US3247819A - Combined sewing machine throat plate and seam guide - Google Patents

Description

April 26, 1966 J. FORCA 3,247,819

COMBINED SEWING MACHINE THROAT PLATE AND SEAM GUIDE Filed Sept. 5, 1965 2 Sheets-Sheet l 5' 2; E: 2 I 144/ 0.74 O 45 l 44 a i T 4? f? 34% 4 46 M INVENTOR.

April 26, 1966 F RCA 3,247,819

COMBINED SEWING MACHINE THROAT PLATE AND SEAM GUIDE Filed Sept. 5, 1965 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 )44 F I I 2 INVENTOR.

J4 ME 5 FO/QCA BY Mi ATTUENE:

"between the stitch line and the edge of the fabric.

United States Patent Office 3,247,819 CUMBINED SEWING MACHINE THROAT PLATE AND SEAM GUIDE James Forca, 81-29 165th St, Jamaica 32, N.Y. Filed Sept. 5, 1963, Ser. No. 306,819 4 Claims. (Cl. 112-260) The present invention relates generally to sewing machines and specifically to a combined throat plate and seam guide for use on conventional sewing machines for providing a physical edge guide at various distances from the stitch line to guide work material through the sewing machine at selected seam widths. In both commercial and home use, it is customary for sewing machine operators, when joining two pieces of material along a seam line, to govern the width of the seam by maintaining, by eye, the amount of material Many operators have found it convenient to secure a piece of tape to the throat plate of their sewing machines to give a visual guide with which to align the edge of the fabric in order to make their seam widths as uniform as possible. Therefore, there exists a need for a device which will automatically provide a guide, at selected locations spaced from the stitch line of the sewing machine, to guide work material through the sewing machine for the production of uniform seams.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a seam width guide for a sewing machine. More specifically, it is an object of the present invention to provide a combined throat plate and seam width guide for incorporation into standard sewing machines.

It is still further within the contemplation of the present invention to provide within a throat guide a plurality of pivotally mounted material guiding members which may be moved from an inoperative position flush with the surface of a sewing machine work table to an operative position extending upwardly from that work surface and oriented parallel to the stitch line of the sewing machine in order to provide a physical guide for producing uniform seam widths of a variety of different widths.

In accordance with the present invention there is provided a combined throat plate and seam width guide for guiding material through a conventional sewing machine. The throat plate comprises a fiat body having a planar upper work surface and which is shaped to be received within a standard throat plate opening of a sewing machine. The standard needle-receiving opening and feed dog openings are for-med in the throat plate along the feed path. The throat plate is provided with a plurality of material guiding members which are mounted on the throat plate parallel to and spaced various distances from feed path. Each of the material guiding members have at least one planar face for use alternatively as a portion of the work surface of the throat plate or as the guiding face of the material guiding members. The material guide members are mounted for pivotal movement between an inactive position wherein the planar face is coplanar with the work surface of the throat plate and a material guiding position 90 from the inactive position wherein the planar face is perpendicular to the work surface of the throat body and parallel to the feed path. Spring means are operatively interconnected between the material guiding members and the throat plate body to maintain thematerial guiding members in either their active or inactive positions such that one of the material guiding members, corresponding to the desired seam width, may be snapped from its inactive to its active position for guiding a particular seam and may then be snapped int-o its inactive position flush with the surface of the throat plate.

3,247,819 Patented Apr. 26, 1956 The above brief description, as well as further objects, features and advantages-0f the present invention will be best understood by reference to the following detailed description of one presently preferred embodiment when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a partial sectional view of a sewing machine incorporating a device according to the present invention taken along a section perpendicular to a feed path and looking from the rear toward the front of the machine and showing the relationship of the material guiding member to a piece of material, the presser foot and the feed dog;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of a combined throat plate and material feed guide according to the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a bottom view of the device shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along the line 4--4 of FIG. 2 looking in the direction of the arrows;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view along the line 5-5 of FIG. 2 and looking in the direction of the arrows;

FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along the line 66 of FIG. 2 looking in the direction of the arrows with the end member of the throat plate in its raised, material guiding position;

FIG. 7 is a sectional view taken along the line 7-7 of FIG. 6 and looking in the direction of the arrows illustrating the spring clamp member for the end member;

FIG. 8 is a plan view of a further embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 9 is a bottom view of the device shown in FIG. 8;

FIG. 10 is an enlarged sectional view taken along the line 10-10 of FIG. 8 looking in the direction of the arrows;

FIG. 11 is an enlarged sectional view taken along the line 11--11 of FIG. 8 and looking in the direction of the arrows;.and

FIG. 12 is a plan view of another possible further variation in design of the material guide members which may be incorporated in the combined throat plate and seam guide according to the present invention.

