IDENTIFICATION OF MANUAL SEWING MACHINE COMPONENTS AND UNDERSTAND THEIR

FUNCTIONS

Upper part of sewing machine is composed of:

1. Head

2. Arm

3. Bed
PART OF SEWING MACHINE IN THE ARM

1. SPOOL PIN

2. THREAD GUIDE

3. THREAD TAKE UP LEVER

4. PRESSER BAR LIFTER

5. TENSIONER

6. NEEDLE BAR

7. NEEDLE CLAMP

8. PRESSER FOOT

9. NEEDLE

10. BOBBIN WINDER

11. STITCH REGULATOR

12.BALANCE WHEEL

13. BELT

14. STOP MOTION SCREW

1. FEED DOG

2. THROAT PLATE

3.SLIDE PLATE

4. SHUTTLE

5. BOBBIN

6. BOBBIN CASE
IDENTIFICATION OF SEMI AUTOMATIC SEWING MACHINE COMPONENTS AND UNDERSTAND
THEIR FUNCTIONS
NEEDLE FIXING AND THREADING IN SINGLE NEEDLE, DOUBLE NEEDLE, OVER LOCK, FLAT
LOCK, & FEED OF THE ARM MACHINE

NEEDLE FIXING

1. Loosen the needle set screw.

2. Pull the needle downwards and out of the needle bar.

3. Insert a new needle. Push upwards until the butt of the needle hits the stop.

3. Tighten the needle set screw.

THREADING IN SINGLE NEEDLE

Top threading procedure :

1. Place spool of thread on spool pin.

2. Unwind thread from spool and pass it through the thread guide.

3. Bring thread down toward the tension assembly.

4. Pass thread under and around the tension disc, taking care that it falls between the two discs.

5. Pass thread into take up lever

6. Bring thread down through the remaining needle guides.

7. Pass thread end through eye of the needle and ensure that it goes in proper direction into the
machine. Pull at least 3" Of thread through needle and leave.
THREADING IN OVER LOCK

Threading procedure for needle thread:

The needle thread in the form of spool or cone is placed on the spool disc. The yarn from
the spool is drawn and passed through the guide and then through the tensioner. After the
tension assembly, it is passed through the take up lever and then through another tension disc
and then finally through the needle after passing through in between thread guides.

Threading procedure for top looper thread

The looper thread in the form of spool or cone is placed on the spool disc.The yarn from
the spool or cone is passed through tension disc take up lever which takes up excess material
from the spool for the formation of loop. After the thread is passed through in between guides
and then finally to the looper.

Threading procedure for bottom looper thread:

The yarn drawn from the spool is passed through the pipe guide through guides, and then
through the same take up lever and guides of the top looper threads. In this case, the passage
of yarn is slightly different and passes through the respective holes of the bottom looper. Finally,
it is passed through the bottom looper.

THREADING IN FLAT LOCK

Threading procedure for needle thread(three)

The needle thread in the form of spool or cone is placed on the spool disc.

The yarn from the spool is drawn and passed through the guide and then through the tensioner.

After the tension assembly, it is passed through the lubricating system and to common take up
lever and then through another tension disc and then finally through the needle after passing
through in between thread guides. The lubricating box contains silicon oil to improve the
sewability of sewing thread.

Threading procedure for top looper thread:

The looper thread in the form of spool or cone is placed on the spool disc. The yarn from the
spool Or cone is passed through tension disc take up lever which takes up excess material
from the spool for the formation of loop. After, the thread is passed through in between guides
and then finally to the looper.
Threading procedure for bottom looper thread:

The yarn drawn from the spool is passed through the pipe guide through guides, and then
through the take up lever and guides. In this case the passage of yarn is slightly different and
passes through the respective holes of the bottom looper. Finally, it is passed through the
bottom looper.

FEED OF THE ARM MACHINE

The machine name suggest the shape of the machine. It is like an arm bending towards the
feed mechanism. It is used both in woven and knitted sectors. In this machine, the needles are
fixed diagonally and are provided with the device for lubricating the threads.

These machines are available with two or three needles and the latest one has the trimming
and sucking devices. The maximum speed ranges from 4500-5500 (stitches/minutes).

It is used for side closing.

It is used for covering stitches in knit fabrics.

It covers stitches in heavy fabrics.

PEDAL AND KNEE LIFTER OPERATION PRACTICE, WINDING THE BOBBIN THREAD, ADJUSTING
THE BOBBIN THREAD TENSION

BOBBIN THREAD WINDING

It’s critical to use bobbins made specifically for the sewing machine and to wind the bobbin

correctly.

