[Link] [Link] Sewing Technology Sewing: Sewing is a process of fastening or attaching two parts of fabric using stitches made with needle and thread. Sewing Machine: A sewing machine is a machine used to sew fabric and materials together with thread Sewing machines were invented during the first industrial Revolution to decrease the amount of manual sewing work performed in clothing companies. Since the invention of the first sewing machine, generally considered to have been the work of Englishman Thomas Saint in 1790, the sewing machine has greatly improved the efficiency and productivity of the clothing industry. tw Sewing Elements In sewing; fabrics and threads are the basic materials. Sewing elements mean the basic components of a sewing machine. The basic elements of sewing are: i. Needle ii, Feed dog iii. Presser foot iv. Throat plate v. Sewing thread vi. Fabric. Needle: Needle is the principal element of sewing machine. The needle carries the upper thread down to meet the lower thread, so it needs to be heavy enough to pierce the fabric but not so big that it leaves an unsightly hole. A worn, dull or damaged needle can cause stitch problems, such as skipped stitches or puckering seams. Functions of sewing needle: 1, To make a hole in the fabric without damaging the threads of the fabric. 2. To make a needle thread loop. 3. To pass the needle thread loop through the loop or loops of the looper thread.[Link] [Link] Different Parts of Sewing Machine Need! —— son oe i, Butt Shank Shoulder — needle iv. Blade “Toe v. Long groove sine vi. Short groove vii. Needle eye lade vili. Scarf ix, Point -aroove: Tip. cs point avant Functions of different parts of sewing needle: 1. Butt: The starting part of the bottom edge of the needle can be made by a predetermined shape. Butt helps for easily attaching the needle with the needle bar or clamp of the sewing machine. 2. Shank: Shank is the bottom part of the sewing needle which is tied in the needle bar. It may be flat or cylindrical on one side. Shank is wider than the remaining parts of the needle and works as support of the needle. 3. Shoulder: The shoulder is the part between the shank and blade of the sewing machine needle. When the needle penetrates through the fabric to reach its lowest position then the shoulder also penetrates through the fabric. As a result, t reduces the friction between fabric and needle by producing a wider hole on fabric. 4. Blade: The blade is the part from needle eye to shoulder. Itis the longest part of the needle and maximum friction with fabric takes place in this area. The blade is gradually tapered to the tip. 5. Long groove: A long groove is a long and thin groove in the blade from shoulder to needle eye. Sewing thread takes place in this groove during up and down of sewing machine needle through the fabric in sewing time, thus reduce the friction between needle, fabric, and sewing thread. There is a lower possibility of the damaging thread due to friction. 6. Short groove: A short groove is placed on the side of the needle where the hook or looper is placed. It is a small groove between the tip and the needle eye. A short groove helps the sewing thread to create a loop. 7. Needle eye: The hole wi is situated in front of the needle is called the eye. It is a small slot between a long and short grove of the needle. The needle eye holds the needle thread and helps to create a loop. The inside edge of the needle eye is most important especially when the needle passes through the fabric. Because there is a possi of damaging the thread. 8. Scarf: The scarf is a curved slot near the eye. It helps to close the setting between the looper and needle. As a result, itis easy to catch the needle loop by the hook or looper. 9. Point: Point is the part from the needle eye to the tip. It helps to penetrate the needle into the fabric without any damages. Also, proper care should be taken to select the needlepoint appropriately for the fabrics. 10. Tip: The ending edge of the needle is called the tip. Tip helps to penetrate the needle into the fabric without any damages. It helps to create holes in the fabric during sewing the clothing.