A zigzag stitch is variant geometry of the lockstitch. It is a back-and-forth stitch used where a straight stitch will not suffice, such as in reinforcing buttonholes, in stitching stretchable fabrics, and in temporarily joining two work pieces edge-to-edge.
When creating a zigzag stitch, the side to side motion of the sewing machine's needle is controlled by a cam. As the cam rotates, a fingerlike follower, connected to the needle bar, rides along the cam and tracks its indentations. As the follower moves in and out, the needle bar is moved from side to side.[1] Sewing machines made before the mid-1950s mostly lack this hardware and so cannot natively produce a zigzag stitch. However there are often shank-driven attachments available which enable them to achieve a similar effect by moving the fabric from side to side instead of the needle bar.[2]
Helen Blanchard is said to have invented and patented the first zigzag stitch sewing machine in 1873.[3] The first dedicated zigzag machine for the consumer market, whilst many assume was the Singer 206K, introduced in 1936, was in fact the Necchi BU, introduced in Italy in 1932[citation needed].
- ^ Reader's Digest Complete Guide to Sewing. Pleasantville, New York: The Reader's Digest Association, Inc., 32-36.
- ^ Watkins, Richard (2020). Domestic Sewing Machine Attachments (3rd edition). p. 40.
- ^ "NIHF Inductee Helen Blanchard Invented the Zig Zag Sewing Machine". www.invent.org. Retrieved 2020-07-30.