1. Put the spool of thread on the spool pin.

2. Pull the thread from the spool into the thread guide.

3. Wrap the thread around the tension disk.

4. Insert the end of the thread in the bobbin.

5. Pull the thread through until you have a tail about 4-5 inches.

6. Set the bobbin on the winding spindle and snap it in place.

7. Pull the thread taut and hold the tail end of the thread firmly. Step on the foot control so the
 bobbin starts spinning.

8. Hold thread to start winding bobbin

9. After many rotations, the tail end you’re holding becomes really twisted. Sometimes it breaks

off. If it doesn’t, lift your foot off the foot control to stop the bobbin. Trim the tail close to the

bobbin.

10. Step on the foot control and finish winding until the bobbin is full. The thread should be

evenly distributed on the bobbin.

11. Clip thread after winding bobbin

12. Clip the thread leaving a tail of a few inches.

13. Remove the bobbin by snapping the winding spindle back to its starting position and lifting

off the bobbin.

ADJUSTING THE BOBBIN THREAD TENSION

Bobbin case has its own tensioner. To test the bobbin tension, remove the bobbin case and
bobbin from your machine and hold the end of your bobbin thread. Swiftly pull up on the thread.
The thread should unwind just slightly and the bobbin case should drop an inch or two. If the
thread unwinds without resistance and the case slips to the floor, your bobbin tension is too
loose. If the bobbin case doesn't budge, your bobbin tension is too tight. To tighten the bobbin
tension, turn the tiny screw on the bobbin case a smidgen clockwise. To loosen bobbin tension,
turn the screw counterclockwise. A quarter turn or less is a good place to start.

ADJUSTING THE STITCH LENGTH, NEEDLE THREAD TENSION NUT, PRESSURE OF PRESSER
FOOT, FEED DOG, THREAD TAKE UP SPRING, AND NEEDLE THREAD TAKE UP LEVER.

ADJUSTING THE STITCH LENGTH

Stitch length is basically how long each stitch is sewn by your sewing machine.Changing the
stitch length adjusts the feed dogs, which controls how much fabric is pulled through with each
stitch. For a shorter length, less fabric is pulled through. For a longer stitch, more fabric is pulled
through.

Older/vintage sewing machines may show a range of 4-60. No, these machines can’t make
massively long stitches! This is the number of stitches per inch. Therefore, the bigger the
number, the smaller the stitch.
NEEDLE THREAD TENSION NUT

In order to achieve a normally tight stitch with a thread knot in the middle of the fabric, a certain
tension must be created in the upper and lower threads.

This tension is created by the friction braking of the threads in special thread tension regulators
[1].The upper thread tension regulator is usually mounted on the side wall of the sewing
machine, and for the lower thread is a flat spring mounted on the side of the bobbin case.

The operation of the tension regulator consists in squeezing the thread passing between two
convex tension washers 4 placed on the screw 9. The washer 4 facing the nut 1 is pressed by
the spiral cone spring 2. Between the right-hand washer and the spring there is a washer with a
bridge 4. This washer is used to release the thread when the foot is lifted by the stem 8. The
screw together with the compensation spring 5 is installed in a housing which is fixed in the
machine head.

The upper thread tension regulator is designed so that when the presser foot is lifted, the
tension washers move apart and the tension is released, allowing the thread to be wound off the
spool when the fabric is removed.

PRESSURE OF PRESSER FOOT

Presser foot pressure control: This control adjusts the amount of pressure the presser foot
applies to fabric as it feeds beneath the needle. Increase pressure when sewing heavy fabric
and decrease pressure when sewing lightweight or thin fabric.

FEED DOG

Sewing machine feed dogs are metal teeth-like ridges that emerge from a hole in the throat
plate of a sewing machine. Feed dogs move as you sew, gently gripping the bottom fabric to
help it pass through the sewing machine and produce a high-quality stitch.
THREAD TAKE UP SPRING

Adjustment of the thread take up spring

(1) Loosen the set screw (No.2) and turn the whole thread tension regulator (No.3) then, adjust
the thread take up spring (No.1) stroke to be in 9 to 10mm, which is standard stroke.

(2) Insert the screw driver into the slit of the thread tension regulator and adjust the thread take
up spring tension. When tightening the screw driver clockwise, the thread take up spring tension
becomes tight,and when loosening the screw driver counterclockwise, the thread take up spring
tension becomes loose. For the adjustment of the thread take up spring tension, tighten the set
screw (No.2) so that the whole thread tension regulator does not turn.

