seams and garments, and a variety of pressing aids such as a seam roll or tailor's ham are used to aid in shaping a garment. A pressing cloth may be used to protect the fabric from damage. A velvet board helps to iron velvet without crushing it.
are now made for a broad range of specialised sewing purposes, such as quilting machines, heavy-duty machines for sewing thicker fabrics (such as leather), computerized machines for embroidery, and for finishing raw edges of fabric.
A wide variety of presser foot attachments are available for many sewing machines—feet exist to help with hemming, pintucks, attaching cording, assembling patchwork, quilting, and a variety of other functions.
A thimble is a small hard tool used to protect fingertips while hand sewing.
Supporting materials, such as interfacing, interlining, or lining, may be used in garment construction, to give the fabric a more rigid or durable shape.
Before or after the pattern pieces are cut, it is often necessary to mark the pieces to provide a guide during the sewing process. Marking methods may include using pens, pencils, or chalk, tailor's tacks, snips, pins, or thread tracing, among others.
In addition to the normal lockstitch, construction stitches include edgestitching, understitching, staystitching and topstitching. Seam types include the plain seam, zigzag seam, flat fell seam, French seam and many others.
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