Referring now specifically to the drawings, and particularly to FIG. 1, the environment of the present invention is a standard sewing machine which includes a top working surface 10, a conventional feed dog 12, a presser foot 14 and presser foot bar 16 and a bobbin- 1 access slide plate 18. Received within the conventional,

generally circular shaped throat plate opening is a combined throat plate and seam width guide 20 according to the present invention. The device 20 includes a flat body 22 shaped to be received in the conventional throat plate opening and a number of material guiding members, only one of which is visible in FIG. 1 which is generally designated in FIG. 1 by. the letter M. The member M is positioned parallel to the stitching line and spaced therefrom. A piece of fabric or work material, designated by the numeral W is positioned beneath the presser foot 14 and above the throat plate 20 and positioned to be engaged by the feed dog 12 in the conventional manner. The inner edge of the work material W is advantageously guided by the material guiding member M such that the width of the seam produced in the sewing machine remains constant. As will be described in greater detail below, the combined throat plate and seam guiding means according to the persent invention provides a plurality of material guiding members M, at selected distances from the sewing machine needle and the sewing machine stitch line, such that the sewing machine operator may select one of the material guiding members to produce a seam of a selected width.

The throat plate and material guiding device 20 according to the present invention is best seen in the remaining figures in the drawings. As seen, the body 22 is aflat metal member with an appropriate external curve to exactly fit within the throat plate opening formed in the top surface of the bed of the sewing machine. A pair of countersunk screw openings 24, 26 are provided at the conventional location for securement of the device to the sewing machine. In addition, a needle opening 28 and feed dog openings 30 are formed within the body 22 at the conventional locations. Normally the portion of the throat plate between screw openings 24, 26 and the feed dog openings 30 is a flat and solid sheet of metal. According to the present invention, there is provided a plurality of material guiding members which are selectively movable from an inactive position flush with the top of the throat plate body 22 to a position extending up and perpendicular to the top work surface of the throat plate. In the present illustrative embodiment there are four individual material guiding members labeled 32, 34, 36 and 38 positioned at increasing distances from the stitch line and parallel thereto. Material guiding members 32, 34 and 36 are of one type. The first type will be described prior to the description of the second type.

Each of the material guiding members 32, 34, 36 are identical and therefore description will be made of only one such member. Material guiding member 34 is a generally flat sheet of metal with a pair of right angle ears 34a, 34b at opposite ends resulting in a flattened, U-shaped configuration. An aligned opening is provided in each of the ears 34a, 34b and a pivot pin 44 is passed through those openings to mount the material guiding member 34- for pivotal motion about the pin 44. The pin 44 is in turn mounted between a pair of mounting channels 46, 48 whose upper surfaces are coplanar with the upper surfaces of the body 22 of throat plate 20 and which are provided with shoulder portions 46a, 48a which engage the lower inside edges of a rectangular cutout formed within the body 22 between the two screw openings 24, 26. As may be seen in FIGS. 2 and 4, each of the material guiding members 32, 34, 36 are mounted within the body 22 in identical manners with pivot pins 44 positioning the material guiding members for pivotal motion within the mounting channels 46, 48.

A generally wing-shaped leaf spring 50 is secured to the underside of the throat plate body 22 in such a mannor that it engages the end ears 32a, 32b, 34a, 34b, 36a, 36b of the material guiding members 32, 34, 36 to maintain the respective members in either their inactive positions or their active material guiding positions. Specifically, the material guiding members 32, 34, 36 (in FIGS. 2 and 4) and the active material guiding position (member 34 in those figures). As explained above, with the device in the position as shown in FIGS. 2, 3 and 4, the operator will be able to form a guided seam of a width equal to the distance between the needle-receiving opening 28 and the top fiat face of the material guiding member 34. If a larger seam is desired, member 34 can be folded down and member 36 can be folded up. Conversely, the operator may choose a narrower seam and therefore would utilize the guiding functions of the material guiding member 32. The leaf spring 50 is mounted by means of a pair of spacer bars 51, 52 and a pair of spring mounts 54, 56. The spring mounts 54, 56 are held to the body 22 of the throat plate 20 by conventional means such as the screws 58 illustrated in the drawings. These screws also serve to secure and fasten the mounting channels 46, 48 to the body 22. It will be readily appreciated that as one of the material guiding members turned from one position to another, the lower inside corner of the member will cause the wing-shaped spring 50 to be displaced and that the minimum displacement for the spring 50 is when the members are in either of their perpendicular positions. Thus the spring serves to secure those members in either one of their two defined positions.