NEEDLE THREAD TAKE UP LEVER

M3. 01 SEWING EXERCISE ON PAPER

EXERCISE 1- PARALLEL LINE, ZIG ZAG

EXERCISE 2- CORNERS

EXERCISE 3- CONCENTRIC SQUARES

EXERCISE 4- CURVES

EXERCISE 5 - CONCENTRIC CURVES

EXERCISE 1 PARALLEL LINE, ZIG ZAG

1. 12×12

M3. 02 SEWING EXERCISE ON FABRIC

EXERCISE 1 - PARALLEL LINE, ZIG ZAG

EXERCISE 2 - CORNERS

EXERCISE 3 - CONCENTRIC SQUARES

EXERCISE 4 - CURVES

EXERCISE 5 - CONCENTRIC CURVES

STITCH CLASSIFICATION AND STITCH PROPERTIES

1. Class 100: Single Thread Chainstitch

The stitches formed here are from one or more needles by the method of intralooping. Thus,
one or more loops of the needle thread are passed through the fabric and secured by looping
with the next loop of the same thread after they are passed through the fabric. This type of
stitch is very insecure as each loop is dependent on the next loop and a single thread breakage
can pull apart the entire stitch.
 These look similar to that of lockstitch on the face side with the loops on the back. The added
advantage of these loops is that it makes the stitch elastic and thus can be used where the
fabric needs a little stretch such as in back neck tape in t-shirts. Also, with easy removal of
stitch, it is used in basting operations in tailor-made garments. This kind of stitch is often not
preferred for seaming operations but is widely used in multi-needle machines, as temporary
stitch and blind stitch.

Stitch type 101 or single needle chain stitch is the most common of them along with a 103
single thread blind stitch. The front and back of all the other types are shown below.

2. Class 200: Hand Stitch

These types of stitches are hand stitches that are used for decorative purposes. These are
formed by a single sewing thread and the stitch is held by a single line of thread passing from
one side to the other side of the fabric. This is mostly used for casual fitting with a simple
sewing needle and thread as domestic needs but is also found as topstitch in high-priced
garments due to its perfect finish. This can also be done on automatic machines called pick
stitch sewing machines but are very slow and are rarely in use. The front and back of all the
other types are given below.

3. Class 300: Lock Stitch

Lock stitch is the most common form of stitch in ready-made garments and is formed when the
thread or threads are introduced from one side of the material to interlace with thread or
threads introduced from the other side of the material. The top thread is called the needle
thread and the bottom thread is called the bobbin thread. The interlacing of the threads makes
the stitch secure and difficult to unravel makes it the most appropriate for a wide range of
seams. Also, the lockstitch has adequate strength for most purposes with a correct
combination of thread and fabric.

The main disadvantages of lock stitch are

Limited bobbin thread length makes it necessary for changing of the bobbin from when it gets
finished.

Multi-needle stitching with many closed space needles is not possible due to limited space for
the bobbin. So, at most two needles can be used in a lockstitch machine.

The interlacing of thread limits the elasticity of the stitch and is unsuitable for edge neatening.

It is not suitable for knitted fabric due to a lack of elasticity.

Stitch type 301 is the most common type of stitch with uses in joining garment components,
topstitching, etc. Also, buttonholing, button attaching, blind stitching falls in this class of
stitches. The front and back of all the other types are given below.

4. Class 400: Multi-thread Chain Stitch

It is a multi-thread chain stitch type where loops formed in one set of sewing thread is passed
through the fabric and are held by interloping and interlacing with loops formed by another set
of threads called the looper threads. It looks like that of a lockstitch on the front side of the
fabric but has a double chain effect created by the looper thread on the backside. Compares to
lockstitch, a 2-thread chain stitch is much stronger and since no threads are interlocking with
each other within the fabric there are lesser chances of having a puckering in the seam. Another
advantage of this is that both the needle and looper thread runs from large cones on the top of
the machine unlike that of the limited sewing thread inside the bobbin. Also, it runs much faster
than that of a lockstitch machine at 8000rpm.

Stitch type 401 is the most common of them all and is used in sewing jeans and trousers and is
also used with overlock as a safety stitch. Stitch type 406,407 are used for joining lace, braid,
elastics with the garment. The front and back of all the other types are given below.

5. Class 500: Over-edge Chain Stitch

It is mostly known as overlock stitch and is formed by one or more sets of sewing threads with
at least one set of threads going around the raw fabric edge. All the stitch in this class has high
elasticity which does not unravel on thread breakage. Also, the machines are equipped with a
trimming knife to make the edge neat before sewing. The width of the stitch may vary from 3-
5mm. Overlock stitches are classified according to the number of threads used for sewing such
as 1,2,3,4 or 5 thread stitches. Each of these stitches is different in appearance and their
respective benefits are:

1 thread overlock stitches are used for butt-seaming.

