Wednesday, April 24, 2013

Singer Sewing Machine, and the Sinister Sister

I feel sorry for people who have to make do with a plastic sewing machine, I really do.  My favourite sewing machines are Singer, the old black cast metal hand operated ones.  Apart from the fact that they will stitch through almost anything without complaining, and will allow the most meticulous and accurate stitches, they look lovely when standing around, and can be accessorized and dressed up.

A while ago my friend Liz, the antique doll restorer, sent me this Singer Sewing machine in the mail.  It arrived safe, can you believe it, but it must have put the postman's back out!
The sewing machine belonged to Liz's mother, who received it new when she was a young lass.  The date of manufacture for the machine is 1884.  If you have a Singer Sewing machine, and would like to know when and where it was manufactured, all the information is available on the Singer website, just key in the machine's serial number. 
Sadly, when the sewing machine came to me it was in poor condition due to years of disuse.  It had been left standing in a damp place and it was rusting badly and the veneer on the case was lifting off.  Probably the worst damage was to the bottom part of the box, all the glue in the seams had come undone and it was falling to pieces.  I delivered the machine to our Singer agents, who spent a lot of time de-rusting it and servicing the machine.  They drew the line at the carpentry that needed to be done though.  I decided that I could do that part myself, and that is just what I did.  It took a day of patient sanding, and lots of glue and clamps, but finally I had it oiled and gleaming again, as good as it will ever get. 
After all that effort I decided that the machine deserved a little something to make it special.  The ladies who used these hand machines usually attached a band of felt around the arm of the machine so that they had somewhere to stick their pins.  From more than a century of sticking pins in the same place, this machine has had all its paint worn off. 
 
So I made it a new pin cushion to cover the spot.  Mine is made of felt, vintage buttons, and scraps of braid.  The doll head belongs to an antique dolls house doll, sadly the rest of her was lost.  My pin cushion is both functional and fun.  I’m calling her the Singer Sinister Sewing Sister.  Now all I have to do is find time to sew up a few of my little projects on the sewing machine.

11 comments:

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    1. Thank you Joyce, it gives me pleasure when I work with it.

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  2. Oh, very nice Megan, I didn't know that Singer serviced these old machines, to which branch did you take yours, the one in Lyttleton? I have my grandma's old Singer, it still stitched like 30 years ago, but not anymore, I would love to have it restored to working condition, I still have a tiny battered pincushion that used to hang on it.

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    1. If your machine is missing parts, it will cost you an arm and a leg to have it repaired. Be sure to get a quote first. You can buy a brand new one for all of R 1 038, can you believe that??? Got one recently for a friend of mine. They look just like the old ones, just not as nicely finished. I had mine serviced in East Lynne, but if I were you I would rather take it to Lyttelton, I've heard in the meantime that they are very good.

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    2. HaHa, joke is on me, I opened the machine to discover that it isn't a Singer but a Crescent, I couldn't find much info on it. When I come back from Castine I will ask Singer if they could maybe try and service it, I don't think there is any missing parts. By the way I have a 26 year old Singer that I have made many clothes on, including a wedding dress for my one cousin. I think I had it serviced once, I have stitched leather and denim on it with no problems and these days I also stitch my silk gauze to some mat board with it to get the gauze nice and tight for my petit point. Most of this machine are still made out of metal with just a plastic top and it has proved to be a real workhorse.

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  3. What a treasure. I would love one in my home.

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    1. Thanks, Kay. Yes, you need to find one to make clothes for your teddies with too!

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  4. Oh how pretty. I bought one a few years ago from an ad in the newspaper, and when I took it to be "serviced" half the machine was needing to be replaced. It was going to cost a fortune, so I donated what was left of it to the man who tried to help me, to use as spares.
    Maybe one day I will get another one that works.
    I have got my mother's old Singer electric sewing machine that she got in 1963 - which is in a beautiful cabinet on legs with draws down the one side - but as you know Megan I am more a hand sewer than a machine sewer.

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    1. Yep, I know all about getting replacement parts for a Singer machine. It's usually not a matter of something broken, but something lost. Once you get a machine working, they never stop. I don't have an electrical Singer yet, bet it would be useful though.
      You do beautiful hand sewing, and you are a whiz with a crochet hook and knitting needles! I agree, sitting in front of a sewing machine can start feeling like work much too quickly.

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  5. Hi Megan
    just re-read this post about the Singer Machine and pincushion.
    Do you have a pattern for the Sinister Sister pincushion?
    Aurora

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  6. No pattern for this one Aurora, I just made it up as I went along. Will gladly show you how to do it though, just bring a decapitated doll!

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