Common Apparel Sewing Machines and Their Key Features in the Clothing Industry

Common Apparel Sewing Machines and Their Key Features in the Clothing Industry

Noor Ahmed Raaz
Specialized in Apparel Manufacturing
Owner and Editor in Chief Textile Merchandising
Asst. Prof., Department of Textile Engineering
Atish Dipankar University of Science & Technology
Email: mnnabi@adust.edu.bd

Sewing Machine:

We all know that the sewing department is the heart of the apparel industry. Therefore, the sewing machine plays an important role in manufacturing a complete garment. The sewing machine is mostly used to stitch fabric or other materials to attach jthem ointly with the help of threads. Different types of sewing machines are required for joining different parts of garments. Now, I am going to discuss different types of sewing machines and their features.

Types of Sewing Machines:

1. Over Lock (O/L) Machine
2. Plain Needle (P/N) Lock Stitch or Single Needle (S/N) Lock Stitch
3. Flat Lock (F/L)
4. Bartack Machine (BTK)
5. Button Hole (B/H)
6. Button Attach
7. Kansai Machine (KAN)

1. Over Lock (O/L) Machine:

Needle: 2, 1

Lopper: 2

Thread: 4, 3

Stitch Type: Cover Stitch

Operation: Side Seam, In Seam, Back & Front rise, Lace join, Neck join, Shoulder join, Body hem, Elastic join Collar join, Cuff join, Piping, Bottom join.

2. Plain Needle (P/N) Lock Stitch or Single Needle (S/N) Lock Stitch:

Needle: 1 or sometimes 2

Bobbin Case: 1
Thread: 2, 1

Stitch Type: Lock Stitch

Operation:  All Tuck, Poker Join, Placket join, Placket 1/16 Top Sites, Placket Box, Placket kasha, Zipper T/P Sites, Side Band Join& T/P, Loop Join.

3. Flat Lock (F/L):

Needle: 3, 2, 1 (high-3)

Lopper: 1

Zing jag: 1 (Not All Use)

Thread: 5,4,3,2

Stitch Type: Chain Stitch

Operation: Churl Hem, Top sites Seam, Neck Top sites, Piping, Body Hem.

4. Bartack Machine (BTK):

Needle: 1

Bobbin Case: 1

Thread: 2

Stitch Type: Straight stitch

Operation: Heavy sewing for a small length of garment parts such as waist band, pocket edges, etc.

5. Buttonhole (B/H):

Needle: 1

Bobbin Case: 1

Thread: 2

Operation: Button hole

6. Button Attach:

Needle: 1

Bobbin Case: 1

Thread: 2

Type of stitch: chain stitch or lock stitch

Operation: Button joins with body

7. Kansai Machine (KAN):

Needle: 2 (high 12)

Lopper: 2 (hig-12)

Thread: Use of 4 (above 2)

Stitch Type: multi-needle chain stitch

Operation: Especially used for sewing waist bands.