Machinery for workwear, safety clothing and jeans
Uniforms, workwear, PPE and denim. Heavy fabric, seams that have to stand up to use and industrial laundering, and garments that may also have to be waterproof.
Workwear isn’t judged by its finish but by what it withstands. The same garment goes through industrial laundering dozens of times, and the seam that fails isn’t the visible one: it’s the assembly seam. That is why the five-thread safety overlock is the one to use here, not the four-thread.
What is made and with which materials
Work trousers and jackets, overalls, uniforms, high-visibility garments, PPE and jeans. Heavy woven fabric: twill, work canvas, denim, flame-retardant fabrics and waterproof laminates.
The safety stitch
The four-thread overlock stretches with the garment and works well on knits. On heavy woven workwear fabric it isn’t enough: you need the five-thread safety stitch (516), which is a joining chainstitch plus an overedge in the same pass. The chainstitch withstands pulling and the overedge stops the edge fraying wash after wash.
The visible topstitching on jeans is something else: it is done with a multi-needle machine at a fixed gauge, so the two lines come out parallel along the whole leg.
When the garment has to be waterproof
In waterproof workwear every stitch is a hole. The seam is sewn and then sealed on the inside with heat-activated adhesive tape. Without that sealing the garment doesn’t comply, however well it is sewn.
The machines, brand by brand
What goes into a workwear line: safety stitch seams, multi-needle for visible topstitching, buttonhole and bartack automatic units, and heat sealing if the garment has to be watertight.
Juki
Production flatbed, the MO family of safety stitch overlockers and the buttonhole and bartack automatic units, which in workwear sew on heavy fabric.
Pegasus
Five-thread safety overlockers, the EX/EXT range for heavy workwear fabric and denim, and the W series of coverstitch machines for hems and flat seams.
Dürkopp Adler
Lockstitch flatbeds for workwear fabric, bartack and button sewing automatic units and the special workstations of the 500 and 900 series.
PFAFF Industrial
Automatic sewing systems for repeated operations and seam sealing for waterproof workwear.
Kansai Special
Multi-needle for visible seams on jeans, waistbands and parallel topstitching at a fixed gauge.
Brother
Open-arm chainstitch for jeans side seams and inseams, two-needle chainstitch for waistbands, and button sewing and buttonhole automatic units for finishing.
S-7300 electronic flatbed
BE-438 buttons
HE-800 shirt buttonhole
RH-982 eyelet buttonhole
KURIS
Cutting room: spreading the fabric lay and automatic multi-ply cutting, which is what sustains workwear and denim production.
Tell us what you make
We analyse the garment, fabric and production before recommending anything. Request technical advice.