Schiffli embroidery machine

The Schiffli embroidery machine is a Swiss machine that embroiders cloth with a continuous needle thread on top and a bobbin carried in a shuttle underneath. Schiffli means "little boat" in Swiss German, after the shape of the shuttle.

Who invented it?

The Historical Dictionary of Switzerland says Isaak Gröbli (1822–1917) built the first Schiffli machine in 1863–64, with the support of the St. Gallen embroidery manufacturer J. Wehrli, at the Benninger works in Uzwil. In 1864 he moved to the Rieter machine works in Winterthur. The entry adds that he earned little from it, partly because the invention was not patented. The Textile Research Centre in Leiden also dates it to 1863 and says it is based on sewing-machine principles.

How does it relate to lace?

Leiden notes that the machine can make imitation lace forms. Its embroidery stitches are machine versions of running, satin and zigzag stitches, so lace made on it shows lockstitches rather than the buttonhole stitches of needle lace. It is the main tool for chemical lace, where the embroidery is worked on a ground that is later dissolved.

Sources

1. Gröbli, Isaak. Historisches Lexikon der Schweiz
2. Schiffli Embroidery Machine. Textile Research Centre, Leiden
3. 1625 Chemical lace. Textile Research Centre, Leiden

See also

• Chemical lace
• Needle lace

Read more

• Handmade or Machine? How to Read a Piece of Lace

Last updated October 17, 2026 · Markdown