Engineering
The Hidden Dance of Needle and Thread
Quick fact
A sewing machine forms a lockstitch by passing a needle thread through the fabric and looping it around a bobbin thread, using a rotating hook that catches the needle thread and carries it around the bobbin case, interlocking the two threads in the middle of the fabric.
Why this is interesting
You press a pedal and fabric glides through, but have you ever wondered how a single needle and a tiny bobbin manage to lock two threads together in a perfect stitch, thousands of times a minute, without tangling?