Helen Blanchard

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Helen Augusta Blanchard (1897)

Helen Augusta Blanchard (born October 25, 1840 in Portland , Maine , † January 12, 1922 in Providence , Rhode Island ) was an American inventor. Between 1873 and 1915 she received 28 patents. She is known for many inventions that deal with sewing machines and sewing techniques.

Early life

Blanchard was born on October 25, 1840 in Portland, Maine, to a wealthy family. Her father Nathaniel Blanchard was a shipowner and businessman. Her mother was Phoebe Buxton Blanchard. Helen was one of six children. She had two sisters Louise Phobe and Persis E. and three brothers David H., Augustus and Albus. Helen showed an inventive mindset at an early age, but did not get her first patent until she was over thirty after her father's business collapse. There is no evidence that she received any mechanical or technical training, although she mainly filed her patents in these areas.

First inventions and move to Boston - 1870s

Her father suffered financial losses in the economic crisis of 1866, which also led to the loss of the family home. When Nathaniel died, he left his family in financial trouble. Helen Blanchard moved to Boston , Massachusetts and patented several sewing machine inventions between 1873 and 1875. This also included the Blanchard sewing machine, which could sew and trim knitted fabrics at the same time.

Philadelphia and New York - the late 1870s-1890s

After developing the technology for zigzag and Übersäumnähten Blanchard moved to Philadelphia where she founded the Blanchard Overseaming Company of Philadelphia, to market their inventions from the late 1870s and early 1880s. In 1882 she founded the Blanchard Hosiery Machine Company. In the early 1890s she moved to New York City and patented other inventions such as a sharpener and a hat sewing machine.

Later life and legacy

After her profitable ventures, she bought back the family property in Portland and moved there herself in 1901. Until she had a stroke in 1916, she patented further inventions. She died in Providence, Rhode Island in 1922 and was buried in the family lot in Portland's Evergreen Cemetery. It is not known what became of her property after her death. In 2006 she was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame .

Patents

Helen Blanchard received 28 patents in 45 years, 22 of them dealing with sewing techniques and sewing machines. Many of these inventions were referred to by other inventors in their designs.

  • 1873: Improvement of sewing machines
    This invention made possible a buttonhole or zigzag stitch that gave a seam more firmness when it was closed. The stitch could be varied in several ways, e.g. B. by varying the needle depth. The original sewing machine with this variation is currently in the Smithsonian in the National Museum of American History .
  • 1875: Improvement of elastic seams for clothes
    This invention is a sewing method that produces a strong, elastic stitch with minimal changes in the material used and allows adjustment of the fabric tension .
  • 1875: Improvement of shoes with elastic cutouts
    This invention is one way of reinforcing shoes by providing a reinforced instep that holds the shoe pieces together. A series of stitches brings normal and elastic thread together and creates tension that can withstand more movement than previous methods.
  • 1876: Improvement of folded and covered seams
    This invention is a method by which two edges of material, once sewn together into a seam, can be made flat. This can be done either by laying in an edge or by sewing a strip over the seam.
  • 1883: bobbin case
    This invention is a simple cover for silk, cotton, thread spools or other material that protects the spool from contamination, damage or unwinding.
  • 1893: Method of attaching fringes and cords to material corners
    This invention is a method of attaching reed or cord to the edges of the material, particularly for attaching reed liners to hat sweatbands. This is done by folding the edges of the material around the reed insert or around the cord before sewing.
  • 1893: sewing needle
    This invention improved the sewing needle by allowing the thread to be threaded with only one hand. The needle had a lock so that when threading the thread could be placed in a slot instead of threading it through the hole.
  • 1894: Surgical needle
    This invention is an improvement on previous surgical needles. It has a lancet tip that allows it to pierce the skin easily with minimal resistance, thus causing less pain to the patient. The notch on the back of the needle allows the thread to detach from the needle by pushing it out of the skin.
  • 1900: sewing machine needle
    This invention is a needle used in sewing machines in which one or more threads are used to form stitches. The needle pierces the fabric and with its notch it supplies another thread to create the stitch.
  • 1901: Seam for sewn articles
    This invention is a possibility to connect two material edges, in particular knitted fabric, and an over edge. This process involves making a series of loops made from a single thread that runs through both edges of the material.
  • 1901: hat sewing machine
    This invention is an adaptation to the sewing machine that allows a mean chain stitch with a thread to sew sweatbands and linen strips onto the inside edge of the hat. Previously, this job had been done by hand, so this machine increased the production rate.
  • 1914: types of Webkantennähten
    This invention is a process in which primarily the ends of knitting selvages are joined together. But it can also be used with another fabric for decorative purposes. This smooths out waves in the fabric and creates a flat seam, which was previously not possible.

