Sewing Machine Needle

• Parts of Needle
  
  
  


• Shank 
• The upper thick part of a sewing machine needle is called the shank. This part of the needle is inserted in the machine. 
• Home sewing machine needles are composed of a flat and a round side, to assist in always having the needle in the correct position. Always refer to your sewing machine manual for the correct way to insert the needle in your machine. 
Industrial machine needles have a completely round shaft and the groove is used to know which direction to put a new needle in the machine.


• Shaft  
• The shaft of a sewing machine needle is the area from the bottom of the shank to the point. The shaft contains the groove, scarf, eye and point of the needle.
• Groove 
A groove is in the side of the needle leading to the eye. The groove is a place for the thread to lay into the needle.
Use your fingernail and feel the groove of the needle on various sizes to understand why a different size thread would be needed for heavier thread.

• Scarf 
The scarf is a groove out of one side of the needle. The scarf allows the bobbin case hook to intersect with the upper thread and form stitches.


• Eye 
The eye of the needle carries the thread so the machine can keep forming stitches. The size of the eye can vary and works in conjunction with the groove of the needle. Using a needle with an eye that is too small or too large can cause your thread to shred and break.

• Point
• The point of the needle is the first contact with the fabric and responsible for how the needle pierces the fabric. 
• The most common types of point are sharps, ballpoint and universal
• Check that long grove of the needle facing exactly to left in direction.

Sewing Machine Needle Sizes

On the packages of sewing needles you will see two numbers. The larger number is the European metric system and it tells you the diameter of the needle in fractions of a millimeter. The smaller number is the American numbering system.

For twin needles, the first needle is the distance between the needles in millimeteres. The second number is the European number for the size of the needle.

European	American
60	8
65	9
70	10
75	11
80	12
90	14
100	16
110	18

You should select the size of the needle based on the weight of your fabric. The finer the fabric the lower the number you should use.

Fabric	Needle Size
Very Lightweight	8 or 9
Lightweight	9, 10 or 11
Medium Weight	12 or 14
Heavyweight	14 or 16
Very Heavyweight	16 or 18

Bobbin Winding Process

Step 1                                                                                                                               

Place Thread Spool on Spool pin on sewing machine as if you were threading machine and pass thread end along indicated thread guides. Thread guides will be somewhat different for bobbin winding than for regular threading.

Step 2                                                                                                                              

Place empty bobbins on bobbin winding spindle.

Step 3                                                                                                                             

Place thread end through one hole in upper portion of bobbin, and pull a few inches of thread through.

Step 4                                                                                                                                

Take hold of the thread end and pull gently outward so that there is very little slack in the thread. Firmly grasp thread end.

Step 5                                                                                                                                       

Push on presser foot to begin winding bobbin. Hold onto thread end while bobbin is being wound. Wind bobbin only up to guideline marked around the edge of the bobbin.

Step 6                                                                                                                                

Cut excess thread from the top of bobbin and cut thread that attaches bobbin to rest of thread spool.

Step 7                                                                                                                                  

Insert bobbin into bobbin case, pass thread through indicated slots, and bring thread out a few inches to the right.

Step 8                                                                                                                       

Continue threading machine.

Operating power-machines

Because the power machine are much faster and noisier than home sewing machine, they can be intimidating, but it is not difficult to sew on them by completing the application in this chapter, you will learn many essential machine skills, which can be applied to other machine types as well as to the lockstitch machine. As you practice, you will gain the confidence needed to use these skills efficiently and comfortably on all machine types. 

General directions on m/c 

Material /supplies 

Unthreaded machine 

Basic tools and supplies 

Muslin 

1. Begin with the power switch off and the machine unthreaded. to avoid possible hand in jury, keep your hands in your lap until directed otherwise. 

2. Sit erect in a relaxed or natural position close to the machine, with your body straight and your back against the chair back. Adjust the chair so that your torso is approximately 6” from the edge of the table and the center of the body is in a straight line with the needle. 

3. Place both feet on the treadle with the right foot slightly forward and the weight on the heels. The position gives maximum leverage with minimum exertion. 