In addition to the three material guiding members 32, 34, 36 described above, there is a further material guiding member 38 mounted for movement between an inactive position flush with the top surface of the throat plate body 22 and an active position 90 therefrom for guiding material through the sewing machine when a larger seam is desired. Because there is insufficient room at the outside end of the throat plate body 22 for the spring retaining and mounting means as described above, other means are provided to maintain the furthermost material guiding member 38 in either its active or inactive position. Specifically, a pivot pin 44, similar to the other pivot pins 44, pivotally mounts the solid material guiding member 33 and is, in turn, secured within the mounting channels 46, 48. Shoulder cutouts 60, 62 are formed in each of the inside corners of the material guiding member 38. Within the larger shoulder 62 of the two shoulders, there is mounted a coil spring secured at one end to the mounting channel 48 and engaged at the other end with the body of the member 38. The function of the coil spring 64 is to urge the member 38 into clockwise rotation as seen in FIG. 4 thereby to normally keep the member with its top surface coplanar with the upper surface of the throat body 22. The other and smaller shoulder cutout 60 is of a size which exactly complements to the square corner of the mounting channel 46 such that upon rotation of the material guiding member 38 in a counterclockwise direction, against the bias force of spring 64, the entire member 38 will be shifted along the pivot pin 44 such that the inside of the shoulder 69 engages the top surface of the mounting channel 46. By this engagement the material guiding member 38 is locked into its upright, material guiding position. When the operator desires to lower the material guiding member 38, the body of the member is moved along the pivot pin 44 compressing the spring 64 and when the side of the shoulder 60 passes over the corner of the mounting channel 46, the material guiding member 38 will be biased down into its retracted position. The structure and function of this operation will be best appreciated by making reference to FIGS. 6 and 7. It is possible to form each of the material guiding members with spring means of the type shown connected to member 38 or, for that matter, it is possible to employ the invention by using other forms of spring means.

Each of the material guiding members 32, 34, 36, 38 are provided with appropriate fingernail cutouts (unnumbered) such that the devices may be easily grasped andmoved from their inactive to their active positions.

It should be appreciated that although the combined throat plate and material guide described above and illustrated in FIGS. 17 shows three sheet metal material guiding members and one solid material guiding member, the invention contemplates any variety of such members mounted for movement between a position fiush with the top of the throat plate and a position extending upwardly from the throat plate to act in a material guiding capacity.

Reference will now be made to FIGS. 8 through 11 for a description of a further combined sewing machine throat plate and seam guide, generally designated by the numeral 120, which differs in some design respects from the device 20 illustrated in FIGS. 1 through 7 above. For the sake of clarity, parts of the device 120 which are similar to the corresponding parts in the device 20 will be designated by similar numerals in the series rather than the 10 series. Specifically, the throat plate and seam guide includes a generally flat body 122 of a shape such that it may be received within the conventional throat plate opening of a sewing machine. A pair of countersunk screw openings 124, 126 are provided at the conventional locations for securement of the device to the sewing machine. Further, a needle opening 128 and feed dog openings 130 are formed in the body 122 to provide access for the conventional reciprocating needle and feed dog mechanisms. 7

In accordance with the present invention, the throat plate 120 is provided with a plurality of material guide members 132, 134, 136 and 138 which are mounted within the body 122 of the device for movement between an inactive position wherein the material guide members are flush with the planar upper work surface of the body 122 and an active position wherein one face of the individual guide members is positioned above and perpendicular to the work surface of the throat plate and parallel to the feed path of the sewing machine to provide a physical guide at a selected distance from the needle opening 128.

