Most domestic machines have used a Lockstitch since its first successful application in about 1844. Elias Howe used this principle on a machine he patented in 1846.

Thread is carried through the eye at the end of the needle and on a bobbin inside the shuttle. The shuttle first passes through a small loop of thread at the end of the needle. This thread is fed down the needle bar from a bobbin at the top of the machine. Thread from the shuttle trails behind and so also passes through the loop. It then becomes trapped by the previous stitches and is continuously drawn from the bobbin.

This system is not used for industrial machines because the small size required for the shuttle reduces the amount of thread it can carry.

The lockstitch
Friction on the threads is arranged so that both are tight.