Offspring

At long last I have scanned all 104 pages – plus covers – of my manual for the Singer 431G sewing machine and am thereby reminded why I’d been putting it off so long! I hope it is useful to...

https://edsmum.wordpress.com/2019/09/26/singer-431g-instruction-manual/

If you are familiar with sewing books of this vintage you could definitely be forgiven for wanting to skip the chapters that cover the construction and finishing techniques as you will doubtless ...

https://edsmum.wordpress.com/2018/10/22/making-clothes-for-the-older-woman-agnes-m-miall-1948/

The Singer 431G has been on my wish list for quite a few years now.  I patiently waited for one to come within reach and finally managed to secure one for a decent price and at a distance possib...

https://edsmum.wordpress.com/2017/09/02/singer-431g-slant-shank-sewing-machine/

Originally I gave this a 5-star rating but I downgraded it on account of the quality of the photos. In common with many books of this era, the photos are grainy and lack contrast, especially thro...

https://edsmum.wordpress.com/2017/08/21/clothing-construction-by-evelyn-mansfield/

An ingenious little volume whose method is one of folding paper of predetermined dimensions into a grid which is used to plot the design. The method can be applied to a garment of any size as the...

https://edsmum.wordpress.com/2017/08/21/pattern-making-by-paper-folding-by-miss-f-heath/

Following a request for the instructions for this, I’ve chosen to add them to the blog so that they are available to the wider community.  I hope you all find them useful and enjoy using the a...

https://edsmum.wordpress.com/2017/08/21/ruby-zigzagger-instructions/

I own a great many books on dressmaking. Most of them assume construction knowledge or simply don’t cover it at all as they assume that the dressmaker will be using a commercial pattern, which ...

https://edsmum.wordpress.com/2017/03/12/dressmaking-in-detail-by-ann-mactaggart/

Definitely one for the girls as there are no boys’ garments included here. As a mother of a boy this was naturally a little disappointing but other volumes of similar era exist which do include...

https://edsmum.wordpress.com/2017/03/12/garment-making-the-cutting-out-and-making-up-of-common-sense-comfortable-clothing-for-children-by-jane-a-fleming/

Large format, hardback book measuring 11″ tall x 8″ wide x 1″ thick. Green boards (1945 reprint of 1942 original), 253 pages. I have an increasingly extensive library of vintage sewing and ...

https://edsmum.wordpress.com/2014/03/21/modern-dress-design-harriet-pepin-1942/

The first job for today was to finish what I first started last night; darning the splits in my husband’s jeans. Both the back pockets had pulled away the fabric onto which they were stitched a...

https://edsmum.wordpress.com/2013/08/21/darned-jeans-pocket-using-singer-201k/

A very exciting day for me today as Helen Howes has one again come up with the goods and provided me with something I have wanted for ages; a ‘Slim Jim’ presser foot. Although I knew, by defi...

https://edsmum.wordpress.com/2013/08/20/low-shank-slim-jim-sewing-machine-foot/

A Lined Shirt. The measurement required: – The size round the neck of the intended wearer. The collar is one-and-one-sixth of the neck. All the other measurements are derived from it. The body ...

https://edsmum.wordpress.com/2013/08/17/a-lined-shirt-from-pattern-making-by-paper-folding-by-miss-f-heath-1914/

When I was first at college, studying for my fashion diploma we had to produce a folder of samples. This served both as practice and reference and I have often thought about it and how useful it ...

https://edsmum.wordpress.com/2013/03/18/technical-studies-a-samples-folder/

Looking through my old needlework books I found the attached and thought it an excellent resource well worth reproducing and sharing here. The jpeg is necessarily in quite low resolution to meet ...

https://edsmum.wordpress.com/2013/03/01/order-of-making-up/

Published by Odhams in 1946 this is a hardback book with a grasscloth cover, measuring ten by 7 inches and printed on quite thin but good quality, silky paper. The text is well written and is lib...

https://edsmum.wordpress.com/2013/02/14/practical-home-mending-made-easy-mary-brooks-picken/

