Clothing and Textiles · Lesson 5

Sewing tools and safety, sewing machine types, parts, threading, care and faults, pressing

WAECNECO

What the syllabus asks

WAEC: Sewing equipment/tools (classification by size and function, selection, factors, use and care, correct handling, storage); Sewing machine (types, advantages and disadvantages, brands, selection, parts and functions, setting and threading, care, common faults and remedies); Safety. Extends he8.7.

NECO: Sewing equipment/tools (classification by size and function, selection, factors, use and care, correct handling, storage); Sewing machine (types, advantages and disadvantages, brands, selection, parts and functions, setting and threading, care, common faults and remedies); Safety. Extends he8.7.

What you will learn

Classify sewing equipment by size and function.
State factors in choosing equipment and rules for use and care.
State safety rules and simple first aid in the sewing room.
Compare types of sewing machines and selection factors.
Name machine parts and their functions and explain the lockstitch.
Set up, thread and operate a machine.
Care for a machine and correct common faults.
Use pressing equipment and organise a workspace.

Key points

Equipment classified by size and function.
Select by purpose, quality, cost, comfort, safety, spares, space.
Use and care rules prevent accidents and prolong tool life.
Safety: pins in cushion, unplug before threading, iron on heel.
Machines: hand, treadle, electric, computerised; overlocker; industrial.
Parts and functions: tension, take-up lever, presser foot, feed dogs, bobbin.
Lockstitch interlocks upper and lower threads within the fabric.
Thread with foot up; adjust upper tension first.
Care: cover, clean, oil, change needles, stabiliser, service.
Faults: rethread, re-bobbin, re-needle, clean, then tension.

Start here: Classification of sewing equipment

Sewing equipment and tools are the items used in measuring, cutting, marking, sewing, pressing and fitting garments. WAEC expects you to classify them in two ways: by size and by function.

By size

Large (major) equipment: sewing machine, overlocker (serger), cutting table, ironing board and iron, dress form (dummy), full-length mirror, cabinet or storage cupboard, embroidery machine.
Small equipment (tools): needles, pins, thimble, tape measure, scissors, shears, tailor’s chalk, tracing wheel, unpicker, bodkin, pin cushion, sewing gauge, thread clippers.

By function

Measuring tools: tape measure (150 cm, marked both sides, preferably fibreglass because cloth tapes stretch), metre rule, sewing gauge for hems, set square and French curve for drafting, hem marker.
Cutting tools: cutting-out shears with bent handles (blade lies flat on the table), trimming scissors (about 15 cm), embroidery scissors (small, sharp points), buttonhole scissors (adjustable), pinking shears (zig-zag edge to reduce fraying), seam ripper (unpicker), rotary cutter with mat.
Marking tools: tailor’s chalk, chalk pencil, tracing wheel with dressmaker’s carbon paper, water-soluble or air-erasable pens, tacking thread for tailor’s tacks.
Sewing tools: hand needles (sharps for general sewing, betweens for fine short stitches, crewel for embroidery, darners, ballpoint for knits, bodkin for threading elastic), dressmaker’s pins, thimble, threads, sewing machine, needle threader.
Pressing equipment: iron (dry or steam), ironing board, sleeve board, pressing cloth, tailor’s ham and seam roll, point presser, needle board for pile fabrics.
Fitting equipment: dress form, full-length mirror, fitting room.
Storage: workbox, pin cushion, drawers, labelled containers, cabinets.

The WAEC syllabus lists items required for a Clothing and Textiles room, including a full-length dressing mirror, scissors of various types, a cutting-out table, needles and pins, tape measure, thimble, sewing machine, dummy, cabinet, ironing board and pressing iron, buckets, wooden tongs and laundry bowls.

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Practice questions

1. The part that holds fabric down while stitching is the

presser foot
spool pin
hand wheel
bobbin winder

Show answer

A: presser foot
It presses fabric onto feed dogs.

2. Feed dogs

hold the reel
wind the bobbin
cut the thread
move the fabric along

Show answer

D: move the fabric along
Teeth under the needle.

3. The upper thread should be threaded with the presser foot

removed
locked
raised
lowered

Show answer

C: raised
Opens the tension discs.

4. Loops under the fabric usually mean the

fabric is too thick
upper tension is too loose
bobbin is too full
needle is too long

Show answer

B: upper tension is too loose
Re-thread the top.

5. A bent needle mostly causes

skipped stitches and breakage
perfect stitches
faster sewing
straight seams

Show answer

A: skipped stitches and breakage
Change it.

Key words

Shears: Large scissors with bent handles for cutting fabric.
Pinking shears: Shears with zig-zag blades.
Unpicker: Tool for removing stitches.
Bodkin: Blunt needle for threading elastic.
Thimble: Finger guard for pushing needles.
Tailor’s ham: Rounded pressing cushion.
Dress form: Dummy for fitting.
Overlocker: Machine that trims and neatens edges.
Treadle: Foot-powered drive.
Feed dogs: Teeth that move fabric.
Presser foot: Holds fabric on the feed dogs.
Take-up lever: Tightens each stitch.

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