Abstract: A stitching assembly for a sewing machine has a stationary stitch plate having a flat upper face defining a stitching location, provided on the face adjacent the stitching location with an upstanding edge guide extending in and defining a transport direction, and formed with an upwardly open elongated groove extending upstream in the transport direction from the stitching location and having an outer flank turned toward and mainly parallel to the edge guide and an inner flank turned away from and mainly parallel to the edge guide. A presser foot has a sole plate with a lower face turned toward and confronting the upper face of the stitch plate at the stitching location and provided on its lower face with a downwardly projecting guide ridge that extends in the transport direction and that has an inner flank turned toward and generally parallel to the edge guide and an outer flank turned away from and generally parallel to the edge guide.

Abstract: An automatic selvedger has a pair of longitudinally spaced and transversely throughgoing main rolls rotatable about respective parallel axes and guides and a drive that pass the web longitudinally and continuously from one of the main rolls to the other main roll in a travel direction perpendicular to the roll axes and with the web spanned tightly longitudinally between the main rolls and lying generally in a plane with its edges generally parallel. The web edges are folded over between the upstream and the downstream main roll and then are stitched together. A feed device has at least one straight guide spaced upstream from and substantially parallel to the upstream main roll. The web passes over the guide and thence to the upstream main roll. A support between the guide and the upstream roll is pivotal about an axis transverse to a plane defined by the straight guide and upstream main roll axis.

Abstract: An apparatus for folding over and stitching the longitudinally extending and transversely spaced edges of an elongated textile web has a pair of longitudinally spaced and transversely throughgoing main rolls rotatable about respective parallel axes and operated by guide and drive means that pass the web longitudinally and continuously from one of the main rolls to the other main roll in a travel direction perpendicular to the roll axes and with the web spanned tightly longitudinally between the main rolls and lying generally in a plane with its edges generally parallel. Respective stretchers transversely confronting each other between the main rolls engage the web edges for urging same transversely apart and thereby transversely stretching the web. Folders between the stretchers and the downstream main roll fold over the edges of the web and sewing devices between the folding means and the downstream main roll stitch together the folded-over web edges.

Abstract: A pile-gap detector has an elongated plate adapted to ride upon the pile of a carpet web displaced past the detector. A sensor is movable in a window of this plate and drops into the pile-free gap to operate a signal generator. The support from the signal generator, plate and sensor is floatingly mounted so that the device rides freely upon the pile.

Abstract: A piece of loose textile with a spread cut edge is fed to a stitching location in accordance with a method wherein the piece is gripped at an interior location spaced from the edge and this interior gripped location is advanced continuously at an intermediate transport speed in a transport direction parallel to the edge toward the stitching location. Thus relative to the direction the edge has a leading portion and a trailing portion that are successively displaced past a speed-change location. This leading portion of the edge is advanced in the direction toward the stitching location at a relatively slow transport speed slower than the intermediate speed and the trailing portion of the edge is advanced in the direction toward the stitching location at a relatively fast transport speed faster than the intermediate speed. This system therefore automatically rectifies the edges of the piece.