Bobbin driver

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title: "Bobbin driver" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["sewing-machines"] topic_path: "general/sewing-machines" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bobbin_driver" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

Throughout history, lockstitch sewing machines have used a variety of methods to drive their bobbins so as to create the lockstitch.

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Names	Invented	Description	Picture	Notes
Transverse shuttle
1846 by Elias Howe	Transverse shuttles carry the bobbin in a boat-shaped shuttle, and reciprocate the shuttle along a straight horizontal shaft. The design was popularized in Singer's 'New Family' machine. The design became obsolete once the other bobbin driver designs were developed.	[[Image:BobbinDrivers.TransverseShuttle.shuttle.jpg	center	thumb
Vibrating shuttle	1850 by Allen B. Wilson	Vibrating shuttle machines reciprocate their shuttle through a short arc. The earliest vibrating shuttles used boat-shaped shuttles, but bullet-shaped shuttles soon replaced them. The design was popularized in the White Sewing Machine Company's 'White Sewing Machine' and Singer's 27-series machines. Now obsolete.	[[Image:BobbinDrivers.VibratingShuttle.shuttle.jpg	center
Rotary hook
1851 by Allen B. Wilson	Rotary hook machines hold their bobbin stationary, and continuously rotate the thread hook around it. The design was popularized in the White Sewing Machine Company's 'Family Rotary' sewing machine and Singer's models 95 and 115.	[[Image:BobbinDrivers.RotaryHook.hook.jpg	center	thumb
Oscillating shuttle	1877 by Lebbeus B. Miller and Philip Diehl	Oscillating shuttle machines mount their bobbin on the hook, and reciprocate the hook through a short arc. The design was popularized in Singer's models 15 'Improved Family' and 31.		[[Image:BobbinDrivers.OscillatingShuttle.shuttlewithbobbin.jpg
Oscillating hook	?	Oscillating hook machines hold their bobbin stationary, and reciprocate the hook through a short arc. The bobbin lies horizontally, right under the needle plate. The design was popularized in Singer's model 66.	[[Image:BobbinDrivers.OscillatingHook.hook.jpg	center
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"Rotating shuttle"

The term rotating shuttle is ambiguous. Sometimes it refers to a bobbin case, and sometimes it refers to a rotary hook design.

References

References

1. {{cite patent
2. Singer Sewing Machine Company. (1914). "Mechanics of the Sewing Machine". Singer Sewing Machine Company.
3. Grace Cooper. (2004). "The Sewing Machine: Its Invention and Use". Smithsonian Museum.
4. Refer to [[Vibrating shuttle]] for full inventor credits with references
5. All information drawn from the [[Vibrating shuttle]] article
6. Singer's last vibrating shuttle machine was built in 1962, according to the references on the [[Singer Model 27 and 127]] page
7. "Rotary Loop Taker with Replaceable Tip".
8. {{cite patent
9. All information drawn from the [[Rotary hook]] article
10. Singer Sewing Machine Company. (1914). "Mechanics of the Sewing Machine".
11. The Singer Sewing Machine Company. (1914). "Mechanics of the Sewing Machine". Singer Sewing Machine Company.
12. Singer Sewing Machine Company. (1914). "Mechanics of the Sewing Machine". Singer Sewing Machine Company.
13. Singer Sewing Machine Company. (1914). "Mechanics of the Sewing Machine". Singer Sewing Machine Company.
14. "Lock Stitch Rotating Shuttle}}, or {{cite patent".
15. "Sewing Machine}} (ironically filed by Wheeler & Wilson), or {{cite patent".

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