On May 30 of the same year John Duncan, a Glasgow manufacturer, was granted British patent 2,769 for "a new and improved method of tambouring, or raising flowers, figures or other ornaments upon muslins, lawns and other cottons, cloths, or stuffs." This machine made the chainstitch, using not one but many hooked needles that operated simultaneously. The needles, attached to a bar or carrier, were pushed through the vertically held fabric from the upper right side, which in this case was also the outer side. After passing through it, they were supplied with thread from spools by means of peculiarly formed hooks or thread carriers. The thread was twisted around the needle above the hook, so as to be caught by it, and drawn through to the outer surface. The shaft of the needle was grooved on the hook side and fitted with a slider. This slider closed upon the retraction of the needle from the fabric, holding the thread in place and preventing the hook from catching. The fabric was stretched between two rollers set in an upright frame capable of sliding vertically in a second frame arranged to have longitudinal motion. The combination of these two motions was sufficient to produce any required design. The principle developed by Duncan was used on embroidery machines, in a modified form, for many years. Of several early attempts, his was the first to realize any form of success. [Illustration: Figure 4.--WEISENTHAL'S two-pointed needle, 1755.] [Illustration: Figure 5.--SAINT'S SEWING MACHINE, 1790. (Smithsonian photo 42490-A.)] [Illustration: Figure 6.--CHAPMAN'S SEWING MACHINE, first eye-pointed needle, 1807. (Smithsonian photo 33299-K.)]