4. Using your right hand, try to turn the hand –wheel, which is locked because the motor break is on. 

5. Push forward tightly transferring the weight from the eels to the balls of the feet, but do not raise the heels. This action releases the brake and engages the clutch, thereby connecting the machine with the motor. It allows you to turn the hand wheel manually. 

6. Transfer the weight to the heels to engage the breaks. 

7. Raise and lower the presser foot with the knee lift. Raise it manually with the presser bar lifter. 

NOTE: if the knee lift is not comfortable, adjust it inward or outward. Higher or lower. (See the section adjusting the knee lift in chapter 3.) 

8. Turn the machine on. 

9. check to be sure the presser foot is in the up

Machine Motor 

Centre of power supply in sewing machine is electrical motor which is underneath the table connected to machine with the help of pulley and belts. 

M/c speed will depend upon the motor speed or the max speed of machine is the motor speed i.e. RPM, 

Table is the base for every sewing machine, made of wood and steel. 

Pulley and belts connects the machine to the motor, belt is varied in shape and sizes as per the different m/c. 

M/C Bed is horizontal surface of machine surface is known as machine beds. There are different types of machine bed are Flat Bed, Side Bed, Cylindrical bed, Post bed, Raised Bed, used in different application. 

Spool Pin 

Spool pin is the vertical steel rod on which a thread spool is placed and thread will supplied to all various parts of machine. 

Thread guide and Tensioners 

Thread guides are the instructed way to pass the thread so that the stitch balance can be maintained, 

In the image the thread tensioner is shown, 

Main function of the check spring or Tension assembly is to increase or decrease the pressure and maintain the needle thread pressure during stitch mechanism. 

Pressure Foot 

The pressure foot, is the elements which rests on the fabric as it is being sewn. The pressure exerted on the fabric by the foot is determined by the setting of the presser-bar to which the foot is attached. The purpose of the presser foot is to hold the material firmly against the throat plate, and to prevent it from moving up and down or flagging as the needle ascends and descends. This aids in the proper formation of the needle thread loop as well as providing pressure against the feed dog to ensure that the material is moved forward as the feed dog advance. 

Pressure of pressure feet can be controlled by pressure bar pressure. 

Height of pressure bar decides the pressure of pressure bar, 

Clockwise and anticlockwise direction of pressure bar ring increase and decrease the pressure of pressure foot. 

Types of Pressure foot and P. lifter. 

Hand Lifter 

Knee Lifter 

A range of different type of presser feet is offered by machine manufacturer for the specific purposes, some of which are as listed below. 

Hinged foot: 

This has a hinge between the foot and its point of attachment to the presser-bar. This permits the slipper to lift at the front and ride smoothly over different thickness of fabric or seams. 

Compensating foot: 

The slipper is divided into a right and left half, one or both being fitted with a spring which allows the foot to lift when sewing bulky materials. There are a number of variations but all work on the principle of making allowance for the amount of material between the foot and throat plate. 

Piping foot: 

The foot has only one prong or ‘toe’ which may be to the right or to the left of the needle. Its purpose is to allow the stitching to run close to the bulk of the piping. 

Zip foot: 

This is similar to, and interchangeable with, the piping foot, but is usually heavier and wider to allow for the extra pressure required in stitching a zip. 

Teflon foot: 

These are particularly suitable for sewing fabrics which are inclined to stick under the foot, such as suede, some synthetics and foamed backed fabrics. Teflon is plastic (PTFE) which gives a very low friction. The foot may be coated with the Teflon or manufactured entirely from it. 

Cording foot: 

This foot has a groove under the slipper to accommodate the cord and allows the line of stitching to run close to it. 

Taping foot:

A tape is fed through a slot of appropriate width positioned in front of the needle hole either to right or left of centre. As the tape runs under the foot it is machined along its outer edge. 

Hemming foot: 

This produce a uniform hem according to the width for which the foot was made. Sizes vary from one sixteenth to one quarter of an inch (1.5-6). 

