27 that can be driven by a motor and the movements of the two carriages 19 21 an optic sensor 29 is provided at the bottom of the sewing machine head 25 which can detect and or determine at least two dimensions of the space and which preferably comprises a micro camera the optic sensor 29 is embodied and arranged such that it can detect a surface of the article to be sewn in an area of the stitching site of the needle 23 and or parts of the material holding device 13 a display optic not shown which is located in front of the sensor 29 or is a component of the sensor 29 displays the area of the article 11 to be detected and or the material holding device 13 onto the light sensitive sensor area preferably the sensor 29 comprises a light source for lighting the detection area with light in the visible or invisible range of the spectrum the optic sensor 29 has a high local resolution amounting approximately to 0 1 mm in two dimensions and a high temporal resolution and or scanning rate of 3000 hz for example an image processing unit 30 which e g can partially or entirely be integrated in the optic sensor 29 or in the machine control 9 is provided so that it can reliably detect oscillations of the article to be sewn 11 and or the material fastening device 13 even when the amplitudes of the oscillation are small and the frequency of the oscillation.