 In Japan, traditional clothing was sewn together with running stitch that could be removed so that the clothing could be taken apart and the assorted pieces laundered separately.The tight-locked stitches made by home sewing machines, and the use of Western clothing patterns, led to a movement towards wearing Western-style clothing during the early 20th century.Western sewing and clothing styles were disseminated in sub-Saharan Africa by Christian missionaries from the 1830s onward.