Feed Dog 

These are the ones that you can find underneath the plate of your needle. This will give you more control on the movement of your material with the help of their teeth. 

Exactly required feed dog juts out of throat plate are 0.7 -0.8 mm. and can be adjusted by loosen the screw in crank and can be fit as per the desire. 

Feed Dog help the machine to get desire stitch type, like gathering, attaching stretch material and etc. 

Dust Covers 

You need to protect your sewing machines from dust and lint. Otherwise, they will get damaged very easily. Currently, there are numerous dust covers that you can find in the market. iron body of machine is also a dust cover or works on that principle. 

Bobbin Case 

Bobbin cases contain the bobbin, that fits in sewing machine and can also have some control over the thread tension. This is because this sewing machine part has the ability to pull your bobbin off. 

Every sewing machine has a particular case for its bobbin depends upon the machine, like button attach and lockstitch has different type of bobbin. 

Bobbins 

Bobbins, also known as shuttles, are very small sewing machine parts, but they are highly fundamental in allowing your sewing machine to work. 

The bobbin contains the bottom thread. Bobbins can also differ in terms of the sewing machine used, 

More advanced sewing machines have prewound bobbins or automatic bobbin winder. This means that you basically don't have to remove the bobbin manually from the sewing machine. 

It already has the capacity to wind the thread on its own with even just one touch of the button. And latest machine has auto bobbin chager a robotic hand who perform this task at very fast speed.

Parts of the bobbin mechanism 

Bobbin case holder: a part of the shuttle or rotary hook. It holds the bobbin case in a stationary position so that the bobbin and shuttle can move independently to form the stitch. 

Bobbin case tension spring: small spring on the bobbin case that controls the delivery of the bobbin thread. 

Bobbin latch: latch on the bobbin case that release the bobbin from the hook and holds the bobbin in the case. 

Bobbin tension spring screw: a small screw on the bobbin case that regulates the amount of pressure on the tension spring. 

Take Up Lever 

A thread take-up lever vertically reciprocally movable for performing a sewing operation in cooperation with the needle bar and the shuttle, comprising: stroke adjusting means for adjusting the magnitude of the vertical stroke of the thread take-up lever or can say tighten the stitch by pulling the excess needle thread upward. 

SPI Regulator 

Turn stitch length dial in the arrow direction and align the desire number to the marker dot on the machine arm. 

aThe dial calibration in millimeter. When you want to decrease the stitch length, turn stitch length dial 1 while pressing the feed lever 2 in the direction of the arrow.

