alwen · @alwen
68 followers · 935 posts · Server mstdn.party

Today I sewed a cotton bed pad down to a fitted sheet with my 1915 back-clamping Singer 66 and its repro handcrank.

I love how that machine sews.


#vintagesewingmachine #vintagesewingmachines

Last updated 1 year ago

Jules Beaumont · @Julesbc
36 followers · 212 posts · Server mstdn.social

im testing out the caption add on the app .. and this is my recent pic, my lovely Jones hand cranked sewing machine. Its beautiful and it still sews amazingly!

#vintagesewingmachines

Last updated 1 year ago

alwen · @alwen
55 followers · 607 posts · Server mstdn.party

@gannet No, this is a fairly rare and unusual one. All my other have mechanical linkages that move the feed dogs & needle bar. This one is an oddball in that they're not only connected by a belt (Pfaff also used cleated belts), it also had a belt that was made of a "modern" material - that turned out not to hold up over time.

#vintagesewingmachines

Last updated 1 year ago

alwen · @alwen
53 followers · 601 posts · Server mstdn.party

And this is what I found when I opened the side:

This stuff that looks like the contents of an old pencil sharpener is the remains of the drive belt.

#turissa #vintagesewingmachines

Last updated 1 year ago

alwen · @alwen
53 followers · 600 posts · Server mstdn.party

And this, sadly, is what I saw when I took the top off my :

My belt was not cleated, it was some kind of advanced rubbery material glommed onto those fine wires.

#turissa #vintagesewingmachines

Last updated 1 year ago

alwen · @alwen
53 followers · 599 posts · Server mstdn.party

Here is a (not mine!) with a nice cleated drive belt connecting the top and bottom drives. It's the belt all the way to the right:

#turissa #vintagesewingmachines

Last updated 1 year ago

alwen · @alwen
53 followers · 598 posts · Server mstdn.party

Did I ever show you the , sewing-machine fedizens? Turissa designed it: Gritzner-Kayser made it: White sold it in the US as the 655.

#turissa #vintagesewingmachines

Last updated 1 year ago

alwen · @alwen
53 followers · 597 posts · Server mstdn.party

A great person on one of my vintage sewing groups sent me cleats & builder's twine to rebuild the belt on my White 655 (aka Turissa Ultramatic, aka Gritzner FZ Automatic).

Now all I have to do is remove the motor, wind the twine around the gears, secure the ends, and place the cleats, one by one, in the gear teeth, and crimp them onto the twine. *gulp*

#vintagesewingmachines #turissa

Last updated 1 year ago

alwen · @alwen
50 followers · 560 posts · Server mstdn.party

I mowed the small yard (the fenced part close to the house) with a hand sickle. I've looked at s on and off the last couple years, but they're pricey and US sites that sell them are often out of stock.

But I had pretty much decided to bite the bullet and buy one anyway.

So there I was, idly browsing FB Marketplace for , when I had the thought of replacing "sewing machine antique" with "scythe" in the search box.

And there I found it.

#scythe #vintagesewingmachines

Last updated 1 year ago

alwen · @alwen
49 followers · 549 posts · Server mstdn.party

@allofmystudentsrunaway @JulietJFall My brother (who got me into vintage sewing machines) always calls them bullet-proof! Beauttful Lotus-decal 66.

#vintagesewingmachines

Last updated 1 year ago

alwen · @alwen
49 followers · 507 posts · Server mstdn.party

I guess I never shared the Superb Owl I picked up a couple of weeks ago - 1896 Singer 15-22 (long-beak shuttle) with owl decals!

#vintagesewingmachines #vintagesewingmachine

Last updated 1 year ago

alwen · @alwen
50 followers · 465 posts · Server mstdn.party

I put one of the two needles from the drawer in and tried to get it to stitch. I failed, but one of my vintage sewing colleagues pointed out that transverse-shuttle machines (shuttle moves <--> left and right) need the long groove to the FRONT. Oh yeah! Can't wait to go back and try again.


#whitehillsewingmachine #vintagesewingmachines

Last updated 2 years ago

alwen · @alwen
50 followers · 464 posts · Server mstdn.party

The needle clamp is pretty interesting. The needle goes through the piece to the left, which is then inserted in the needlebar and tightened by a wing-headed nut. It has a needle stop, so unlike my Singer 13/Medium, there is no messing about setting the needle height with a pin through the eye.


#whitehillsewingmachine #vintagesewingmachines

Last updated 2 years ago

alwen · @alwen
50 followers · 463 posts · Server mstdn.party

I took photos of the Whitehill's attachment set (by Johnston Ruffler Co) yesterday and worked out how the needle clamp worked.


#vintagesewingmachines #whitehillsewingmachine

Last updated 2 years ago

alwen · @alwen
50 followers · 456 posts · Server mstdn.party

@jepyang The only thing more fun than winding a 66 bobbin is winding a 27/28 long bobbin!

#vintagesewingmachines

Last updated 2 years ago

alwen · @alwen
50 followers · 428 posts · Server mstdn.party

Today I got to work on this Whitehill sewing machine, housed at a local museum:


#vintagesewingmachine #vintagesewingmachines

Last updated 2 years ago

alwen · @alwen
48 followers · 421 posts · Server mstdn.party
alwen · @alwen
48 followers · 420 posts · Server mstdn.party

Check this out! This is (not my) Singer 7-33. The tiny-looking machine behind it is a Singer 27! The current owner says the head alone weighs 167 pounds (more than 75 kg!)

It will sew 6 layers of leather without breaking a sweat.

#vintagesewingmachine #vintagesewingmachines

Last updated 2 years ago

Stitcher · @Stitcher
234 followers · 493 posts · Server artisan.chat

For no reason other than I want to share something I love, here is my oldest (but most recently acquired) sewing machine. It is a Jones Family CS with Queen Alexandria badging and was made between 1907 and 1914 (likely closer to the earlier date).

I ordered a couple small parts and appropriate needles after I bought it a couple years ago, but I have still not sewn anything with it. I want to put it to use, but am not sure what to make with it.

#sewing #vintagesewingmachines #showandtell

Last updated 2 years ago

alwen · @alwen
46 followers · 380 posts · Server mstdn.party

Here's my very oldest sewing machine (Singer 13 "Medium", 1889), my 50-years-younger 1939 Singer 201K-4 with original handcrank, and photobombing cat.

#vintagesewingmachines

Last updated 2 years ago