Method of inspection for a sewing machine - with a housing, - with a base plate, - with an upper arm, in which an arm shaft is mounted, - with a stand connecting the base plate and the upper arm, - with a drive motor, to drive the arm shaft in rotation, - with a positional sensor to specify an angular position of the arm shaft, - with a multiplicity of sewing components (13a, 17, 18) moving relative to one another, whose movement is derived by mechanical coupling from the rotation of the arm shaft, - with a control, which is connected to exchange signals with the drive motor and the positional sensor, - with an operator terminal for the control, with the following method steps: - specification of a instantaneous starting position of the arm shaft, - the arm shaft is rotated by the drive to move to an inspection - position of the sewing components (13a, 17, 18), wherein the rotational angle of the arm shaft between the last position and the position to which it has moved is monitored by the positional sensor, - after the expiration of a defined time or after a control signal initiated from the operator terminal, the arm shaft is driven in rotation to move to the next inspection position of the sewing components (13a, 17, 18), wherein the rotational angle of the arm shaft between the last position and the position to which it has moved is monitored by the positional sensor, - the last step is repeated until all specified inspection positions (39, 44, 46, 49, 50) have been stopped at by the control, characterised in that, in specifying the instantaneous starting position by a further positional sensor, an inspection is performed whether at least one sewing tool (17, 18), which may be in several different positions when the arm shaft is in the instantaneous starting position, is in a particular specified starting position. - with a housing, - with a base plate, - with an upper arm, in which an arm shaft is mounted, - with a stand connecting the base plate and the upper arm, - with a drive motor, to drive the arm shaft in rotation, - with a positional sensor to specify an angular position of the arm shaft, - with a multiplicity of sewing components (13a, 17, 18) moving relative to one another, whose movement is derived by mechanical coupling from the rotation of the arm shaft, - with a control, which is connected to exchange signals with the drive motor and the positional sensor, - with an operator terminal for the control, - specification of a instantaneous starting position of the arm shaft, - the arm shaft is rotated by the drive to move to an inspection - position of the sewing components (13a, 17, 18), wherein the rotational angle of the arm shaft between the last position and the position to which it has moved is monitored by the positional sensor, - after the expiration of a defined time or after a control signal initiated from the operator terminal, the arm shaft is driven in rotation to move to the next inspection position of the sewing components (13a, 17, 18), wherein the rotational angle of the arm shaft between the last position and the position to which it has moved is monitored by the positional sensor, - the last step is repeated until all specified inspection positions (39, 44, 46, 49, 50) have been stopped at by the control, characterised in that, in specifying the instantaneous starting position by a further positional sensor, an inspection is performed whether at least one sewing tool (17, 18), which may be in several different positions when the arm shaft is in the instantaneous starting position, is in a particular specified starting position.