Stitch class 100: Chain stitch

Stitch class 200: Hand stitch

Stitch class 300: Lock stitch
Stitch class 500: Overedge stitch
Stitch class 600: Covering chain stitch

Stitch Class 100: Chain Stitch

Stitches are formed by intra-looping

Each loop is interconnected with the same thread
There is no lower thread
The needle carries the thread through the fabric and looper holds the thread to enter as it
descends for the next stitch
Security of stitch is very poor, in case of breakage of one stitch, it unravels very easily
One or more needle thread is used for stitch formation
From opposite sides, it looks different
Stitch Type 101
Application of Chain Stitch
Temporary stitching (e.g. basting) or for blind stitching
Uses for buttonholing, button attaching, hemming

Stitch Class 200: Hand Stitch

Originally made by hand, now can be formed by machine

Looks like domestic hand stitch
It is produced from a single thread passed from one side of the material to the other side with
each successive penetration of the needle
This type of stitch is formed by a special type of needle and sewing machine
The needle is double pointed with Centre eyed

Stitch Class 300: Lock Stitch

Lock stitch requires at least two threads to form a stitch, a needle thread that feeds from the top
& a lower thread that feeds from the bobbin.
Needle threads are passed through the fabric & are interlaced by the bobbin threads.
A rotary hook catches the needle threads loop as it passes around the bobbin & interlocks the
two threads.
The appearance of the lock stitch is similar in both sides of the fabric; it is a special feature.
Fine yarn is preferable for this type of stitching.
Stitches are secured and security of stitches can be increased by back tacking at starting and
finishing ends.
Abrasion resistance of lock stitch is better because the stitches are embedded in the fabric.

Stitch Class 301

Uses of Lock Stitch

Joining of facing, collar, pocket & other parts
Especially for topstitching
Both for domestic and industrial purposes
Stitch Class 400: Multi Thread Chain Stitch
Multi-thread chain stitch requires one or more needle that forms loops as they pass through the
fabric and interloop with the looper thread on the underside
Threads are bound tighter by interlacing & inter-looping
It looks lock stitch at the top side & double chain at the underside
Looper thread is supplied from cone
Need not back tacking at the starting & finishing ends.

Stitch Class 401

Multi-Thread Chain Types of Stitch Used in Garments

Used for long length sewing, heavy fabric sewing such as denim, attaching lace, elastic.

Stitch Class 500: Over Edge Stitch

Stitch Type 504

Stitches are formed by two or more group of threads

Formed from one or two needle threads with a looper thread
At least one group of threads pass around the edge of the material
Width of the fabric may vary from 3-5 mm
Prevents the fabric from fraying
They have high elasticity
They cannot be unraveled easily
Types of Stitch used in garments industry
Uses of Over Edge Types of Stitch in Garments
Widely used for knit fabric
Used for decorative purpose
Joining of the side seam, armhole of a shirt
Inseam, out-seam of a pant
Stitch Class 600: Covering Chain Stitch

Stitches are generally formed with three groups of threads

One thread is needle thread, other is the looper thread & another is the top cover threads
Stitches of this class are the most complex of type it may need up to 9 threads
Covering chain stitches are often called flat lock or flat seam stitches.
Types of Stitch used in Garments Sewing
Uses of Covering Chain Stitch Types of Stitch in Garments
Mainly used for knitted apparels
Attaching lace, elastic, etc.
Decorative purpose in apparels

Cutting Department: The following processes constitute the Cutting department:

Fabric Relaxation
Spreading and Cutting
Numbering and bundling
Fusing
SOP for Cutting: First of all, the Shade segregation report is referred

After receiving the fabric, it is verified with the Shade report as per CCR, which is prepared by
merchandiser by considering the shrinkage rate with shade report.
Fabric relaxation of minimum 48 hours is done for Spandex fabrics
Table preparation is done and fabric Spreading is done. The record for end –bits is kept. During
laying, the Q/C continuously checks the fabric and marks the area containing defects. These
marked area parts are replaced later on using the same roll end – bits
After spreading, Marker is placed on top of the lay and checking is done by placing hard
patterns to avoid any errors of marker, overlapping, grain line and missing parts.
Once, the marker is confirmed to be OK, Cutting is done followed by Cut Panel Audit. Any
issues arising are resolved by the Cutting In-charge and defective parts are replaced
simultaneouslNumbering and Bundling is done after cutting to avoid any serial mistakes during
sewing (which may lead to panel to panel shade variation).
After Numbering, bundles are sent for Fusing and Printing. The Q/C checks the quality and
placement of fusing and printing randomly. Any issues encountered are immediately highlighted
and resolved by the Cutting in-charge.
Once, all the quality check points are passed, the cut parts are issued to the Sewing
department.

