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In the late 1970s embroidery machines met the computer age, and that began transitions of labor.
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Next, there came transistors, which led to robots and modern computers, which led to the ultimate refinement and most glorious purpose of computing: Putting lace on little girls’ dresses. We have lots of history on that age, but we’ll bore you with those details some other time. The main manufacturer of big embroidery machines was Schiffli, but there were others, mostly Swiss. The machines stayed big and ugly for over a century, evolving into something that produces what we think of today as embroidery. An amazing amount of resources went into making this equipment, from fancy looms to Jacquard’s punch cards that controlled them. At first there were big, ugly, cumbersome things which came out of Switzerland. Then the industrial age began, steel flowed, and finally, machines began to help. Other than that, embroidery was done by craftsmen and women of varying skills and took great amounts of time. We don’t have pictures of it, but as they did invent much that began the modern world, it’s not so far-fetched. The Scots, who consider themselves the most inventive people on the planet (it rains a lot, so they stay inside and tinker), tried making an embroidery machine in the 1400s. Of course, for most of history, stitches were added by hand. Embroidery stitches have been popular and at times practical (Sashiko is an example), as an addition to garments of all types. Ever since the first garment, somebody started decorating it. Personalization is a wonderful part of human existence that goes back as far as we do. We’re going to visit school for a bit of background, but eventually we’ll visit all sorts of places in the embroidery universe! A Brief History So, turn that frown upside down and let’s set off. If you can’t laugh at yourself and your own mistakes, you won’t survive this journey. I’ll try to take you through this as gently as I can but be warned: A sense of humor will be your ticket to success. Who am I? I am the one who has been there before you. Hi! Welcome to the world of machine embroidery.