A well written book illustrated clearly with black and white photographs showing a very comprehensive range of stitches, techniques and articles. This is not a book which includes patterns which ...

https://edsmum.wordpress.com/2013/02/11/american-dressmaking-step-by-step-lydia-trattles-coates/

A highly informative volume introducing a full introduction to the sewing machine and its attachments, including a demonstration of using a veining foot to make picots which I have never seen bef...

https://edsmum.wordpress.com/2013/02/11/practical-home-dressmaking-illustrated-lynn-hillson/

The author explains that this, the second edition differs from the earlier only in that a few minor alterations have been made and the index made more comprehensive. I mention this as often books...

https://edsmum.wordpress.com/2013/02/11/making-clothes-for-children-agnes-m-miall/

A lovely little volume, hardbacked, measuring about 7″ x 5″ and with good quality, silky paper. It is a comprehensive volume, quite wordy compared to others of its type but the descriptions a...

https://edsmum.wordpress.com/2013/02/09/a-textbook-of-needlework-knitting-and-cutting-out-with-methods-of-teaching-by-elizabeth-rosevear/

I am lucky enough to own the above books bound as a single volume but will review them separately. Manual of Needlework and Cutting Out Another highly rated little gem from my collection, this vo...

https://edsmum.wordpress.com/2013/02/09/manual-of-needlework-and-cutting-out-and-how-to-make-up-garments-agnes-walker/

This is a small, hard back book bound in red linen. Compared with the book “Dress Making” by Mme Trois Fontaines, published at a similar date the quality and size of the volume are inferior b...

https://edsmum.wordpress.com/2013/02/09/dress-cutting-by-margaret-c-ralston/

Apart from the great beauty of the illustrations, wonderfully evocative of early 1930s glamour this book has two main strengths which particularly recommend it. First is its size. The paper is si...

https://edsmum.wordpress.com/2013/02/09/dress-making-designing-cutting-fitting-by-mme-jeanne-trois-fontaines/

It made me smile to see how, over a century later, the same problems remain as tricky as ever! What follows is a transcription from the 1894 version of “Dainty Work for Pleasure and Profit” b...

https://edsmum.wordpress.com/2013/01/18/what-to-charge-and-how-to-collect-from-dainty-work-for-pleasure-and-profit-by-addie-e-heron/

The fashion of the present day runs towards beads in every colour and design, and although the making of beads is not exactly a needlework economy, it is a dress economy, and that is very nearly ...

https://edsmum.wordpress.com/2013/01/18/bead-fancies-from-needlework-economies-edited-by-flora-klickmann/

A Book of Mending and Making with Oddments and Scraps. Thus is the book subtitled and what a little gem it is. Now there are indeed many books, and reprints thereof dealing with post-WW2 thrift b...

https://edsmum.wordpress.com/2013/01/14/the-economy-quilt-from-needlework-economies-edited-by-flora-klickmann/

Last year I obtained a darning spring which is fixed in place of the needleclamp. It does not carry any part number but came to me amongst a collection of other Singer attachments in a box marked...

https://edsmum.wordpress.com/2012/10/09/singer-needlebars-and-a-needleclamp-darning-spring/

As I seem to be collecting more and more books these days I have plenty of material to review so this is the first in what I hope will be a series of book reviews, all relating to sewing, needlec...

https://edsmum.wordpress.com/2012/10/09/vintage-machine-embroidery-singer-instructions-for-art-embroidery-and-lace-work-1941-singer-instructions-for-art-embroidery-1911/

Zigzaggers are potentially one of the most useful attachments to own if you have a vintage, straight-stitch machine and they can also be arguably one of the most frustrating and difficult to use ...

https://edsmum.wordpress.com/2011/06/22/zigzaggers-singer-ruby-greist/

Materials: Approx 1m 8oz wadding 1m 4oz wadding (optional) 4 large dishcloths or roll of stockinette 1 bag of toy stuffing Curved needle 3 reels of upholstery thread Approx 1.5m heavy calico or t...