The material guide members 132, 134 and 136 are identical, and therefore, the construction and mounting of only one of those members will be described. The material guide member .134 is mounted for pivotal motion to the body 122 of the combined throat plate and seam guide 120 by means of a pivot pin 144 which is secured to the body 122 at a pair of mounting channels 146, 148 (see FIG. 11) which in turn are secured to the body 122 by appropriate screws 158 or other securement means. The guide member 134 is pivotally mounted on the pin 144 by a pair of extending solid ears 134a, 1341; which are provided with appropriate aligned pin-receiving openings. It will thus be appreciated that the guide member 134 may be pivoted from an inactive poistion wherein its upper flat face is coplanar with the upper work surface of the body 122 of the throat plate device 12%) (as for example the position of guide members 132 and 136 illustrated in FIGS. 8 and and an active position wherein that flat face extends upwardly from the top planar face of the body 122 and is perpendicularthereto and aligned in parallel orientation to the feed path (as for example the position of the guide member 134 in FIGS. 8 and 10). The guide member 134 is provided with two independently acting means to maintain the member in its active position. The first means comprises a sheet metal spring, best seen in FIGS. 9 and 11, which is generally designated by the numeral 58. The spring 50 is secured beneath the body 122 of the throat plate by means of the screws 158 on the mounting channel 48 and is oriented and secured by appropriate spacer elements 151, 152. The spring 151) is divided by the slots 154, 156 into three leaf sections 158a, 1501) and 1500 which underlie the material guide members 132, 134 and 136 respectively. As may be seen in FIG. 11, the leaf sections are of generally S-shaped configuration and are oriented such that the outermost portion of each leaf section engages the adjacent material guide member at its extend-ing ears, e.g., ear 134a. The spring section 1581) tends to hold the respective guide member 134:: in its active position since the corner of the extending portion 134a elastically deforms the spring section 15% as the member 134 is pivoted into its inactive position. Similarly, when the guide member 134 is in its inactive position, as shown for the guide member 132 in FIG. 10, the spring section 1501: would tend to hold it in that inactive position against pivotal motion about the pin 144 since such pivotal motion would require the elastic defamation of the spring section 1511b. Thus, the spring 150 biases the guide members to remain in either the active or inactive positions. In addition to this bias force exerted upon the material guide member 134, a coil spring 164 is engaged about the pin 144 and between a collar 166 fixed to the pin and the inside face of the extending 134 is swung upwardly from its inactive to its active position, the outer edge of the inclined shoulder 168 will be lifted above the edge of the mounting channel 146 and the coil spring 164 will then urge the member 134 toward the left (as viewed in FIG. 11) such that the inclined shoulder 168 will be tightly engaged against the edge of the mounting channel 146. The interaction of the inclined shoulder 168 and the edge of the mounting channel 146 will provide a positive block against pivotal movement of the member 134 from the active position to its inactive position. When it is desired to return the material guide member 134 to its inactive position, the operator first moves the member against the bias force of the spring 164 toward the collar 166 such as to disengage the inclined shoulder 168 from the edge of the mounting channel 146, and, thereafter, the operator pivots the member 134 downwardly into its inactive position. As

' recited, the construction and operation of the material guide members 132 and 136 are identical with that described above for the material guide member 134.

The end material guide member 138 differs from the guide members 132, 134, 136 in that one edge of the guide member 138 is formed with the arcuate curve of the standard throat plate configuration and further differs from the other material guide members in the device 120 in that the leaf spring 158 is not employed as a biasing means. Still furthermore, the guide member 138 differs from the other guide members in that a coil spring 170 is mounted about the pin 144 between the mounting channel 148 and the depending ear 1381) rather than between a collar, such as the collar 166, and the extending car 1381). The material guide member 138 is similar to the material guide members 132, 134, 136 in the im portant respect that an inclined shoulder 168 is formed at the edge of the member adjacent the extending ear 131% for engagement with the edge of the mounting channel 146 to secure the material guide member 138 against movement from its raised active position to its inactive position.

In FIG. 12 there is illustrated a still further construction which may be utilized for the material guide members in a combined throat plate and seam guide in accordance with the present invention. Specifically, there is shown a material guide member, generally designated by the numeral 232, which is constructed of a solid piece of material, such as steel, plastic, etc. and which is provided with a pair of protruding pivotal mounts 244. In practice, the pivotal mounts 244 may comprise a pin such as the pins 44, 144 described above, which, in turn, may be pivotally mounted within the body of a combined throat plate according to the present invention and oriented parallel to the feed path of the sewing machine. The external shape of the material guide member 232 is shown as adapted for the outermost guide member in a complete combined throat plate and seam guide device,

. however, it will be appreciated that by elimination of car 1341;. The spring 164 is under compression between the arcuate shape and replacement therewith by a straight outer edge, the member 232 will be adapted for use in a manner similar to the members 32, 34, 36 in FIGS. 2 through 5. The biasing means which would be used in conjunction with the material guide member 232, would be similar to the spring 50 illustrated in FIGS. 2,through 5, the spring 150 illustrated in FIGS. 8 through 11 or any other similar spring which is engaged with the member 232 at a point below the surface of the completed throat plate and seam guide unit.

