Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Hundreds Of Sewing Machine Stitches

By David Trumble

How many stitches are there? As I understand it, the US government has registered thousands of different stitches. These include hand stitches, utility stitches, decorative stitches, lettering stitch sets, serger stitches, and a variety of industrial stitches. The home sewing machine, however, had only a straight stitch for almost a hundred years. Modern sewing machines have between 25 and 1,000 different stitches.

Sewing machines are not all the same. Even sewing machines that look alike, can be very very different. Sewing machines vary in the stitches they offer as well as how they make those stitches.

The least expensive sewing machines today are mechanical sewing machines. By this we mean, they use levers, gears, and belts driven by an AC electric motor to run the sewing machine. There are two shafts, an upper one drives the needle bar. A lower shaft drives the feed system and hook assembly. There is an absence of advanced electronics.

The mechanical devices that produce stitches are in the hundreds. Levers (cam trackers) rub against a cam gear with grooves and bumps that cause these levers to move back and forth. This motion transfers across the machine to alter the needle bars movement. The result is a needle bar that rises and falls in various positions left to right to form desired stitches.

Cam tracker alignment are adjusted by surface mounted dials, buttons, or levers. The position of the cam tracker lever determines the stitch produced. The position of the stitch selector lines up the tracker to form the selected stitch. If it gets out of line, it will fail to produce the desired stitch. To fix this, adjust the stitch selector connection on the cam tracker and align it with the proper groove on the cam gear. Also look closely to make sure the cam gear has not cracked or broken.

One step above the mechanical machine is a class of sewing machines that applies a variety of electronic devices. These devices are often used for better stitch selection. Usually, the electronics are used to improve power control. There are blended machines. Some blend mechanical machines with limited electronics. Others use loads of electronic devices even blending with computerized parts. Electronic sewing machines significantly improve the smoothness, dependability, and ease of sewing machine use.

Electronic sewing machines significantly improve the smoothness, dependability, and ease of sewing machine use. Many more stitches are offered by electronic stitches.

The next level of sewing machines is called computerized sewing machines. These machines have revolutionized the sewing machine industry with huge advancements in technologies. These machines offer far more stitches while making sewing smoother, easier, and more dependable. The computer technology has transformed the sewing machine like so many other products. It controls super quiet DC pulse motors, programs amazing stitches, and gives the user greatly expanded creative potential. A touch of a button or a spot on a touch screen yields up to a thousand different stitches.

Buttons, dials, and levers are used by mechanical machines to choose stitches.

An electronic switch is used in electronic sewing machines to select stitches.

On a computerized sewing machine, press a button on the computer keypad or touch the selection on a computerize touch screen.

You can get a handle on your stitches with this little exercise. Make your own stitch selection reference book. Cut as many 5 by 7 pieces of plain fabric as you may need. Select one stitch at a time, and sew one seam across the piece of fabric. Sew similar stitches (utility, decorative, etc.) on each piece but spread out for neat appearance. Repeat the process for every stitch on your sewing machine. If you only have a few stitches, try sewing a variety of lengths and widths. This is an inexpensive and practical way to really get a handle on all your stitches.

Now you know how to select the various stitches on your sewing machine. You also have a visual example of each stitch. - 15478

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