https://edsmum.wordpress.com/2011/05/12/customizing-a-tailors-dummy-padding-out/

8879 Felt Spool Circles 15429 Corder – Left Toe 25027 Belt Hook 25525 Bias Gauge 25527 Seam Guide 25537 Large Screwdriver 25539 Stiletto 26088 Tuck Marker 26399 Cording Attachment 26538 Embroid...

https://edsmum.wordpress.com/2011/03/03/feet-attachments-simanco-numbers/

I’m afraid that this project was done in a bit of a hurry.  That doesn’t mean that the quality was stinted upon but it does mean that I was not able to stop and photograph each stage. Some o...

https://edsmum.wordpress.com/2011/02/14/dragonflies-embroidered-ric-rac/

I recently acquired one of these in a box of attachments labelled for a Singer 66k so having located the presumed missing spring from within the folds of the box I put it back together and decide...

https://edsmum.wordpress.com/2011/01/17/simanco-121094-singer-darning-foot-the-tiny-one/

One of the best parts about collecting Singer attachments is that with the odd exception (the Hemstitch & Picot Edger) they are all utterly practical.  So, in harmony with the resurgence of inte...

https://edsmum.wordpress.com/2011/01/17/singer-stocking-darner-35776-used-with-simanco-171071-darning-foot/

My curiosity into the different methods of producing a hemstitch continues with the Singer Imitation Hemstitcher, Simanco Part Number 120687. This is a large presser foot which attaches in the n...

https://edsmum.wordpress.com/2010/12/08/imitation-hemstitcher-attachment/

I have finally finished the little pinafore ensemble I have been working on as a present for my friend’s daughter who will shortly celebrate her first birthday. Just to recap, the fabric I chos...

https://edsmum.wordpress.com/2010/12/04/kates-pinafore/

If you find that your machine is not producing a perfectly tensioned lockstitch on a double layer of medium-weight cotton fabric and a tension of around 4.5, then you need to calibrate the tensi...

https://edsmum.wordpress.com/2010/12/01/calibrating-the-tension-assembly-on-a-vintage-singer-201k-or-222k/

This is a review of the Singer Darning and Embroidery Hoop. Part number: 171074; Darning Foot Part Number: 171071; Dimensions: Overall length 125mm, external diameter 63mm, internal diameter 50mm...

https://edsmum.wordpress.com/2010/11/28/singer-222-darning-and-embroidery-hoop/

This has been on the end of my wanted list for some time; one of those little items which, while I won’t bust a gut to obtain one I would be happy to try out just to satisfy my curiosity. It wa...

https://edsmum.wordpress.com/2010/11/26/singer-bias-binder-gauge/

This is coming along well, although as is usual with me it is developing rather than progressing towards a pre-conceived conclusion.  This is undoubtedly why I’ve never bought a pattern in my ...

https://edsmum.wordpress.com/2010/11/25/pinafore-progress/

Thanks to a small but timely tax rebate I have been able to buy myself a big roll of pattern paper from Morplan.  Yes, I know you can use bank paper, lining paper, greaseproof paper, agricultur...

https://edsmum.wordpress.com/2010/11/23/pattern-cutting-roll-your-own/

Today’s project is the beginnings of an outfit for a dear little girl who will shortly celebrate her first birthday.  It has to come out of my existing stash because I can’t afford any new f...

https://edsmum.wordpress.com/2010/11/20/mix-and-match-separates/

..and why I hate many modern ones. It seems that at least twice a week I see a new reason to be grateful for my vintage machines. While I wait for my infant offspring to grow large enough to att...

https://edsmum.wordpress.com/2010/11/17/in-praise-of-vintage/

I’ve been asked to cover hemstitching in more detail so I’m going to cover three of the most common finishes: a narrow hemmed, open hemstitch; a wider version of the same and finally a closed...

https://edsmum.wordpress.com/2010/11/11/more-hemstitching/

Oh how I longed for my own pair of notchers.  Right from when I started my fashion qualifications in 1983.  Right the way through my degree course.  But, as all things in the student world are...

