Thursday, April 22, 2010

New Family Member

Well, sorta. :) This sewing machine will most likely be in our family for a very long time to come.




This past weekend we went to a neighborhood garage sale and found a replacement for our broken Singer sewing machine. I love the retro personality. It's going to be a great heavy duty workhorse that's in wonderful condition. We've only had to rewire the foot pedal due to deterioration, replace the bobbin winder tire thingy with the one from our old Singer, and oil some parts to get them to work properly. Even better, I found a compatible box of presser feet at one of the local thrift stores for $2. Yay, I'm ready to start sewing again!



I'd been looking for a all metal sewing machine for a very long time. Recently, our Fashion Mate257 from the 70's has had to be put down. It was damaged and no longer functions.

I'm so happy that we came across this one that only set us back $32 so far. I'm even more impressed at the condition and finding out the motor is more powerful than the one on our old Singer. I wish I knew more about the history of this machine. I know it was made in Japan probably sometime in the 60's. The only things the previous owner could tell me about it is that she bought it in high school for a home ec. class. Never used it much after that (as I can tell). And, she is in her fifties now. I'm in the process of researching it on sewing forums and will update if I find out anything interesting.



If you are in the market for a new sewing machine for crafting, I really recommend buying a vintage one. If you do proper research and have patience, you can find a great machine that will out last newer ones and be a joy to sew on for the rest of your life.

2 comments:

Unknown said...

Hi....
I found you through a google search for carl's sewing machine.
I aquired one of these machines recently, model #965, and was wondering, did yours come with a manual, and if so, would you be willing to share? I think they're close in functions.

Thanks for your time,
Terry, Ennis TX.
uraniasinspiration.blogspot.com
terryseeks@gmail.com

mieljolie said...

Cool, Terry! It's a great machine. Sorry, I don't have a manual, but if you have any questions, I can try to help. There is a great Yahoo group that has lots of info on vintage machines at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/wefixit/?yguid=335163459

Enjoy your machine!

Mieljolie