See also

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Stanley, Autumn. Mothers and Daughters of Invention: Notes for a Revised History of Technology. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers U, 1995. Print.
  2. ↑ a b c Autumn Stanley: Mothers and Daughters of Invention . Scarecrow Press, Metuchen, NJ 1993.
  3. ↑ Francis E. Wilard et al .: Great American Women of the 19th Century: A Biographical Encyclopedia . Humanity Books, 2005, p. 117.
  4. ↑ ( US Patent No. 304,900 issued September 9, 1884 )
  5. ^ Lance Day, Ian McNeil: Biographical Dictionary of the History of Technology , 1st publ. in paperback .. edition, Routledge, London 1998, ISBN 0-415-19399-0 .
  6. ↑ Spotlight | National Inventors Hall of Fame . Invent.org. November 21, 2013. Archived from the original on August 14, 2016. Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved May 29, 2016. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / invent.org
  7. ^ Blanchard, Helen A. Improvement in Sewing Machines. Helen A Blanchard, assignee. Patent US141987. Aug. 19, 1873. Print.
  8. ↑ Blanchard, Helen A. Improvement in Elastic Seams for Garments. Helen A Blanchard, assignee. Patent US162019 . 13 Apr 1875.
  9. ↑ Blanchard, Helen A. Improvement in Elastic Goring for Shoes. Helen A Blanchard, assignee. Patent US167732. 14 Sept. 1875. Print.
  10. ^ Blanchard, Helen A. Improvement in Welted and Covered Seams. Helen A Blanchard, assignee. Patent US174764. 14 Mar. 1876. Print.
  11. ↑ Blanchard, Helen A. Spool-Case. Helen A Blanchard, assignee. Patent US276344. Apr. 24, 1883. Print.
  12. ↑ Blanchard, Helen A. METHOD OF SECURING REEDS OR CORDS TO THE EDGES OF MATERIALS. Helen A Blanchard, assignee. Patent US496929. 9 May 1893. Print.
  13. ↑ Blanchard, Helen A. Sewing-Needle. Helen A Blanchard, assignee. Patent US500556. 4 July 1893. Print.
  14. ↑ Blanchard, Helen A. Surgical Needle. Helen A Blanchard, assignee. Patent US527263 A. 9 Oct. 1894. Print.
  15. ↑ Blanchard, Helen A. Sewing Machine Needle. Helen A Blanchard, assignee. Patent US659999. 16 Oct. 1900. Print.
  16. ↑ Blanchard, Helen A. SEAM FOR SEWED ARTICLES. Helen A Blanchard, assignee. Patent US683902. 8 Oct. 1901. Print.
  17. ↑ Blanchard, Helen A. Hat-Sewing Machine. Helen A Blanchard, assignee. Patent US684176. 8 Oct. 1901. Print.
  18. ↑ Blanchard, Helen A. Method of Selvage-Sewing. Helen A Blanchard, assignee. Patent US1089816. 10 Mar. 1914. Print.
personal data
SURNAME Blanchard, Helen
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Blanchard, Helen Augusta
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American inventor
DATE OF BIRTH October 25, 1840
PLACE OF BIRTH Portland , Maine
DATE OF DEATH January 12, 1922
Place of death Providence , Rhode Island