Puller apparatus

A puller device in combination with a sewing machine having a stitch-forming means, alternately engageable and disengageable with a variable thickness garment having first and second adjacent portions, at least one of which has multiple layers of fabric, and top and bottom surfaces of said first and second portions, wherein the stitch-forming means engages the top surface of the garment for stitching the garment and a feed means engages a bottom surface of the garment for feeding the garment through the stitch-forming means when the stitch-forming means is disengaged from the garment, comprising:

• puller means downstream of the feed means for uniformly pulling the garment in synchronization with the feed means when the stitch-forming means is disengaged from the garment;
• drive means for driving the feed means and the puller means in synchronization with the stitch-forming means, intermittently engaging said puller means for advancing the garment when the stitch-forming means is disengaged from the top surface of the garment and intermittently disengaging said puller means when the stitch-forming means is engaged with the top surface of the garment;
• first and second engagement means positioned substantially above said puller means for engaging the top surface of the garment as the feed means and said puller means engage the bottom surface of the garment;
• and
• first and second control means operatively connected to said first and second engagement means for selectively and independently moving said first and second engagement means into and out of engagement with the top surface of the garment.