Kind of Flat Lock Sewing Machine Used in T-shirt Manufacturing

I want to know what kind of flat lock sewing machine is used in t-shirt manufacturing. When I searched for a flat lock machine I get non-apparel sewing machines or decorative stitching machines. Can you show me flat lock machine image and machine model numbers for my reference? This question is asked by an OCS reader.

In an earlier post, I have shared different types of sewing machines required for making t-shirts. The flatlock machine is one of them. The technical name of the flatlock sewing machine is cover stitch machine. Also known as interlock sewing machine.

The t-shirt construction required cover stitch seam in bottom hem and sleeve hem operations. For neck piping, flatlock machine is also required. Another use of cover stitch machine is decorative stitch on the t-shirt side seam. shoulder seam etc.

Flatlock machines can be categorized based on the bed type as

• Cylinder bed cover stitch – cylinder bed machine is used for sleeve hemming. 
• Flatbed cover stitch machine 

In this post, I will share about flatlock sewing machines those are normally used by mass garment manufacturing for knits products manufacturing including a t-shirt, polo shirt, sweatshirts, and leggings. The same flatlock machine can be used for making woven garments.

 Flatlock Sewing Machines

Followings are 3 different machine series for the cover stitch seams. Machine models are referred to as Yamato machines.

1. Coverstitch Hemming Machine – Yamato VG 3721-156 S1-8F-WF1
2. Coverstitch Small Cylinder Bed – Yamato VC 1790-156M-K4N-8F
3. Coverstitch Piping Flat Bed – Yamato CF 2303M-156M