Complete Guide to know the Parts of your Sewing Machine

The basic purpose of a sewing machine is to sew different materials together with a thread. That's probably all that worries you anyway. But if you are curious about the wonders of a sewing machine that sews beautiful clothes, you will need to know the parts of the sewing machine that help in this job.

For details on this, see the publication "How to sew with a sewing machine and how to sew"

You may be using some of these names every day when sewing, like sewing feet, pedal, etc, some terms maybe not so much (I learned when I wrote this post) like rotary hook and stop motion screw.

All of these parts of your sewing machine should work in tandem optimally so that you can sew. Just a little lint can clog them and stop the whole machine, so feel free to keep all of these parts clean all the time (cover your sewing machine soon - dust is deadly for sewing machine parts).

Check out this Sewing Machine Maintenance publication to take proper care of your sewing machine

sewing machine parts
Sewing machine parts and their uses.

1 head
This refers to the complete sewing machine (not the stand)



2 arm
This is the curved part of the sewing machine with the mechanism for actuating the needle and handling the upper thread.

3. Hand wheel
Wheel to the right of the head, used to manually move the needle up and down. Also called Balance Wheel

sewing machine
TIP: The handwheel should always be turned towards you, even when using a reverse stitch.



4 needle bar
The vertical bar at the lower end of which the needle is attached. A needle clamp screw on this bar holds the needle in place.

5. Spool pin
The vertical metal bar mounted on the top of the arm where the spool of thread sits while sewing

6 bed
The flat part of the head under which the shuttle drive mechanism, feet, and looper thread are located

7.Sewing machine foot (presser foot)
This is a removable part of the sewing machine that holds the fabric or material in place while you sew. It keeps the material flat and tight for proper sewing and allows you to guide the needle smoothly through the fabric. Different types of presser feet are available with different functions: zipper feet, buttonhole feet, etc.

TIP: When you start sewing, pull about 4 inches of thread behind the foot. This queue is necessary so that the machine does not 'eat' the thread.



It is the type of stitch that you will make that determines the sewing machine foot that you will use.

The type of foot you buy also depends on whether your sewing machine is a high-shank or a low-shank or press fit - you have a low shank machine if the distance between the presser foot screw and the bottom of the feet it is about 3/4 inch. You have a high shank machine if the distance between the presser foot screw and the bottom of the feet is approximately 1 1/4 inch. Adjusting the feet simply adjusts to the lever.

TIP: Keep the presser foot in the down position to sew.

8.Presser foot lever
The lever attached to the presser foot bar to control the up and down movement of the presser foot. This lowers the presser foot in place when you are ready to sew, and to raise it when you want to move your fabric. This has to be lifted to get the material out of the machine.



9. thread cutter
This is a blade attached to the side of the presser foot bar to cut the thread while sewing.

10. Winder tension disc (tension angle)
Keeps your thread taut when winding a bobbin

11.face plate (needle plate / throat plate)
A flat semicircular disc with a hole to allow the needle to pass through. It is located under the needle. It usually has a seam guide that can help you guide the edges of the fabric as you sew.

Tip: If you look at the sewing guide while sewing instead of the needle, you can sew a straight line with an even seam allowance.

sewing machine parts
12 feeding dog
This is a device that consists of metal strips with small teeth that protrude from the needle plate and move the fabric as you sew. When the machine is running, the feeder moves up and advances the fabric as each stitch is made. They move faster or slower depending on how hard you press the pedal

13.Press regulator (tension regulator)
This is a mechanism attached to the face plate, which adjusts the amount of presser foot the presser foot uses to hold the fabric down while sewing. Control the quality of the stitches. The higher the presser foot, the lighter the stitch.

14. Thread take-up lever
This lever that adjusts to the body of the arm moves the thread up and down while sewing. Feed the thread to the needle. The thread passes through this lever when you thread your sewing machine.

This lever is always at the top when you start sewing and finish sewing.



15.Thread guides
These are different points located on your sewing machine that hold the sewing thread in place while you sew. If the order of guiding the thread to the needle is wrong, the stitch will become tangled.

16 needle
Sewing machine needles that come in different sizes. The twin needle is a very useful addition to your sewing accessory kit.

Tip: Keep most of the fabric to the left of the needle so that you can see the seam guide as you sew.

Change the needle after 8 to 10 hours of use. Turn off the machine when changing the needle. When changing the needle, the flat side of the needle should face outward and the curved side of the needle should face you.



17.Coil / Shuttle Box
This holds the bobbin thread inside the sewing machine. The bobbin case varies with different models of sewing machines, as in some cases the bobbin is inserted from the front, in some cases from the top (fold-out).

18.Reverse sewing lever / button
This is the lever or button that allows you to sew in reverse when pressed

19 Stitch length dial
This is a slider with which you can change the length of your stitches. The graduation marks on the lever indicate the length selection options.

20 accessory box
This is located around the free arm under the needle. It acts as a storage for your sewing accessories like feet, bobbins, etc. And it also acts as an extended table for your fabric to rest when sewing when attached to the machine.



21 free arm
This is a mechanism that allows you to sew tubular items such as pants, sleeves, arm seams, etc. It has the built-in sewing plate, feed dog, and bobbin case and is revealed when you remove the accessory box.

22 Stitch selector
This allows you to choose different stitches available with your machine, such as the zig zag stitch, as well as the width of the stitches.

23.Swivel Hook (Swing Hook)
The part that enters the loop or needle thread and leads it around the bobbin case to form the lock stitch.

24 Winder
This is a mechanism for winding thread on the bobbin. Fill the thread evenly into the bobbin.



25. Stop the movement screw
This is a mechanism used while winding the bobbin with the winder, so that the sewing temporarily stops when the screw is pressed.

26 Foot pedal
This is the foot-operated device used to apply power to the sewing machine and control the sewing speed. You should always maintain a uniform and constant speed at all times.

27 Clamp and needle screw

This is the portion of the sewing machine that connects the needle bar and the needle. This is attached with the help of a screw.

27 presser bar

The presser foot is attached to this bar.


28 presser bar spring

This is a spring that controls the pressure exerted by the pressure bar.

29 Thread tension disc

This is a disc through which the upper thread is passed while the sewing machine is threaded so that the thread does not knot