[Link] [Link] Sewing Needle Sizes Using the right sewing machine needle sizes and type for the project can mean the difference between broken threads, skipped stitches and a perfect professional-looking seam. Sewing machine needles vary according to their use and also by their thicknesses. Sewing needles sizes are classed by two characteristics: 1. Thickness - Sewing machine needle sizes vary by the needle’s thickness. A thicker needle can sew through thicker fabrics. Thinner needles, of course, are most suited to fine fabrics such as silk and chiffon. 2. Purpose - The needle’s purpose such as for sewing stretch fabrics or topstitching or sewing denim. Leather needs specialized needles to pierce. Often different fabrics and purposes require different shaped tips in order to best penetrate the fabric fibers. There are different sizes and types of needles for different Neste type Needle size types of fabric. The European metric sizing system for sewing machine needles is numbered from 60 to 110. The American sizing system is numbered from 8 to 18. For both sizing —sercy/tmbrouiey systems, the lower the number the finer the needle and the sone higher the number the larger the needle. Most needle 7 companies show both sizes on the package. Generally, in all sewing needle there are two numbers dividing by ‘/’ between ities ba them. For example, 80/12. The smaller number relates to the ett American system and the larger number is for the European meee system. mone Fabric Type Sewing Machine | Sewing Machine Needle Type Needle Size Sheer to lightweight: Batiste, Chiffon, Georgette, | Regular Point 9/70 or 11/80 Organza, Voile and all microfiber or microdenier fabrics. Lightweight: Challis, Chambray, Charmeuse, Crepe | Regular Point 71/80 de Chine, Gauze, Handkerchief Linen, Silk, Taffeta, Tissue Faille. Medium-weight: Broadcloth, Brocade, Chino, Chintz, Regular Point 14/90 Corduroy, Flannel, Linen, Poplin, Satin, Synthetic Suedes, Taffeta, Terry, Velvet ‘Medium to Heavy-weight: Coating, Damask, Drapery Regular Point 16/100 or 18/110 Fabric, Fake Fur, Gabardine, Ticking, Woolens. Denim and Canvas Denim/Jeans 16/100 Sheer to Lightweight Knits: Jersey, Single Ki Ball Point 10/70 or 12/80 Spandex, Tricot. ‘Medium to Heavy-weight Knits: Double ki Ball Point 14/90 ‘Sweatshirt, Sweater Knit Specialty Fabrics: Leather, Suede, Buckskin. Wedge Point 14/90 or 16/100 fabrefapplienon) abrenhread)Sewing Machine Needle Types There are many different types of sewing machine needles, each engineered to work best with a specific kind of material UNIVERSAL: Universal needles has a slightly rounded point and a standard eye made to sew basic woven or knit fal S: Stretch needles have a very rounded point and smaller eye to accommodate stitching with very stretchy knit fabrics. The rounded point pushes the knit fibers out of the way to maintain the integrity of the material, where a sharp pointed needle may cut or slice through fibers to create pulls or small holes. SUK: All-purpose embroidery needles have a slightly rounded point and smooth eye to help slide through knit ‘or woven embroidery fabrics without cutting or slicing through threads that have already been stitched out in the design. E: Specialty embroidery needles with a larger eye and groove to accommodate thicker embroidery threads like wools. METAFIL: Specialty needle with a longer eye engineered to sew or embroidery with metallic or specialty threads. J Jeans needles have a long, slender sharp point to penetrate thick tightly woven fabrics like denim. a needles have a delicate, slightly rounded point, to help penetrate thick layers (like a quilt with batting) without damaging the materials. These needles also work well for topstitching or precise patchwork. LR: Leather needles have one sharp edge made to help cut through non-woven thick material such as leather and artificial leather. There are also other types of specialty needles, such as double-needles, wing needles, and triple-needles to name a few. There are so many different needle types and sizes Needle type HUNWERSAL[Link] Needle Troubleshooting Tips 1. For best sewing results, needles should be replaced every 8-10 hours of stitching time. 2. Snags or pulls in woven (non-stretch) fabrics: This can occur if the needle is either bent or dull, or you are using the wrong style of needle. Use a regular point needle (Style 2020) for woven fabrics. 3. Skipped hes on woven fabrics: This can occur when the needle is old, bent or dull. Remove and discard the old needle. Replace it with a new regular point needle (Style 2020). 4. Skipped stitches on stretch fabrics: This can occur if you are using a regular point needle instead of a ball point needle. Switch to a ball point needle (Style 2045) which is specifically designed for sewing stretch fabrics. 