https://edsmum.wordpress.com/2010/11/11/buenas-notchers/

A bit of a digression from sewing today.  I’m feeling a bit mawkish and missing my Dad so thought I’d share how he spent his war. My Dad couldn’t swim a stroke.  In some professions this...

https://edsmum.wordpress.com/2010/11/09/my-dads-war/

It’s not exactly that I don’t like the striated, deco-style face plates but I’d be lying if I said I preferred them so as she is in every other respect perfect, I recently weakened and purc...

https://edsmum.wordpress.com/2010/11/07/facelift-for-a-featherweight/

This is the little cotton shirt I made for a friend’s baby boy for his first birthday present. The fabric was cream poplin, the buttons were vintage linen laundry buttons from my stash. Copyrig...

https://edsmum.wordpress.com/2010/11/07/a-little-cotton-shirt/

Here are the shoes I embellished for my wedding. With the help of hand stitching and a glue gun I secured pieces of guipure lace across the tops and the tongues of the shoes, added a few tiny li...

https://edsmum.wordpress.com/2010/11/07/105/

This is my son’s christening outfit. It was totally handmade from approximately a metre of pure, white linen, ten matching mother-of-pearl baby buttons from my grandmothers stash (Dad’s side)...

https://edsmum.wordpress.com/2010/11/07/93/

The Singer Hemstitcher and Picot Edger is often mooted as one of the rarer, ‘must have’ attachments but in truth my experiences with it were disappointing. It’s not that it doesn’t work; ...

https://edsmum.wordpress.com/2010/11/07/singer-hemstitcher-picot-edger/

This is a review for the non-template Buttonholer; the old type with the bight, zig zag and buttonhole length adjustable by wing nuts. The stitch length is adjusted by using a screwdriver to turn...

https://edsmum.wordpress.com/2010/11/07/singer-non-template-buttonhole-attachment/

Griest buttonhole attachments were made in the following model numbers, each for a different style of machine: #1 Side Screw Clamping – Singer, White, Brother, Morse, Atlas, Kenmore, Domestic, ...

https://edsmum.wordpress.com/2010/11/07/griestgreist-template-buttonholer-attachment/

This is a set of hemmer feet which, along with a quilting guide, may be attached to a side-clamping, low shank machine using the cording foot which accompanies the attachments but which features ...

https://edsmum.wordpress.com/2010/11/07/hemmer-feet/

This is by far my favourite way to create hemstitching.   I also have a Singer Hemstitcher & Picot Edger attachment but this is far simpler to use and gives, to my mind a much more predictably...

https://edsmum.wordpress.com/2010/11/07/stoppax-hemstitching-fork/

1: Four-position Ruffler (Simanco 86642) 2: Two-position Ruffler (Simanco 120290) 3: Tuck Marker (Simanco 36583) 4: Stoppax Hemstitching Fork 5: Rolled Hemmer (Simanco 35857) 6: Hopping Foot (Pfa...

https://edsmum.wordpress.com/2010/11/07/vintage-singer-feet-identification/

This machine is perfect where space is at a premium. 9 ½ inches long (15” with the extension flap down) it can be picked up and moved with one hand, weighing only 11lb. It is made, I believe, ...

https://edsmum.wordpress.com/2010/11/07/singer-222k-featherweight/

Reputed to be the best machine Singer ever made, I find it hard to argue. I own three; all electric, although I suspect that one of these has been adapted to electric from being (I suspect) hand-...

https://edsmum.wordpress.com/2010/11/07/singer-201k-electric/

I chose my vintage Bernina 830 Record because it offered exceptionally good value for money. It dates from around the late 1970s/early 1980s and I have had it about four months. Bought to replace...

https://edsmum.wordpress.com/2010/11/07/bernina-830-record-circa-1980s/

    The faceplate, fly wheel and knobs are plastic; the main body is all cast metal, which gives excellent stability in use. The 334D takes normal sewing needles, which is useful. It has differ...

https://edsmum.wordpress.com/2010/11/07/7/