Attention: all vintage sewers!

[Kaela]

Hey, Ladies,
I know a lot of you out there sew, and I bet a lot of you also use antique machines! How's about we share with others our weapon of choice!

For me, my first one was a terribly modern 1967 Singer in a darling Robin's egg blue, still all metal though...
My current baby is a Singer, serial G8686819, which from the little I was able to figure about these machines, that dates it about 1919-1925, (but it was an earlier number so i'm guessing 1920? anyone who knows more about this, please correct me)
Also, I recently aquired an International Rotary (which I was never really buzzy about, vertical bobbins and a boxy look, but I got it from my mother-in-law so I like it) It's not the most attractive of machines, but it has a lovely art deco plate on the front of the machine, I'm guessing it's a 30s model (it has reverse).
So that's the list, but nobody does it for me like my 20s Singer!
And just like most girls who start with one old machine, I plan to get some more...

 

[decodoll]

I'm a vintage sewer...um...seamstress..hehe. But as much as I love my vintage patterns and searching for the closest fabric I can get to vintage authentic, I must admit that I absolutely adore my new modern Brother sewing machine with all the fancy stitches and buttonholes! :-D It even cuts my thread for me!! hehe.... I just love that!

I finally organized my patterns by decade over the weekend and printed out little labels for the boxes at work today. Still working on getting them all scanned so that I can do a computer inventory....I buy faster than I scan!

 

[ohairas]

Hello Kaela~ I *think* mine is a 1957 Kenmore.. very heavy metal. Shows how long it's been since I've used it!! Actually, the last time I used it was in Novemeber, I made a repro Barbie sized version of my MIL's wedding gown for their 50th anniversary. I love my machine, but it was starting to act up then and I'm afraid to have it looked at.

I have a few other reallllly old machines that are not usable.. one might be but I wouldn't know how to work it. I think it's German made and has a wooden domed lid.

I really need a new one though, with an automatic buttonholer. I have all the supplies to make a repro of Viv's bbq gown from GWTW.. including the $600 fabric (0uch!).. but it needs over 1400 buttonholes done for the ruffle and I'm not about to try them by hand! I'm a very novice sewer as it is and have never sewn from a pattern. It's on my list of things to do!!

I have a feeling I would still want to do the majority of my sewing on the old Kenmore, I love the feel of it.

Decodoll I hope I can get as organized as you some day!! I would like a thread cutter too!

Ohairas

 

[Lauren]

Hiya.

I long for a reproduction singer featherweight, but I've got my trusty modern phaff to get me through . Every time I get it serviced they tell me I need a heavy weight machine (all those layers of apolstery for period costumes!) I was looking at a new one for backup and they'd tell me which ones I could handle and which ones I'd destroy. Not something that I thought I would share readily. I admire you girls using vintage machines! I would be afraid of using them!

 

[Kaela]

Hello Kaela~ I *think* mine is a 1957 Kenmore.. very heavy metal. Shows how long it's been since I've used it!! Actually, the last time I used it was in Novemeber, I made a repro Barbie sized version of my MIL's wedding gown for their 50th anniversary. I love my machine, but it was starting to act up then and I'm afraid to have it looked at.

I have a few other reallllly old machines that are not usable..

I sympathize with the fear of taking in your machines. I think though, it's better to give them life again than let them sit there. I haven't ever had problems after bringing my machines to get serviced, I will say though, some places put stickers to advertise that they serviced your machine last, I scratched the paint on my 60s singer trying to get the darned sticker off, so I'd recommend asking them not to do that, and to treat it as a "restoration" Let them know you want all original parts replaced. Once my singer's power plug got broken! I was so upset because I didn't know where I could get another bakelite one, and I went to the local sewing center, and asked them if they had any way to order a replacement, but they happened to have a bunch of old plugs that they took off of old machines! I bought two matching ones that I liked better than the ones that were on it before, but plan to get the original ones one day. The lady there recommended "updating" the plugs.. some sewing centers are more about "function" than the "period." So emphasize that, too. Also, you can order manuals to understand your old machines better.

 

[Kaela]

Every time I get it serviced they tell me I need a heavy weight machine (all those layers of apolstery for period costumes!) I was looking at a new one for backup and they'd tell me which ones I could handle and which ones I'd destroy. Not something that I thought I would share readily. I admire you girls using vintage machines! I would be afraid of using them!