5. Popping sound while you are sewing: This is a good indication that the needle is bent or damaged. Remove and discard the old needle. Replace it with a new one that is appropriate for the type and weight of fabric. 6. Thread is shredding: This can mean the needle is too small for the thickness of thread, so change to either a larger size needle or a finer weight thread. Shredding thread can also occur if the thread is old or poor quality (uneven filament). 7. Needles are breaking: This can be an indication that the needle size is too small for the thickness of fabric being sewn, so change to a larger size needle. Additionally, when you sew, do not “push” or “pull” the fabric, but rather, let the feed dogs draw the fabric along. If you push or pull the fabric as you sew, the needle could deflect causing it to break. 8. Large holes in the seam line of lighter weight woven fabrics: This can be an indication that your needle is too large for the weight of the fabric. Change to a smaller needle size. 9. When removing and inserting needles, it can be helpful to place a small piece of paper over the presser foot area, so that you don’t accidentally drop the needle down into the machine! 10. When inserting a new needle, be sure that is inserted correctly into the machine, or it may not sew properly. The flat side of the needle should be facing toward the back of the machine. Make sure it is all the way up in the needle clamp, then tighten the needle clamp screw securely. Feed Dog Feed dog is one of the basic components of the sewing machine that looks like tiny spiky metal ‘teeth’ sitting on stitch plate underneath your presser foot. A feed dog gently grips the bottom fabric to help it move through the machine and allows you to concentrate on other sewing needs. A feed point system marches back and forth in precisely timed discreet increments that create uniform distance between each stitch. In general, the higher the number of feed dogs on a sewing machine, the better contact feed dogs will have with the fabric— which means more control and precision while sewing. Presser Foot \P A presser foot is an attachment used with sewing machines to hold fabric flat as it is fed through the machine and stitched. Sewing machines have feed dogs in the bed of the machine to j Leta provide traction and move the fabric as it is fed through the machine, while the sewer provides extra support for the fabric by = guiding it with one hand. A presser foot keeps the fabric flat so a that it does not rise and fall with the needle and pucker as it is stitched. When especially thick workpieces are to be sewn, such as quilts, a specialized attachment called a walking foot is often used rather than a presser foot.Presser feet are typically spring-hinged to provide some flexibility as the workpiece moves beneath it. Presser feet have two toes, one to hold the fabric down on either side of the needle. Throat Plate: ‘A sewing machine throat plate is the metal plate beneath a sewing machine's needle and presser foot. It is typically held in place with one or more screws. ‘© Asewing machine throat plate has holes or slots for the needle to pass through as it moves up and down to stitch the fabric. It accommodates the different needle positions and fancy stitches available on the machine. + A throat plate has a second, larger opening (or two) that allows the sewing machine feed dogs to emerge from below to grip the fabric and help move it forward as you sew. Remember that feed dogs can be lowered for some tasks, such as freehand quilting techniques and darning. + It's easy to see the feed dogs stretching upward through rectangular openings in the plate, ‘+ A throat plate also provides a smooth surface for the fabric as it passes through the machine. Sewing Thread Sewing threads are special kinds of multi-yarns that are engineered and designed to pass through a sewing machine rapidly for joining or making garments. Sewing threads must be durable enough to withstand the abrasion, stretch and needle heat that occurs while sewing, garment finishing, stretching and recovery during wear. The basic function of a thread is to deliver aesthetics and performance in stitches and seams. Even a small sewing thread failure leads to losses on investments in material, equipment, apparel engineering and labor. [Link] [Link]