From the foregoing, it will be appreciated that the present invention provides a simple, convenient and an inexpensive device for use with conventional sewing machines whereby an operator may select any one of several material guide members to aid in the formation of seams of selected widths. Specifically, by the simple movement of a selected one of the provided material guide members from its inactive position to its active position, the operator may provide a positive physical guide parallel to the stitch line of the sewing machine to guide fabric through the sewing machine and to produce a seam of selected and consistent width. Due to the concept of the invention wherein a material guide member is movable from an inactive position in which it does not extend above the planar surface of the throat plate to an active position wherein its seam guiding functions are provided, a combined throat plate and seam guide according to the invention may be incorporated in a sewing machine and may be used alternatively and easily as a conventional throat plate with no interference, or as a seam guiding element in the manner described.

Although the foregoing has been a description of selected presently preferred embodiments of the present invention, it will be realized that a number of design changes may be made in the specific device illustrated without departing from the teachings of the invention. Accordingly, it is possible to construct combined throat plate and seam guiding devices which, although not identical replicas of material illustrated in the drawings, nevertheless incorporate the substance of the invention. Therefore, the following claims should be construed broadly in a manner consistent with the spirit and scope of the invention.

The present invention provides a simple, convenient and inexpensive device for use with conventional sewing machines whereby an operator may select any one of several material guiding members to aid in the formation of seams of a selected width. On the other hand, the construction of this throat plate is such that it does not interfere with any normal operation of a sewing machine if it is desired not to use the material guiding features of the throat plate.

The foregoing has been a description of just one illustrative embodiment of the present invention. Other embodiments departing in varying degrees from the exact device illustrated in the drawings described herein, may be constructed which nevertheless incorporate the substance of the invention. Therefore, the following claims should be construed broadly in a manner consistent with the spirit and scope of the invention.

What I claim is:

1. A combined throat plate and seam width guide for a standard sewing machine comprising a flat body having a planar upper work surface and Shaped to be received within the throat plate opening of said sewing machine, said body having formed therein a needle-receiving opening along the feed path of the sewing machine and a plurality of feed dog openings, material guide members each of which has a planar face, said fiat body being cut out to receive said material guide members with said planar faces of said material guide members co-planar with the work surface of said flat body, at least one of said material guide members formed of a generally rectangular piece of sheet metal and having a pair of right angled.

ears at opposite ends, a pair of aligned pin-receiving openings formed in said cars, a pivot pin within said pin-receiving openings and secured to said flat body mounting said material guide member for pivotal movement between an inactive position wherein the planar face is co-planar with work surface of the fiat body and an active, seam guiding position wherein said planar face is perpendicular to said work surface and parallel to the sewing machine feed path, a leaf spring secured on the underside of said fiat body below said one material guide member and positioned for engagement with said pair of ears for deflection as said material guide member is moved from one of said positions to the other.

2. A combined throat plate and seam width guide for a standard sewing machine comprising a fiat body having a planar upper work surface and shaped to be received within the throat plate opening of said sewing machine, said body having formed therein a needle-receiving opening along the feed path of the sewing machine and a plurality of feed dog openings, material guide members each of which has a planar face, said flat body being cut out to receive said material guide members with said planar faces of said material guide members co-planar with the work surface of said flat body, at least one of said material guide members formed of a solid piece of metal having a pivot pin opening formed parallel to one edge, a pivot pin received within said opening and secured to said fiat body mounting said material guide member for pivotal movement between an inactive position wherein the planar face is co-planar with work surface of the flat body and an active, seam guiding position wherein said planar face is perpendicular to said work surface and parallel to the sewing machine feed path, a locking shoulder formed in one corner of said material guide member to mate with the edge of the work surface of said flat body when said material guide member is in its active position, and a spring biasing said material guide member into said inactive position, said material guide member being locked in said active position against the bias of said spring by engagement of said locking shoulder with said work surface and being held in said inactive position by said spring.