Machine terminology

Parts of Sewing M/C 

The parts of the lockstitch machine, which are identified below,

• Arm: the horizontal part of the head that houses the drive shafts.
• Bed: the working surface of the machine under which is located the mechanism that handles the lower thread. On a flat bed machine, the bed rests in the cut out of the table.
• Belt (motor belt or machine belt): the circular strap that that transmits motion from the pulley to the hand wheel, allowing the machine to operate.
• Bobbin mechanism: the parts – bobbin, bobbin case, and bobbin tension spring – that control the lower thread and its tension.
• Bobbin winder: the part that fills another bobbin while the machine is stitching.
• Check spring (tension spring or take-up spring): a small wire spring behind or at he top of the tension discs. It provides a small amount of tension on the needle thread and acts as a shock absorber. On the same machines, the check spring is mounted separately.
• Faceplate: the cover on the left side of the head that covers the needle bar and presser bar.
• Feed dogs (feed dog, feeder, or feed): the toothed mechanism beneath the presser foot that moves fabric toward and backward.
• Fittings: the parts – presser foot, feed dogs, and throat plates- that control the cloth during stitching.
• Hand wheel (balance or fly wheel): the part that control the motion of the machine manually and/or electrically.
• Head: the part of the machine above table, containing the stitching mechanism.
• Heel: the back of the presser foot.
• Hook (rotary hook or machine hook):  a rotating device that hooks the needle thread to carry it around the bobbin and form the “lock” on the lockstitch.
• Knee lift (knee lifter or knee press): a lever mounted at the right under the sewing table to lift and lower the presser foot with the right knee.
• Motor: the electrical unit that drive the machine.
• Needle: the part that penetrates the fabric. it carries the thread to the hook or shuttle and up again to make the stitch.
• Needle bar: a vertical bar that holds one or more needles and moves the needle up and down.
• Needle screw (needle bar clamp): the screw that holds the needle in the needle bar.
• Oil gauge: the part that indicates the amount if oil in self oiling machine.
• Pan (machine pan): the metal pan under the head that catches oil, lint and metal shards. On self lubricating machines, it holds the oil.
• Presser bar: the bar to which the presser foot is attached.
• Presser bar lifter: a lever at the back of presser bar to raise and lower foot by hand. It is used to raise the presser foot when winding a bobbin and not stitching.(its use is discouraged in industrial sewing because it wastes time and energy)
• Presser foot: a device that holds the fabric in place for stitching.
• Presser regulator (presser dial): control that regulates the amount of presser on the presser foot.
• Pretension: a simple tension disc used to regulate the thread so that it will feed into the tension assembly evenly.
• Pulley: the wheel attached to the motor. It transmits motion from the motor to the hand wheel by means of a leather belt.
• Rotary hook assembly: the part that holds the bobbin case.
• Shuttle: an oscillating device that carries the needle thread around the bobbin and forms the “lock” stitch.
• Slack thread regulator: a metal hook or bar near the tension discs.
• Slide plate (slide or bed slide): a removable cover at the left of the machine bed that allows access to the lower mechanism.
• Sole (shoe or slipper): the bottom part of the presser foot that contacts to the cloth.
• Stand: a metal structure upon which the table is mounted.
• Stitch hole (needle hole): the hole in the throat plate. The needle carries the thread into the hole so that it can interlock with the bobbin thread.
• Stitch regulator: a device that regulates stitch length.
• Switch (power switch): a key or button that turns the machine on or off.
• Table: the cabinet upon which the head rests. It generally has a drawer on the left side.
• Take-up lever: the part that first loosens the top thread during the stitch formation, then removes any slack to set or lock the stitch.
• Take-up lever guard: a piece of metal in front of the thread take-up lever.
• Tension discs: two concave discs that control the delivery of the upper thread from the spool to the needle.
• Thread guides (thread eyelets): the parts that guide the thread from the thread cone to the needle. They smooth the thread and protect it from abstraction.
• Thread retainer (pretension): a three-hole guide that applies a small amount of tension on the thread so it will flow into the tension discs uniformly.
• Thread stand: a metal device that holds thread cones.
• Throat plate: the smooth surface directly under the pressure foot that includes the stitch hole and surrounds the feed dog. It protects the lower mechanism from a build up of excess lint.
• Toes (prongs): the front end of the presser foot, or the part that faces the oncoming cloths. On feet such as the zipper foot, cording, and shirring foot, there is only one toe.
• Treadle (foot treadle): a metal platform on which the feet rests. (note: in case of an accident, the clutch control releases the hand wheel so that it can be turned )

Sewing Machine History

Hand sewing is an art form that is over 20,000 years old. The first sewing needles were made of bones or animal horns and the first thread was made of animal sinew. Iron needles were invented in the 14 century. The first eyed needles appeared in the 15th century.

Invention: sewing machine Function: noun / sew·ing ma·chine Definition: An apparatus using a needle and thread to join or repair material. Primarily used in the making of clothing. Patent: 4,750 (US) issued September 10, 1846

Inventor: Elias Howe, known as Father of sewing M/c Criteria; First practical. Entrepreneur. Birth: July 10, 1819 in Spencer, Massachusetts Death: October 3, 1867 in Brooklyn, New York Nationality: American

Various Milestone and Inventions

In 1755

Charles T. Wiesenthal, designed and patented a double pointed needle 

In 1791

British inventor Thomas Saint was the first to patent a design for a sewing machine. His machine was meant to be used on leather and canvas. A working model was never built.