2 -3 thread overlock stitches are used as edge neating seam in woven and knitted garments.

4 thread overlock stitch also known as mock safety stitch provides extra strength while
retaining flexibility.
5 thread stitch has two needle threads known as safety stitch which forms a stronger seam.

Also, the speed of the overlock machine is similar to that of chain stitch machines and can go
up to 8000rpm. Stitch Class 504(3 thread overlock) is the most common of all and is used for
securing the raw edges of the fabric and for heavy fabric such as denim 514 (4-thread mock
safety) is used. This is because 3-thread stitches are prone to seam grinning when the seam is
pulled at a right angle to the seam. The front and back of all the other types are given below.

6. Class 600: Covering Chain Stitch

It is known as Flatlock stitch and is formed by three sets of sewing thread namely, needle,
looper, and spreader. Apart from the needle threads, the other two sets cover the top and
bottom parts of the stitch. It is the most complicated of all types with up to a total of nine
threads including four needles and the rest looper and spreader thread.

These are mostly used for attaching tape, lace, braid, elastic to the knit fabric, etc. It can also be
used as a decorative stitch. Stitch type 602 is used for the above functions and hemming in t-
shirts. The front and back of the rest are given below.
CO4 SEWING PRACTICE AND SEAM TYPES

Seam

A seam is a method of binding two or more pieces of fabric together, usually using thread to
form stitches.

Seams are an essential element to every garment and fabric accessory, as they join the
material together to create the item.Seams are used for hems and to finish necklines and edges.

*Seams add shape through elements like darts, which are used to shape hips, waists, and
bustlines.

*Seams are used to gather fabric and create pleats. Learn more about pleats in our
comprehensive guide to pleat types here.

*Different types of seams can be used to create a different look for a garment and to finish and
hide the fabric edges for aesthetic and practical purposes.

M4. 01 TO CONSTRUCT SEAMS

SUPER IMPOSED SEAM

These generally start with two or more pieces of material superimposed over each other and
joined near an edge, with one or more rows of stitches. There are various types of seams within
this class.

Stitches Used

A superimposed seam can be sewn with Stitch Types 301 or 401 to create a simple seam. The
same seam type can also be sewn with Stitch class 500 (Over edge stitch) or Combination
stitches (e.g., Stitch class 516)
Application

Used to create neat load bearing seams for lingerie, shirts, etc.

LAPPED SEAM

In this class of seam, two or more piles of material are lapped (i.e., with edges overlaid, plain or
folded) and joined with one or more rows of stitches.

One of the most popular of this class is the Lap felled type, involving only one stitching
operation – a strong seam with fabric edges commonly used to protect jeans or similar
garments from fraying. The superficially similar French seam type involves two stitching
operations with an intervening folding operation – a flat, folded seam with only one row of
stitching visible on the top surface.

This seam class consists of a minimum of two components and can have different varieties
consisting of a number of rows of stitching.

Stitches Used

The lap felled seam is generally sewn with a 401 chainstitch.

Application

The looped seam is the most commonly used seam. It is used in jeans meanufacture because
of its strong construction. The French seam is commonly used for rain wear, and edge stitching
front facings on jackets and dresses.

FRENCH SEAM

FLAT SEAM

In these seams (sometimes called Butt seams), two fabric edges, flat or folded, are brought
together and over sewn with stitches.

The purpose of these seams is to produce a joint where no extra thickness of fabric can be
tolerated at the seam, as in underwear or foundation garments. The looper thread(s) must be
soft, yet strong and the cover thread may be decorative as well as strong. This seam is referred
to as a flat seam because the edges do not overlap one another, they will be butted together.

Stitches Used

Zigzag lock stitch, chain stitch or covering stitch (class 600).

This type of seam will consist of two components and can be seen on very fine knitted
garments where seams are required to be free from bulk.

M4. 02 TO CONSTRUCT SEAM FINISHES

PIPED

CROSSED

BOUND

Bound seam(s)

These are formed by folding a binding strip over the edge of the piles of material and joining
both edges of the binding to the material with one or more rows of stitching. This produces a
neat edge on a seam exposed to view or to wear. There are a variety of bound seams.

Stitches Used

401 chainstich or 301 lockstitch.

Application

Necklines of t-shirts.

PINKED

M4. 03 TO CONSTRUCT HEMS

SLIP

CATCH STITCH

INVISIBLE

HERRING BONE