Yeah, sometimes vintage machines aren't strong enough to go through too many layers of heavy fabric. I find that for the tough areas, I actually just crank it by hand, most of what I sew with is silks and cottons, so I don't need something more....
maybe you can get lucky and find an industrial antique machine!

 

[MapleHughes]

A seamstress in D.C. area

Hi Ladies, I am new to the Vintage Era and was wondering if any of the D.C. gals could recommend a good seamstress. I have a few things I need made from patterns for my boyfriends birthday party. Any information would be fantasic...Oh and thanks for all the great conversations, I have been visiting this site for awhile now..

Thanks for the help
Maple

 

[ohairas]

HI! If you can't find someone by word of mouth, try going to your local fabric shops and ask if they keep a list of seamstresses. I know our Joann's does.. but Hancock's or Hobby Lobby, ect. might too. Then if you have time to meet with them ask to see their work and check out the way they finish their seams, etc. Ask if they are good with sizing/drafting a pattern, as the old patterns are going to be a bit different. Pretty much anyone can sew from a pattern, but knowing how to FIT someone is the key!

Good luck!

Ohairas

 

[MapleHughes]

Thanks for the extra information--doing that hadn't crossed my mind thanks for the thought.
I think I am going to need all the help I can get-should have listened to my Grandma when she wanted to teach me how to sew but that wasnt cool then-I guess i should have listened

Have a great day
Maple

 

[Angelicious]

My current baby is a Singer, serial G8686819, which from the little I was able to figure about these machines, that dates it about 1919-1925, (but it was an earlier number so i'm guessing 1920? anyone who knows more about this, please correct me)

As far as I can figure, you've got an early 1921 model made in Elizabethport, New Jersey. What decoration does it have? The common ones are the Art Nouveau lillies (earlier) or by 1921 it's more likely the Egyptian acanthus/palm design. Or you could be lucky enough to have a rarer pattern.

(I'm no great expert, but researched this to date my friend's Singer - 1925, Clyde, Scotland, Egyptian. )

 

[Kaela]

As far as I can figure, you've got an early 1921 model made in Elizabethport, New Jersey. What decoration does it have? The common ones are the Art Nouveau lillies (earlier) or by 1921 it's more likely the Egyptian acanthus/palm design. Or you could be lucky enough to have a rarer pattern.

(I'm no great expert, but researched this to date my friend's Singer - 1925, Clyde, Scotland, Egyptian. )

http://users.erols.com/santilla/birthday/bd2.htm
This is the link I used to help date it, once I figured out it was a model 101 (the plate indicating this was missing), I searched for the manual and found that it matched my machine. This took me all day, but I did also find a manual online that was complete, (but didn't solve my issues with the tension knob) I figured 1921, in Elizabeth, New Jersey? That's the best I can figure because it doesn't have any "egyptian" sort of decoration, and the other one I saw mentioned was red sort of scroll patterns, but mine is neither, it's sort of ornate pin-striping almost, golden coloured. I wouldn't call it egyptian, but it does have a floral border on the base plate, but the rest is sort of scroll-y.
http://www.sil.si.edu/DigitalCollections/Trade-Literature/Sewing-Machines/NMAHTEX/2682/
this site is the online manual, and the machine's design matches mine... I bet this is that art neuvo design because it's most common.

Thanks for the tip! How'd you learn so much about sewing machines?

 

[Angelicious]

That's the best I can figure because it doesn't have any "egyptian" sort of decoration, and the other one I saw mentioned was red sort of scroll patterns, but mine is neither, it's sort of ornate pin-striping almost, golden coloured. I wouldn't call it egyptian, but it does have a floral border on the base plate, but the rest is sort of scroll-y.

Well, model 101 is "Knots & Rectangles". I wonder if that's yours.

Since I can't figure out how to post pictures on this thing, this is a link to a pic of Model 101. Does it look like yours?

This is the Egyptian I was talking about, and there are other decals and dates here.

Thanks for the tip! How'd you learn so much about sewing machines?

I just looked into it for a friend a few years back. I get topics like that, dive into them almost-obsessively for a few weeks or a month, and am lucky enough to have a fairly good memory for obscure facts.

 

[ITG]

Paddy, that's cute! Gave me a good chuckle.

 

[Kaela]

I'll never live that title down!

