Another Sewing Machine!

Well I've given in and bought another sewing machine, not a new one, another vintage one.  I needed one I could carry more easily to the quilting group as my Singer 338 is a tad heavy. I can carry it OK but lifting it into the car & then onto the table is getting problematic. 

I thought about getting a new lighter one and looked at lots with all the frills bells & whistles, but lots of reports I read about them indicates they are not built to last. The computers go wrong & they are difficult & expensive to repair, if they can be repaired.  You have to go to the really expensive ones to get a decent build & I just don't feel the need to spend that sort of cash. 

I took some advice from an experienced quilter & she advised to avoid the "throwaway plastic rubbish" & go for a vintage Frister & Rossman Cub or an Elna Lotus. Neither of which I had ever heard of so what followed was hours of looking up information about these machines. 

I made an interesting discovery that none of these machines had the online information providing support, parts available & maintenance to help you look after your machine like you can with Singer. I suppose that's because Singer captured the market, their machines were the undoubtedly the best in those days and people still love them. There are so many resources to help you maintain your Singer that for most people it's their choice of machine. However the only lightweight vintage Singers are the Featherweights (mind you they're not that light) but the prices are now extortionate so I counted that model out.

I couldn't find much out about these machines, how to maintain or repair them, nothing on Youtube other than a woman sewing rows of various stitches on the Frister & Rossmann Cub 4 & a few people on various fora saying they loved theirs. 

I took a bit of a risk tonight & bought the Cub 4 on ebay. It was very cheap as the accessories box that fits into the front of the machine is missing. Well it doesn't bother me as I won't have any accessories to put into it, they don't come with the machine. Must be still in the accessories box somewhere in somebodies loft probably. It does have the manual, the foot pedal & a decent looking case. 

I only want it to take to the classes so it doesn't have to look the business. I'll be happy enough if it sews OK & I can lift it. It's supposed to in good working condition & I only paid £24 for it. If it's rubbish I'll just think of it as a donation to the hospice selling it. Just hope my husband is out when it's delivered, not sure how I can explain buying another "old" machine.

Just before I bid for the machine I saw a lovely Singer 99K available locally so I can go & look at it if I want to. I don't really want to be a collector of Vintage machines but I think I'm getting addicted.

Watch this space!

My Singer 338!

Well here it is my very first sewing machine, the one I got for my 21st birthday in 1966! I know it cost my Mam a lot to buy it for me & she traded in her Jones treadle to buy it. I wish I had offered to pay for to keep it but I suppose that's the thoughtlessness of youth.

I learned to sew from about 5 years old with my Nana's Jones treadle, my Mam had learned to sew on it too & so did my sister. In the days before telly we spent hours sewing & knitting together. I remembered watching with horror the time my Mam got the sewing machine needle through her finger nail! Don't know how it didn't put me off.

I decided I didn't want a gold watch for my 21st as most people did I preferred a sewing machine. I loved it! Such a gorgeous colour and my how it stitched! It could zig zag & embroider and it has made hundreds of things from my mini dresses, wedding & bridesmaids' dresses in the sixties, curtains, cushions, dresses & trousers for me & my children in the seventies & in the eighties I did a City & Guilds Fashion & Design 3 year course. My the machine got some hammer during that course.  

Apart from when the electric foot control broke the machine never flackered until I got it out about a year ago & discovered there was a screw missing from the stitch lever. Just a tiny screw but it stopped the stitch setting working properly although you could still sew with it.

Well I started a quilting class a couple of months ago & wondered whether I should treat myself to a new lightweight machine to carry to the classes as mine is quite heavy with the case on it.

Next I spent hours looking at reviews on the Internet (as you do) & it looked as though most of the cheaper ones weren't worth the money. I didn't want to spend too much on one so I looked into getting the part for the machine. Well that was another hunt that took hours! Although the machine was made in Scotland it's hard to find replacement parts in the UK. I found one on a website in the US but it was going to cost a heck of a lot just for a tiny part so I gave up. I thought about buying an old 338 just to get the part but they all looked in poor condition on ebay & they weren't cheap either. So I was back to square one.

I started looking at vintage sewing machine websites, by this time I was hooked on them, finding out more about them & how they were built to last unlike the pastic stuff being sold now. Well I found one UK website, it belongs to Helen Howes, a lady who is really into restoring these fabulous machines. Well she has some beauties which she has lovingly restored for sale here & I drooled over the Jones treadle machine I learned to sew on as well a most of the others here http://www.helenhowes-sewingmachines.co.uk/buy.html#machinesales

So I started browsing the rest of the site & found she also has parts for sale. I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw the exact part I needed for the princely sum of £1! I rang her, she posted it to me & last night I fitted it & voila! It restored the machine to working order perfectly, now the stitch lever works like a dream. Hard to believe I could be so delighted, more delighted than if I had won the lottery. 

Can you believe a machine doesn't work properly, all for the sake of a tiny screw you can see here.

So now I can start quilting properly! The sewing saga continues & I think it will have to go into the box with me when I go. Hard to believe you can get so attached to something mechanical but I am, I love it probably because I know it cost my Mam a lot to buy it for me back then. Then I think of all the things I have made or repaired with it, such memories. I hope Mam knows it was been worth every penny!