Editing Lockstitch (section)

==Prevalence==
===Home===

Most home sewing machines are lockstitch machines, although [[overlock]]ers (aka sergers) have entered the home market since the 1980s. A lockstitch can also be performed by hand using a sewing awl.

===Industrial===

Of a typical garment factory's sewing machines, half might be lockstitch machines, and the other half divided between overlock machines, [[chain stitch]] machines, and various other specialized machines.

Industrial lockstitch machines with two needles, each forming an independent lockstitch with its own bobbin, are also very common. There are different types of lockstitch industrial machines. The most commonly used are the drop feed for light and medium duty, and walking foot for medium and heavy duty like the Class 7 with an impressive 3/4" foot lift. This makes the Class 7 able to stitch through heavy materials up to 3/4" with threads as strong as 57&nbsp;lbs. Originally made by Singer in the US and Europe for supplying the demand for heavy-duty clothing for the troops, for many years after the war{{which|date=May 2020}} this class was not available as new because the market was filled.  With the outsourcing of many sewing manufacturing jobs, nowadays many Chinese Class 7 machines are available and built by Federal Specifications giving them a performance equal to the original ones (FSN:3530-3111-1556, FSN: 3530-3111-3675, FSN: 3530-311-1556, FSN: 3530-3111-3075).

Most industrial lockstitch machines sew only a straight line of stitches. Industrial ''zig-zag'' machines are available but uncommon, and there are essentially no fancy-pattern stitching industrial machines other than dedicated embroidery and edge decoration machines. Even something as simple as a bar-tack or a buttonhole stitch is usually done by a dedicated machine incapable of doing anything else. When a variety of decorative stitching is required rather than a single stitch, a "commercial" machine (basically a heavy-duty household machine) is usually employed.