Abstract: A workpiece guide control for a sewing unit in which the guide is mounted for limited sliding movement on the worksurface of the unit intermediate its sewing machine and traveling gripper. The guide slides to a position of close proximity with the stitching instrumentalities and by means of a displacing apparatus operatively associated with the traveling gripper and the guide, the latter as the gripper approaches, is effective in activating the displacing apparatus to effect movement of the guide from the pathway of the gripper and permit the latter to advance to the position from which the guide was displaced.

Abstract: A device for simultaneously guiding at least two layers of fabric to the stitching instrumentalities of a sewing machine in which a portion of one layer has a greater width than that of the other. The device includes superposed passages with a limiting element within each passage for separately engaging and guiding the edges of the layers of fabric. One of the limiting elements is fixedly held within its respective passage and the other is movable. The movable limiting element serves to align that portion of the layer of wider width with the edge of the adjacent layer prior to joining the layers by an assembly seam.