Yes, today is the 2nd National Sewing Machine Day of the year! Sewing Machines are sew important that they get 2 days each year, June 13th and September 10th.
To celebrate, I cleaned some vintage sewing machines. The first machine is NOT mine. I'm cleaning it up for a friend.
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| New Home 'Ruby' treadle |
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| New Home 'Ruby' treadle |
Those are the 'before' photos. I've cleaned this machine (spent almost all of Labor Day cleaning this machine), but it is still really dirty. I'll have to clean this machine a few more times before all the dirt and grime finally come off. There is also some repair work to be done on the treadle base.
The next 2 sewing machines are 'new' to me. A friend saw an advertisement for this next sewing machine and sent it to me. The machine would move, but wouldn't make a full turn when I got it. Also, it is missing the knob off the hand wheel. Thank goodness it had a shuttle and bobbin, since those can sometimes be impossible to find for some machines. These are the 'before' photos.
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| The Royal hand crank |
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| lovely decal in the center |
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| missing the knob to turn the hand crank |
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| some rust and grime |
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| really dirty tension |
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| dirty |
This sewing machine is called The Royal. It was made by the Gardner Sewing Machine Company, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. The company was only in existence from 1871-1886, when it went bankrupt. The few hand cranks similar to this that I could find on the internet date from around 1875. If that is correct, then this will be my oldest sewing machine. There is very little information about this machine that I could find.
Here are photos of The Royal cleaned up. It turns nicely now. I haven't tried to sew with it yet. I need to figure out the threading (and I didn't finish cleaning it until late at night Thursday).
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| The Royal |
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| now you can see the decals |
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| back of machine |
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| hand wheel is clean, but still missing the hand crank knob (for the moment) |
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| cleaned tension, but I need some felt to replace that tan piece in the tension area (it's falling apart) |
Last week a friend gave me another sewing machine. So far, she's given me a cute, vintage, Casige toy sewing machine, and another vintage sewing machine (I haven't shown it on the blog). This time she gave me a Featherweight!!! She bought the Featherweight years ago at a thrift store for $9. She's never sewn with it. It is missing the bobbin case, and needs some parts (bed cushions, belt, oil drip pan, etc). It will also get an LED light bulb, since I reach under the arm of machines to lift the presser foot, and I've burned myself many times on my first Featherweight bulb before I bought an LED light for it.
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| 1948 Singer 221-1 Featherweight |
This machine didn't come with anything, but I don't care (other than the bobbin case). I have 1/4" feet to fit this machine. What else do I need? I will probably make it a cover for the folding table, and a bag to store it in, like I did for the purple Featherweight.
Happy National Sewing Machine Day!
The Royal turned out lovely. Oh a featherweight! How fun.
ReplyDeleteThe Royal cleaned up beautifully. I can't believe the 221-1 Featherweight is the same age as I am. It's in much better shape.
ReplyDeleteI love seeing your machines. The Royal looks very royal and the 1948 Featherweight looks great and the cost $9!!! I'm sure one of these days Ruby will look wonderful too. ~Jeanne
ReplyDeleteThe Royal looks great after cleaning. I would think you could "craft" a knob for it if you can't find one.
ReplyDeleteThat Featherweight looks to be in great condition. I think I need you to clean and "fix" mine. It works but I don't use it. I gave a lot more than nine dollars for it.
OMG she gave you a featherweight and that is a ridiculous price she paid for it!!!!!! Lucky you! You sure do a really nice job on cleaning the oldies up:)
ReplyDeleteThe Royal is beautiful and you do such amazing work on cleaning the machines. Such a delight to see.
ReplyDeleteBoy you did a fabulous job on cleaning those machines. And they are beauties. I love the idea of a $9 Featherweight! What a great job you've done.
ReplyDeleteGreat job on machines
ReplyDeleteNot only do we have the National Sewing Machine Day in September, it is also National Sewing Month!!! That little Royal is a cutie!!! I have always wanted a Featherweight, bought one once. The shipper did not pack it well and it was damaged when it arrived. Sent it back and have never tried again!!!
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on bringing your beautiful Royal back to life! The transformation is amazing. Happy Sewing Machine Day!
ReplyDeleteOh, Cheryl, I'm so jealous of that Royal! I've wanted a little machine like that to add to my collection forever, but haven't run across one yet. Someday, though!
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