elias howe, born in spencer, massachusetts, created his sewing machine in 1845, using a similar method to fisher's except that the fabric was held vertically. an important improvement on his machine was to have the needle running away from the point, starting from the eye. after a lengthy stay in england trying to attract interest in his machine, he returned to america to find various people infringing his patent, among them isaac merritt singer. he eventually won a case for patent infringement in 1854, and was awarded the right to claim royalties from the manufacturers using ideas covered by his patent, including singer.