Abstract: In a sewing machine with connectable and disconnectable needle bars driven by a motor for two needle stitching in different directions, a keyboard programmer and control device connected to the programmer to select the needle bar to be disconnected and the number of stitches to be sewn at low speed with only one needle, to shut down the sewing machine, to count the stitches number at the beginning of the sewing in the second direction to connect the needle for restarting the two-needle sewing and to switch the sewing machine back onto high speed. The device comprises two decade meters the first of which, at the end of the first stitches sewing counting, controls the machine shutdown and sends an advancing pulse to the second decade meter and, at the end of the second stitches counting, sends another pulse to the second decade meter which is switched to send a signal for the reconnecting of the needle bar and the de-energizing of the relay of the low speed.