History of textiles and clothing
56 inventions by year: what each evolved from and what it led to.
How the inventions are connected
| Year | Invention | What it is | Evolved from | Led to |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 50000 BC | Needle | A tool with an eye for sewing. | Stone tool | |
| 40000 BC | Footwear | Protection for the foot. | ||
| 8000 BC | Spindle | A rod for twisting fibre into thread. | Spinning wheel | |
| 8000 BC | Linen | A fabric of flax fibres; in Egypt it made clothing, sails and bandages. | ||
| 7000 BC | Textile | A material made of interlaced threads. | ||
| 6500 BC | Felt | A non-woven material of matted wool. | ||
| 6000 BC | Wool | An animal fibre. | ||
| 6000 BC | Warp-weighted loom | An ancient loom whose warp threads are tensioned by weights. | ||
| 5000 BC | Cotton | A plant fibre. | ||
| 5000 BC | Loom | A device for interlacing warp and weft threads into cloth. | Power loom | |
| 3300 BC | Backpack | A bag worn on the back (Ötzi had one). | ||
| 3000 BC | Backstrap loom | A loom whose warp is tensioned by the weaver’s body. | ||
| 3000 BC | Hat | Headwear. | ||
| 3000 BC | Trousers | The trousers of nomads. | ||
| 3000 BC | Belt | A waist belt. | ||
| 2700 BC | Silk | The fibre of the silkworm. | ||
| 2000 BC | Button | A fastener. | ||
| 500 BC | Buckle | A belt fastener. | ||
| 200 BC | Thimble | Finger protection when sewing. | ||
| 1000 | Spinning wheel | A wheel for spinning thread. | Spindle | Spinning jenny |
| 1300 | Hook and eye | A fastener. | Zip | |
| 1500 | Bag | A bag for belongings. | ||
| 1589 | Knitting machine William Lee | Lee’s stocking frame. | ||
| 1650 | Necktie | A neck band. | ||
| 1725 | Bouchon’s loom | Basile Bouchon’s loom, controlled by a perforated paper tape. | Pinned cylinder | Jacquard loom |
| 1733 | Flying shuttle John Kay | Kay’s shuttle that sped up weaving. | ||
| 1764 | Spinning jenny James Hargreaves | Hargreaves’s multi-spindle spinning frame. | Spinning wheel | Spinning mule |
| 1769 | Arkwright’s water frame | A spinning machine driven by a water wheel. | Spinning mule | |
| 1779 | Spinning mule Samuel Crompton | Crompton’s spinning machine. | Spinning jenny, Arkwright’s water frame | |
| 1785 | Power loom | Cartwright’s mechanically driven loom. | Loom | |
| 1793 | Cotton gin Eli Whitney | Whitney’s machine that separates cotton fibre from the seeds. | ||
| 1804 | Jacquard loom Joseph Marie Jacquard | A loom in which a complex pattern is set by a chain of punched cards. | Bouchon’s loom, Automaton | Babbage’s Analytical Engine |
| 1820 | Tailor’s tape | A soft measuring tape for tailors. | ||
| 1823 | Waterproof fabric | Fabric impregnated with rubber. | Membrane fabric | |
| 1824 | Raincoat | Rubberized fabric (Macintosh). | ||
| 1846 | Sewing machine Thomas Saint | A lockstitch machine (Howe, Singer). | Cinématographe, Overlocker | |
| 1846 | Sewing machine shuttle Thomas Saint | The unit that interlaces the upper thread with the lower one. | ||
| 1849 | Safety pin Walter Hunt | A pin with a spring and a clasp (Hunt). | ||
| 1856 | Wellington boots | Boots made of vulcanized rubber. | ||
| 1860 | Size chart | Standard clothing sizes. | ||
| 1863 | Sewing pattern | A sized paper pattern (Butterick). | ||
| 1873 | Jeans | Denim trousers with rivets (Strauss and Davis). | ||
| 1881 | Overlocker | A machine for finishing edges. | Sewing machine | |
| 1885 | Snap fastener | A press stud with a spring ring (Prym). | ||
| 1900 | Watch strap | A strap for a wristwatch. | ||
| 1913 | Zip Whitcomb L. Judson | A fastener of teeth joined by a slider (Sundback). | Hook and eye | |
| 1914 | Bra | An undergarment (Jacob). | ||
| 1916 | Trainers | Shoes with rubber soles. | ||
| 1935 | Nylon | The first fully synthetic fibre (Carothers). | Polyester, Kevlar | |
| 1941 | Polyester | A synthetic fibre. | Nylon | |
| 1952 | Wetsuit | A neoprene suit. | ||
| 1955 | Hook-and-loop fastener | A fastener of hooks and loops, copied from burdock (de Mestral). | ||
| 1958 | Spandex | A stretchy fibre (DuPont). | ||
| 1965 | Kevlar | A super-strong aramid fibre (Kwolek). | Nylon | |
| 1969 | Membrane fabric Bill Gore, Robert W. Gore | A porous PTFE membrane (Gore). | Waterproof fabric | |
| 1979 | Fleece | A polyester pile (Malden Mills). |