Sewing Machine Buying Guide -
Uses
What are the uses of
sewing machine?
Sewing machines were
invented long back during the first Industrial
Revolution. The intention behind the invention
of such machines was to decrease the time
required in sewing, as before this all the
sewing work was done manually. The cloth
companies needed to optimize their work and
sewing machines was the answer.
Once the first sewing
machine was invented, the productivity and the
efficiency of the clothing and fabric
industries increased vastly. Also, the sewing
machines have improved greatly with their
speeds increasing manifolds, variations
available in stitching styles. The modern
sewing machines look and work in a much more
mechanized way as compared to the sewing
machines which our great grandmothers used.
Instead of simple stitching, they embroider,
stitch, attach buttons, do pekoe and many more
other activities.
The older machines used a
single thread chain stitch mechanism. The
modern sewing machine uses two threads instead
of one and uses what is called lock stitching
mechanism. The industrial sewing machines are
generally specialized for one type of stitching
since they need to be optimized. They are
designed in a way that the fabric is able to
glide in and out easily, without any hassle of
thimbles and needles. The ease reduces the
effort required and saves a lot of time.
The problem with the chain
stitch was - it was extremely weak and it was
possible to pull it apart very easily. With the
introduction of machines in the field, people
started to think that a better and stronger way
of stitching could now be devised which would
only be possible through machine usage. Lock
stitch was the answer to their questions. In
the case of lock stitch, two different threads
are interlocked from both the sides of the
fabric. It results in a stitch which can be
looked as if the fabric is stitched from both
ends making it much more strong and durable
than the conventional chain stitch.
Thomas Saint was the first
person to have a design for sewing machine
patented. His machine was designed to work on
canvas and leather. A working model of the same
was never built. Other designs and patents came
along in the future. Walter Hunt was the
developer of lock stitch technique.
Other than the basic
requirements in the motion of loopers, needles
and bobbins, the most important movement is
that of the fabric. It is necessary that the
fabric moves at the required time (generally
continuously) so that the stitches are made at
the right position. The motion is also called
as `feed`. Typical feed motion include: needle
feed, drop feed, puller, walking foot, and
manual. Generally, more than one kind of feed
is used in a single machine to optimize the
working.
A household machine will
generally include only the lock stitch
mechanism. But the machine can be used in a
little different way (generally by moving the
needle in different ways which is an included
function in the machine); fancy stitches can be
made possible. The simplest form of a fancy
stitch is zigzag in which the needle just needs
to perform an oscillatory motion continuously
as the stitching is done normally.
Mechanical configuration can
differ vastly in sewing machines. Some of the
typical configurations are - cylinder bed, flat
bed, off the arm and post bed. All the basic
feed mechanism and stitch types are available
in all these configurations. However, for
industrial purposes the best possible
configuration is used for a type of stitch.
Like, blind stitch always uses cylinder bed
configuration.
The invention of sewing
machine was a necessity. And its introduction
greatly increased the production and quality of
the cloth industry.
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