The Newest Trends in Sewing Technology You Should Watch Out For

There’s an art to sewing, whether you do it by hand or use a machine. While there’s nothing wrong with honing your skills through hours of intensive labor, anyone who spends a lot of time threading needles, practicing uniform stitches, and trying to keep knits from binding on a machine will appreciate advances in sewing technology.

New technology can save you a lot of time and trouble, whether you sew for fun or earn a living through stitching. With the Fourth Industrial Revolution (Industry 4.0) in full swing, cloud computing and the internet of things (IoT) are finding their way into every industry, including textiles and apparel manufacturing.

Here are some advances every avid sewist should have on their radar.

Convertible Conveniences

If you’ve been using a sewing machine for very long, you’re probably accustomed to a lengthy process any time you have to make major stitching switch-ups. Between changing the bed, the feed, the foot, and the needles — not to mention threads and bobbins — you lose a lot of time whenever you start a new project.

For busy sewists working in high-volume settings or those who take on a variety of smaller projects, this wasted time quickly adds up. Luckily, some sewing machine manufacturers now offer versatile features that ease these transitions. Convertible options like submerged bed to raised bed function and mode-switching software mean that you don’t have to change parts inside the machine.

Multifunctional, Modular Machines

If you need different machines for sewing, serging, embroidery, quilting, and other tasks, you’ll have to make a big financial investment. You’ll also have to find enough space to house all of your equipment. An emerging alternative is modular machines that do it all.

When you can switch out a few parts instead of moving from machine to machine, you’ll save space and money, as well as cut down on maintenance and repair costs. The ability to use just one machine for serging and sewing or flatbed and long-arm functionality instead of relying on multiple sewing stations is a major convenience for many sewists.

Ditch the Pedal

In machine sewing, the pedal is a necessary evil. This component has evolved over the years from manual push pedals to responsive electric models. However, almost every new machine still comes with a frustrating learning curve.

What if you didn’t need a pedal? With some machines, you don’t. Pedal-less sewing technology is a growing field thanks to automation, sensors, and other technological advances.

Some pedal-less machines let you set the adjustable feed to your preferred speed and use a start/stop button. You can also look for a machine that uses sensors and an “intelligent mode” to analyze fabrics, auto-adjust, and detect and correct stitching errors in real time.

Auto-Swap Bobbins

One of the most promising and welcome additions to the sewing machine marketplace is the automatic bobbin changer. Avid sewists know the frustration of having a bobbin run dry, halting their progress and requiring an immediate, manual swap to get back to work.

With an automatic changer, the switch can happen seamlessly (so to speak) in just a few seconds, with no user input required. Some machines hold multiple bobbins to significantly curb the time spent swapping singles every time they run out of thread.

This option has seen massive popularity in embroidery machines, but sewing machine manufacturers are starting to catch on, too.

Feed Your Machine… Digitally

Some people love the control of manually feeding fabric through a machine. Others prefer to save time with automated sewing technology that digitally manages feeding for them.

This technology requires you to add a plug-in belt that manages the top half of the fabric and digitally coordinates with existing feed dogs to automate fabric movement through the machine. You can still adjust the speed as desired and use a lever to activate and deactivate the belt.

This technology is especially useful when sewing multiple layers of fabric or challenging textiles, as it prevents shifting and bunching to ensure smooth operation.

Sensors and Sensibilities

Sensors can alert you when there’s activity at your front door or your car engine overheats. They can also help you track and manage sewing activities.

Vision sewing is one major advance, in which the machine analyzes digital images to generate stitch patterns and guide stitch placement, in some cases even projecting stitches onto the fabric so you can confirm before automated sewing begins.

Then there’s voice-guided sewing. If you walk away from an automated machine to attend to other matters, you could return to find progress has stopped, leaving you to solve the puzzle of why and address the snafu. Voice-guided systems conduct the investigation for you and audibly inform you about what’s wrong and how to fix it.

There’s an App for That

One wonderful aspect of IoT growth is that so many machines and devices can be integrated remotely to deliver convenient control from a smartphone or tablet. You might be surprised to learn what this means in terms of sewing technology.

For starters, some machines allow for remote connection and control via a mobile app, allowing you to not only adjust settings for one machine but also to copy and share these settings among multiple machines. This can be handy for a small sewing operation, but it really shines for large-volume businesses that offer batch services and frequently switch settings for new projects.

Real-time mobile monitoring is another godsend for sewists who manage multiple machines or projects simultaneously. This feature allows you to track machine progress and adjust remotely, minimizing downtime and boosting productivity.

Get on Board With New Sewing Technology

Not every sewist or sewing operation needs every new bell and whistle. However, advances in machine technology and connectivity make it easier than ever to streamline processes and cultivate versatility.

The right technologies will save you time and, in some cases, money. Most importantly, they make life easier for anyone who spends a lot of time sewing.

If you want to learn more about emerging sewing technologies, the knowledgeable team at GoldStar Tool is always happy to help. Contact us now to find everything you need to succeed.