A drive mechanism for connecting a drive shaft of a sewing machine to a plurality of reciprocatable needle bars which are advantageously mounted in a single guide frame for reciprocation in the machine includes a link connection for each bar. The link connection includes an oscillatable two armed lever for each bar. It has an input arm driven by a shaft mounted in the machine for oscillation about a fixed axis and an output arm connected to a first link of a cooperative pivotally interconnected first and second link pair. An actuator shaft for each bar carries a respective actuator crank which in turn is connected through a link of relatively short length to the upper ends of the needle bars by a pivotal connection. The guide link is connected to the cooperative link pairs at their pivotal interconnection to each other and it may be moved by a setting mechanism which is either hydraulically or electrically actuated and is effective to change the reciprocation of each needle bar separately or together and without disconnecting the operating mechanism driving the needle bars.