In 1814

an Austrian Tailor, Josef Madersperger, presented his first sewing machine, the development started in 1807

In 1826

On March 10, Henry Lye received a patent for a device for sewing leather

           

In1830

A French tailor, Barthélemy Thimonnier, patented a sewing machine that sewed straight seams using chain stitch. By 1841, Thimonnier had a factory of 80 machines sewing uniforms for the French Army. The factory was destroyed by rioting French tailors afraid of losing their livelihood. Thimonnier had no further success with his machine and died in the pain.

In 1833

Walter Hunt built America's first (somewhat) successful sewing machine. He later lost interest in patenting because he believed his invention would cause unemployment. (Hunt's machine could only sew straight steams.) Hunt never patented it But little later when he realized about the invention.

                     

He does reappear patenting an improved model of his earlier invention in 1854 (some 20 years after he first developed it) but it is all way too late by then. He also appeared in many court cases between several of the larger sewing machine characters all bluffing their way through court, but that’s a long way off.

But hunt is also known for his invention of safety pin.

In 1846

Elias Howe patented his machine in 1846; using a similar method to Hunt's, except the fabric was held vertically. Elias Howe for “a process that used thread from two different sources.” Elias Howe’s machine had a needle with an eye at the point. The needle was pushed through the cloth and created a loop on the other side; a shuttle on a track then slipped the second thread through the loop, creating what is called the lockstitch. However, Elias Howe later encountered problems defending his patent and marketing his invention. For the next many years Elias Howe struggled, first to protect his patent from imitators (infringement). His lockstitch mechanism was adopted by others who were developing innovations of their own. He eventually won his case in 1854 and was awarded the right to claim royalties from the manufacturers using ideas covered by his patent.

In 1850,

Issac Merit Singer has become synonymous with the sewing machine. Trained as an engineer, he saw a rotary sewing machine being repaired in a Boston shop. He thought it to be clumsy and promptly set out to design a better one. His machine used a flying shuttle instead of a rotary one; the needle was mounted vertically and included a presser foot to hold the cloth in place. It had a fixed arm to hold the needle and included a basic tensioning system.

                                                                                                       This machine combined elements of Thimonnier's, Hunt's, and Howe's machines. He was granted an American patent in 1851 and it was suggested he patent the foot pedal (or treadle) used to power some of his machines; however, it had been in use for too long for a patent to be issued. When Howe learned of Singer’s machine he took him to court. Howe won and Singer was forced to pay a lump sum for all machines already produced. Singer then took out a license under Howe’s patent and paid him $1.15 per machine. Singer then entered a joint partnership with a lawyer named Edward Clark, and they formed the first hire-purchase (time payment) scheme to allow people to afford to buy their machines.

Meanwhile Mr. Allen Wilson had developed a reciprocating shuttle, which was an improvement over Singer’s and Howe’s. However, John Bradshaw had patented a similar device and was threatening to sue. Wilson decided to change tack and try a new method. He went into partnership with Nathaniel Wheeler to produce a

machine with a rotary hook instead of a shuttle. This was far quieter and smoother than the other methods

Through the 1850s more and more companies were being formed and were trying to sue each other.

In 1856 the Sewing Machine Combination was formed, consisting of Singer, Howe, Wheeler and Wilson, and Grover and Baker. These four companies pooled their patents, meaning that all the other manufacturers had to obtain a license and pay $15 per machine. This lasted until 1877 when the last patent expired.

Singer went on to developed the continuous stitch machine and he founded the Singer Sewing Machine Company, which became one of the world’s largest manufacturers of personal sewing machines. The first electric sewing machine, a Singer, for the home was introduced in 1889.

From the 1850’s, the handful of inventors turned into hundreds. It was as if the world was ready for the sewing machine. Singer went on to perfect the sewing machine and dominated world production for the next century

By 1926 the American patent office had over 150,000 different patent models.

(Sources: Personal Notes prepared for NIFT Students, from varioud web based data source and books during Faulty Development Programme.

References: 

Apparel Manufacturing Handbook, By Jacob Solinger

Fiber to fashion, Europa Letheminal