Reports in Cutting Section: Six reports are being made in the Cutting Section:

Fabric Relaxation Record

Marker and Spreading Checking Report
Daily Cut Panels and Bundling Checking Report
Parts Replacement Report
Fusing M/C Temperature and Pressure Checking Report
Fusing M/C Clean Report

Fabric Relaxation Procedure:

Fabric CV relaxation is very important for fabric having stretch/spandex in nature. This kind of
fabric is required to be unrolled and kept for minimum 24 hours to come back to its original
shape. Relaxation is vital to keep measurement after cutting consistent.

79% Model 21% polyester

62% Viscose 34% polyester 4% linen
95% Polyester 5% spandex
63% Polyester 34% rayon 3% spandex
75% Polyester 22% rayon 3% spandex
93% Polyester 6% spandex 1% rayon
55% Linen 45% rayon
60% Rayon 37% polyester 3% spandex
55% Rayon 45% polyester
97% Cotton 3% spandex
100% Polyester
55% Linen 45% cotton yarn dyed
82% Rayon 18% polyester
55% Linen 45% Cotton

single needle lockstitch machine:

The needle thread in a spool is threaded through the thread guides, tensioning mechanism and
into the sewing needle eye. The bottom thread (bobbin thread) is wound onto the small package
called a bobbin before sewing and is secured inside a bobbin case. For stitch formation, the
needle brings the needle thread loop to the bottom of the fabric where a small hook on the
bobbin case catches it. As the bobbin hook rotates, it takes the needle thread around the bobbin
to produce a stitch and then the take-up lever takes back the extra loop of top thread to tighten
the stitch. As the needle is out of action of fabric, the feed dog comes above the throat plate,
and pushes or moves the fabric up against the presser foot for next stitch.

Working principle of Single needle lockstitch sewing machine:

1. The single needle lockstitch sewing machine is getting drive from the electric motor which is
mounted in sewing table. The main parts of the sewing machine are flywheel, eccentric or cam,
needle bar, bobbin holder, feed dog and presser foot.
2. The flywheel is driven by motor belt and it drives the sewing machine main shaft. Another end
of the main shaft is connected with eccentric or cam, which drives the needle bar’s up and down
movements for every revolution and take-up lever as shown in Figure-2.
Needle bar and Pressure foot mechanism
Figure-2: Needle bar and Pressure foot mechanism
3. The every rotation of the main shaft moves the needle a full cycle of up and down
movements.

4. The main shaft is further connected with a bevel gear and two connecting rods to transfer the
motion to the bottom of the machine. The bevel gear rod is used to transfer the motion to the
bottom centre shaft, which is the main shaft for connecting the bobbin shuttle mechanism. This
connection helps the bobbin shuttle to move. The bevel gear mechanism helps to transfer the
motion without any energy loss (shown in Figure-3).
Motion transfer from main shaft to bottom shaft
Figure-3: Motion transfer from main shaft to bottom shaft
5. Every one revolution of the main shaft is connected to the every revolution of shuttle hook to
make one unit stitch.

6. The other two connecting rods from main shaft are used to connect with the feed dog, which
has a synchronized movement with needle and bobbin shuttle mechanism.

7. The feed dog has to perform four stop motions for every cycle of stitch formation. The feed
dog gets drive from main shaft in two ways, one is rotation – to deliver the unit length of the
fabric for sewing and another motion is the up and down movements above the throat plate of
the sewing machine.

8. In Figure-4, the rod 1 helps the feed dog to move up and down for the selected distance
based on the settings kept. The rod 2 is used to move the feed dog to and fro as required.
Bottom main shaft and mechanism
Figure-4: Bottom main shaft and mechanism.
9. When ever, the stitch regulator is adjusted, the feed dog delivers the required amount of
fabric needed by adjusting the feed bracket as shown in Figure-5. The revolution per minute of
the feed dog is same as the needle stroke.
Feed dog movement from bottom shaft connection
Figure-5: Feed dog movement from bottom shaft connection
10. All these motions work together from the single motion of main shaft and help the machine
to form the stitch.