Apparently I've got to watch my stupid comments, and somehow I glazed over seeing that "sewers" doesn't make any bit of sense whatsoever, when I ought to have said "seamstress." But the funniest part about it was that it sounds like sewer, as in storm-drain.. yada yada. Boy howdy, I've got to watch myself 'round here!
I'll never live that title down.. boy I'd like to change it though..

 

[Kaela]

Well, model 101 is "Knots & Rectangles". I wonder if that's yours.

Since I can't figure out how to post pictures on this thing, this is a link to a pic of Model 101. Does it look like yours?

This is the Egyptian I was talking about, and there are other decals and dates here.



I just looked into it for a friend a few years back. I get topics like that, dive into them almost-obsessively for a few weeks or a month, and am lucky enough to have a fairly good memory for obscure facts.

Wow, that's amazing you knew so much about what I was talking about. Mine is closest to the knots and rectangles, but it's slightly different. Very slightly. The scrolling isn't as close, but I don't see any other pictures online anywhere that are just like mine. Strange.. I'll have to look around some more I guess. Also, it looks like my light cover is different. It doesn't look like it's "not" original, but it doesn't look anything like the others I see, it's not metal.
Thanks for your help, though!

 

[fuzzylizzie]

I use my husband's grandmother's 1960 Kennmore. Yes, it's heavy, but boy can it stitch up a storm.

One of the biggest mistakes of my life was letting a cousin take my grandmother's 1920s Singer. It was the machine I learn to sew on, with her as my teacher, and it makes me sad to think of it.:cry:

Lizzie

 

[BettyValentine]

I have a Singer from '52 that I borrowed from my grandma so I could have a machine at my parents' house. It's nice. My machine of choice is a fully-modern Bernina (well, not really. It's mechanical, not computerized.) and a Juki serger. I had an old industrial overlock, but I swapped it for the Juki because the industrial was really loud and took up a lot of space, so I figured it was overkill for my purposes. That was... foolish. My Juki is weak in the face of movers and may be dead now. Also, it turns out I just *hate* the look of machine rolled hems, so I never even use that function.

I'm in the market for an embroidery machine for xmas. (Long story. Chinese cosplayers pooh-poohed my clothes for lacking embroidery). No idea yet which one to go for, but if I get a really great one the Bernina might be demoted to the Chicago machine and the old Singer will just be neat apartment decor. (It is infinitely prettier than any of my modern machines. It just can't do a zigzag or handle 4 layers of vinyl).

BV

 

[Tourbillion]

Even though my vintage Adler machine is a gleaming piece of black and silver art deco era loveliness, I must admit that I really enjoy sewing with my modern Viking.

I like my serger too, especially if knits are involved.

I also have a nice Singer and a broken Monkey Ward's machine. I just need one little spring and it will be back in play.

Still would like an embroidery machine, fabric steamer and a blind-hemmer.

You might guess that I sew a lot.

 

[Tourbillion]

I have a Singer from '52 that I borrowed from my grandma so I could have a machine at my parents' house. It's nice. My machine of choice is a fully-modern Bernina (well, not really. It's mechanical, not computerized.) and a Juki serger. I had an old industrial overlock, but I swapped it for the Juki because the industrial was really loud and took up a lot of space, so I figured it was overkill for my purposes. That was... foolish. My Juki is weak in the face of movers and may be dead now. Also, it turns out I just *hate* the look of machine rolled hems, so I never even use that function.

I'm in the market for an embroidery machine for xmas. (Long story. Chinese cosplayers pooh-poohed my clothes for lacking embroidery). No idea yet which one to go for, but if I get a really great one the Bernina might be demoted to the Chicago machine and the old Singer will just be neat apartment decor. (It is infinitely prettier than any of my modern machines. It just can't do a zigzag or handle 4 layers of vinyl).

BV

Betty

Check out the Viking Designer machines, they are really nice. I am not so impressed with the Singer ones, but Brother makes a good one too, I think.

The designer has vinyl and leather settings-- which is great, it goes through just about anything that I have thrown at it.

 

[BettyValentine]

Check out the Viking Designer machines, they are really nice. I am not so impressed with the Singer ones, but Brother makes a good one too, I think.

The designer has vinyl and leather settings-- which is great, it goes through just about anything that I have thrown at it.

Thanks! I've heard good things about the Viking machines. I'll check them out!

BV