3. A combined throat plate and seam width guide for a standard sewing machine comprising a fiat body having a planar upper work surface and shaped to be received Within the throat plate opening of said sewing machine, said body having formed therein a needle-receiving opening along the feed path of the sewing machine and a plurality of feed dog openings, material guide members each of which has a planar face, said fiat body being cut out to receive said material guide members with said planar faces of said material guide members co-planar with the work surface of said flat body, at least one of said material guide members formed of a generally rectangular piece of sheet metal and having a pair of right angled ears at opposite ends, a pair of aligned pinreceiving openings formed in said ears, a pivot pin within said pin-receiving openings and secured to said fiat body mounting said material guide member for pivotal move ment between an inactive position wherein the planar face is co-planar with work surface of the flat body and an active, seam guiding position wherein said planar face is perpendicular to said work surface and parallel to the sewing machine feed path, a leaf spring secured on the underside of said flat body below said one material guide member and positioned for engagement with said pair of ears for deflection as said material guide member is moved from one of said positions to the other, another one of said material guide members being formed of a solid piece of metal having a pivot pin opening formed adjacent and parallel to one edge, a pivot pin received within said opening and secured to said flat body mounting said other one of said material guide members for pivotal movement between an active and inactive position as defined, a locking shoulder formed in one corner of said other material guide member to mate with the edge of the work surface of said fiat body when said member is in its active position, and a spring biasing said other material guide member into said inactive position, said other material guide member being locked in said active position against the bias of said spring by engagement of said locking shoulder with said work surface and being held in said inactive position by said spring.

4. A combined throat plate and seam width guide for guiding work material through a sewing machine comprising a fiat body having a planar upper work surface and shaped to be received within the throat plate opening of a standard sewing machine, a needle-receiving opening and a feed dog opening formed in said throat plate along the feed path of the sewing machine, a plurality of material guiding members each having one planar face, means mounting said respective material guide members for movement between an inactive position wherein said material guide members are below the work surface of said throat plate body and a material guiding position wherein said planar faces are above and perpendicular to the work surface of said throat plate body and parallel to said feed path, said guiding members each forming an abutment when in said material guiding position parallel to said feed path for guiding the edge of work material through said machine at a fixed distance from said feed path, and spring means operatively connected between said throat plate body and said material guiding members for selectively retaining said material guiding members in said inactive and said material guiding positions.

146,292 1/1874 Taylor l4368.1

Dormandy 112-15] Gatchell 112136 Bielaski 143-168.1 Overman et a1. 112153 X FRANK J. COHEN, Primary Examiner.

JORDAN FRANKLIN, G. H. KRIZMANICH,

Assistant Examiners.

Claims (1)

1. A COMBINED THROAT PLATE AND SEAM WIDTH GUIDE FOR A STANDARD SEWING MACHINE COMPRISING A FLAT BODY HAVING A PLANAR UPPER WORK SURFACE AND SHAPED TO BE RECEIVED WITHIN THE THROAT PLATE OPENING OF SAID SEWING MACHINE, SAID BODY HAVING FORMED THEREIN A NEEDLE-RECEIVING OPENING ALONG THE FEED PATH OF THE SEWING MACHINE AND A PLURALITY OF FEED DOG OPENINGS, MATERIAL GUIDE MEMBERS EACH OF WHICH HAS A PLANAR FACE, SAID FLAT BODY BEING CUT OUT TO RECEIVE SAID MATERIAL GUIDE MEMBERS WITH SAID PLANAR FACES OF SAID MATERIAL GUIDE MEMBERS CO-PLANAR WITH THE WORK SURFACE OF SAID FLAT BODY, AT LEAST ONE OF SAID MATERIAL GUIDE MEMBERS FORMED OF A GENERALLY RECTANGULAR PIECE OF SHEET METAL AND HAVING A PAIR OF RIGHT ANGLED EARS AT OPPOSITE ENDS, A PAIR OF ALIGNED PIN-RECEIVING OPENINGS FORMED IN SAID EARS, A PIVOT PIN WITHIN SAID PIN-RECEIVING OPENINGS AND SECURED TO SAID FLAT BODY MOUNTING SAID MATERIAL GUIDE MEMBER FOR PIVOTAL MOVEMENT BETWEEN AN INACTIVE POSITION WHEREIN THE PLANAR FACE IS CO-PLANAR WITH WORK SURFACE OF THE FLAT BODY AND AN ACTIVE, SEAM GUIDING POSITION WHEREIN SAID PLANAR FACE IS PERPENDICULAR TO SAID WORK SURFACE AND PARALLEL TO THE SEWING MACHINE FEED PATH, A LEAF SPRING SECURED ON THE UNDERSIDE OF SAID FLAT BODY BELOW SAID ONE MATERIAL GUIDE MEMBER AND POSITIONED FOR ENGAGEMENT WITH SAID PAIR OF EARS FOR DEFLECTION AS SAID MATERIAL GUIDE MEMBER IS MOVED FROM ONE OF SAID POSITIONS TO THE OTHER.

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