Stitch Forming Mechanisms:

Stitch formation is a basic and the most important task for sewing machine. The first step in
producing a stitch on a sewing machine is the formation of the needle thread loop. Proper
formation of this loop depends on the tendency of the thread to bulge away from the needle as it
is drawn upward after reaching the lowest point of it's stroke – due to inertia and friction against
the material through which it passes. The stitch-forming mechanisms are the mechanical
components; with perfect synchronisation between the parts they form stitches. The stitch
forming mechanism includes a needle, a thread carrying looper and a retainer which enters the
looper thread loop and operates to retain and hold the same during the retracting movement of
the looper until the needle has entered the looper thread loop.
Stitch forming mechanism
Figure-1: Stitch forming mechanism
The various types of stitch-forming components are:
Thread control devices, which include tensioners and take-ups
The needle
The feed dogs
Throat plate, tongues and chaining devices
The presser foot
The rotary sewing hook, loopers and spreaders
Bobbin and the bobbin case
Proper selection of these components and precise synchronisation of them are crucial for
proper formation of a stitch.

Thread control devices:

It comprises thread guides, tension devices and take-up lever, which are essential to provide
even and uniform thread movement. Thread guides direct the positioning and movement of the
sewing thread. Faulty or damaged guides could lead to damage of sewing thread and may
cause thread breakage and weaker seams. Tensioning devices control the tightness and flow of
the sewing thread as it moves through the stitch-forming elements of a machine. It comprises a
set of tension disks, a tension spring and a thumb nut that can be adjusted to tension on the
thread.

The kinds of tensioning device can be:

Direct – It has two canvas discs, tension spring and tension screw to provide tension to the
thread.
Indirect – These are cylindrical and conical in shape with a hook that is placed over the tension
disc to provide extra tension.
Auxiliary – These are placed somewhere between the actual tension disc and the needle to give
extra tension to the thread.
Higher thread tension could lead to thread breakage or seam puckering and lower thread
tension leads to slack stitches. Thread tension must be tuned based on sewing thread, fabric
construction and needle type and size.

The take-up lever supplies adequate thread required to form each stitch. It provides additional
thread to the needle to form the loop but takes it away to set the stitch.
Types of take up levers are:
Oscillating levers – These kinds of arrangements are used in a single needle machine and the
gap will be 1” for oscillating of the take up leaver
Rotating levers – This type of lever rotates to provide looser and tighter thread.
Sewing needles:
Needles hold and carry the thread through the fabric to form a stitch. Accurate formation of a
stitch is dependent on a proper needle thread loop formation below the fabric that can be caught
by a bobbin hook or looper. I have published a complete article on sewing needle. You can see
below.

You may also like: Sewing Needles: Parts, Functions, Sizes and Selection

Lower stitch forming devices:

Lower stitch-forming components consist of a bobbin hook found on bobbin cases of lock stitch
machines and loopers in chain stitch machines. A hook is a rotating device surrounding the
bobbin case that picks up the loop formed by the needle thread to form a lock stitch. If it misses
the loop, no stitch will be formed. This leads to skipped stitches. Hence, precision and timing are
vital for stitch formation.

Loopers:
It is metal piece having specific cyclic motion synchronised with the needle motion and feed dog
to pick up the needle thread and aids to form stitches. It may hold lower threads to interlock with
needle threads or with other looper threads. Spreaders work in combination with a looper to aid
loop formation. They move the thread but do not carry the thread because of an absence of an
eye in it.

Two kinds of loopers based on profile and construction are:

Eye loopers – Eye loopers are utilised mainly for class 400, class 600 and for all class 500
stitches other than class 501. They carry the bottom thread by means of an eye in it. The main
functions of loopers are to grab the thread from the needle and to interlock the bobbin with the
needle thread.
Blind loopers – Blind loopers do not have an eye and do the function of only grasping the thread
from the needle. It is used for sewing machines without a bobbin and bobbin case arrangement.
They are used mainly in class 100, 101, 102 and some class 500.
Stitch tongues or Chaining plates:
These are pointed metal projection parts which are attached to throat plates. These are vital for
the creation of three-dimensional stitches and their length and profile differ based on the
requirements of the particular type of stitch and process. For example, thin pointed and longer
stitching tongues are required for tight and close stitching like in a rolled edge, whereas a wider
and flatter tongue is used for flat seaming.

Loop spreader:
Loop spreader aids the looper in creating the stitches. The blind loopers normally have two dull
points, the point that grips the needle thread from the needle is the looper point and the other
point that spreads the needle thread loop is a loop spreader.

Thread finger:
Thread finger is a metal link with an eye which may be static or dynamic. The static links direct
the covering thread, whereas the dynamic links carry thread back and forth across the needle
path. They are utilised for producing class 600 stitches and are generally synchronised with the
needle.

Throat plate:
It encloses the area that embraces the bobbin. It has a hole for the sewing needle to pass
through, a set of slots for the feed dog to move up and down and stitching guidelines. The
needle hole may be a single hole (for straight stitches) or an oblong hole (for zigzag stitches).