Vintage Sewing Machines

Wow! I just realized that it has been 8 months since I last posted.  We bought a fixer-upper house last summer  and my attention has been focused on painting, repairing, buying appliance...

http://sewing-machines.blogspot.com/2018/07/wow-i-just-realized-that-it-has-been-8.html

   I was trolling the local Habitat for Humanity ReStore this morning and saw something I didn’t know existed – a blackside Singer 15-91!    I know that several Singer models recei...

http://sewing-machines.blogspot.com/2017/11/back-on-line.html

We are getting down to brass tacks now, runs to the landfill every couple of days disposing of things I held onto for years in case "I might need that some day".  We have sold everything anyone ...

http://sewing-machines.blogspot.com/2017/07/the-final-two-weeks-in-old-house.html

I bought these presser feet on eBay years ago.  I believe they were listed as Viking quilting feet.  Since Kathie is a quilter and the price was right, I picked them up in case I later ran...

http://sewing-machines.blogspot.com/2017/06/another-what-is-it-item.html

   The clean-out continues.  Today, I dug out all my Singer "Top Hat" decorative stitch cams.  During my 45 years of collecting sewing machines, every time I saw a set of Singer attachments, ...

http://sewing-machines.blogspot.com/2017/04/more-on-downsizing.html

    As I approach my 72nd birthday, Kathie and I find that it is time to rid ourselves of our 5 bedroom, 3 1/2 bath, 3-story house and look for a home offering one level living.  We will list ...

http://sewing-machines.blogspot.com/2017/04/downsizing-in-preparation-for-retirement.html

A few years ago, I was making lanyards to sell at craft shows that required a double stitch and I picked up this 1951 Singer 112W140 to cut my sewing time in half.  As it turned out, the do...

http://sewing-machines.blogspot.com/2016/12/dual-needle-industrial-machine.html

Yesterday, I broke out a really nice 603E that I haven’t used in a long time.  I oiled it up and was running it in and it was humming along perfectly - no rattles, squeaks, or clicks.  At fu...

http://sewing-machines.blogspot.com/2016/09/singer-603e-needle-plate.html

The other day, a friend gifted me with a Bernette MO-234 Serger.  She said it had just quit working and was making a "funny noise".  I don’t have enough experience with overlockers to ag...

http://sewing-machines.blogspot.com/2016/08/bernette-mo-234-serger.html

A friend picked up a Singer Featherweight at an antique shop (first mistake).  The seller told her it had been recently serviced and was good to go. The first thing I noticed when I flip...

http://sewing-machines.blogspot.com/2016/08/unusual-singer-featherweight.html

I am always looking for small (quick) projects to exercise my vintage machines.  I have so many that they seldom get used and, like an automobile, letting one sitting idle is about the worst...

http://sewing-machines.blogspot.com/2016/06/singer-403-and-fitbit-bracelet.html

To keep all my old sewing machines limber, I like to take them off the shelf occasionally and use them on a project.  I really should tag each machine to tell me when was the last time i...

http://sewing-machines.blogspot.com/2016/01/singer-500a-will-not-form-zig-zag-stitch.html

You bought a new foot control and want to connect it to your current cord; you bought a new cord and need to connect it to your current foot control; you bought a new cord and foot control an...

http://sewing-machines.blogspot.com/2016/01/re-wiring-vintage-sewing-machine-foot.html

We had to go to LaPlata, Maryland yesterday and our appointment was just around the corner from Material Girls Quilt Shop, so Kathie insisted we stop by for a "quick look".  It has been a while ...

http://sewing-machines.blogspot.com/2016/01/berninas.html

Browsing through some orphan boxes of accessories, I found a presser foot I had never seen before.  It is an adjustable zipper foot but it is different.  All my other zipper feet have one ...

http://sewing-machines.blogspot.com/2015/12/adjustable-zipper-foot.html

Last week, a lady brought her Babylock Pro-Line serger by for a cleaning and to have the knives replaced.  The machine had been sitting idle for some time and had gotten stiff, so I had to...

http://sewing-machines.blogspot.com/2015/11/pfaff-hobbylock-774.html

Even though it has the slide plate that turns under the seam allowance, I really like my 385.17881 Kenmore because it is so smooth and quiet.  I always consider those traits to be an indic...

http://sewing-machines.blogspot.com/2015/10/kenmore-3851684180.html

  I have an industrial 20U33 that I like to sew on.  It is smooth, strong, and quiet and makes a perfect stitch.  It also has a 9mm zig zag, which I rarely take advantage of but I know it'...

http://sewing-machines.blogspot.com/2015/09/singer-20u33.html

  This week, I had the pleasure of working on the first model of Touch & Sew made by Singer.  It is a model 600 but the model number is not displayed in the usual place, it just says "Auto...

http://sewing-machines.blogspot.com/2015/09/singer-auto-reel.html

Yesterday, a friend gifted (cursed?) me with a Singer 6267.  She said it had been in storage for some time and then left in a hot car for a day and the next time she ran it, it was stif...

http://sewing-machines.blogspot.com/2015/09/singer-6267.html

Another in the series of troubleshooting tips.  Tips are not in order of most common to least common and do not need to be performed in sequence.  Pick the easiest ones first and work to the mo...

http://sewing-machines.blogspot.com/2015/07/loops-or-knots-on-underside-of-fabric.html

Ankers Aweigh! In my effort to downsize, I have been culling through my stock of sewing machines with an eye to disposing any that don't please me.  I put this Anker RZ on the shelf years ago ...

http://sewing-machines.blogspot.com/2015/07/ankers-aweigh.html

While trolling through thrift shops in the Harrisburg, PA area, I found a machine that had been eluding me for years.    The Montgomery-Ward Signature sewing machines were made by the HA...

http://sewing-machines.blogspot.com/2015/07/signature-urr277e.html

Today, I need some help.  Over the years, I have acquired hundreds of sewing machines.  Some of them are not worth rehabilitating, so I salvage usable parts and recycle the metal bodies.  I tr...

http://sewing-machines.blogspot.com/2015/04/orphan-needle-plates.html

Another in the series of troubleshooting tips.  Tips are not in order of most common to least common and do not need to be performed in sequence.  Pick the easiest ones first and work to the mo...

http://sewing-machines.blogspot.com/2015/04/my-machine-turns-heavily-or-jams.html