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Showing posts from July, 2020

Tension With Grandma

Hi all, Grandma hasn’t seen much action in years so, the first thing I made sure to change was her needle. The one I took out was this one. As you can see, it’s a bit grubby. It's also too long. According to manuals I’ve downloaded for Grandma, she takes a 15x1 needle, the same as most modern day domestic machines. Which isn’t surprising since it was Singer who introduced the 15 class sewing machine. Look at the size difference in this next picture. The size 15 I replaced it with is on the right. At one time Singer was the largest supplier of sewing machines. Their designs for the class 15 were also used by Japan after World War Two. They made Singer 15 Clones as part of the reparations. These clones were sold to retail stores like Sears. Each different store had its own identity mark or badge. So the machines were also known as badged clones. This is a Singer Clone or badged machine. It’s an Aldens and is from the 1950s. Many other sewing machine brands ...

Treadling with Grandma, an Iron Lady From 1912

Hi all, If you’ve been following me for a while you’ll know I have a large soft spot for vintage sewing machines. Particularly Singers. Other brands have made it into my collection over the years. A Mundlos , a Vigorelli and a Necchi. None of them stay long though. I just don’t have the same affinity for them as I do for Singers. The Singers I have are all hand cranks, except the Singer Stylist from the 1970s. My obsession with Singers started when I was trying to replace one that belonged to my Mom , lost in a house move a few years ago. It was a 128 hand crank. I ended up getting quite a few in my search to replace it. None are quite right. So I kept looking until I found this one. It's close enough. It’s incredibly tricky to sew with a hand crank. With one hand spinning the wheel, there is only one hand left to hold the fabric straight. So, I don’t sew with them that often. For some time I have been yearning for a treadle. Because working ...