Calling Vintage Sewing Machine fans!

[SoupDragon]

I know you're out there! I think of you every time I visit my favourite house clearance shop and keep meaning to take pictures... so this time I did.

Here we have offering no. 1. Which the serial number seems to imply is rather old. It has a lovely domed wooden case. Just beautiful but I can't really justify buying it!

I've never been accused of peddling porn before...

Hey, if the exquisitely sewn pimp hat fits...

Well, there you go. This thread made me realise that I could date my GM's machine, which I haven't used in years but which works perfectly well. 1893.

Glad to find that I'm not the only one who appreciates them.

I need to go up the loft & get the serial number to date mine

I love these old machines.

I have a Featherweight manufactured in New Jersey in 1935 that's been passed down in my family. It fits into a card table which is great for sewing curtains or anything with a lot of yardage. I use it a lot. Every time I take it for servicing, they try to buy it. The card table is original too; but they do make replicas.

The card tables are really sought after! I have 3 FWs - I got a 1957 one, and then happened to see a 1951 with Centennial badge for £60! So I snapped that up and that had a £35 service and got fixed and is now husband's machine. So then I got a white 1960s' FW for myself - again because I saw it for a good price... I didn't realise when I got it but it has the original white drive band, which is apparently fairly unusual.

The 1951 machine came with a rare accessory, too. I've given up hope of ever seeing a card table. But when I sew, the FW am using goes on a 1917 Singer 66K table. All my FWs were made in Scotland. The white one is definitely noisier than the black ones, but I swap them around. They're the only machine I sew on, now!

I had to google them but the card tables are wonderful :) I've not seen one of those in my favourite shop before.

Soup have you fallen down the Featherweight rabbit hole, yet? They look like toy sewing machines but they pack a punch! I have promised I'll stop at 3 but if I ever saw one in a junk shop for a stupid price, I'd pounce, pretend I was going to sell it on for a whacking profit on eBay and then... forget.

I did see a card table for a featherweight in the back of a trailer when a house down the road was being cleared a couple of months ago. I did ask if they'd be willing to sell. Although I haven't got a featherweight yet I thought it would be useful and an excuse to finally get one

Sadly they wouldn't and both the table and 222k were headed for eBay. I was worried they were going to tip it but this way they'll get a good price and someone will love it!

Oh heck I think I'd still be grieving if that happened to me, Honey. I've never so much as seen a card table in the wild.

These machines are so beautiful and their longevity is a testament to the quality and workmanship.

I have my great grandmothers Singer with the Sphinx decals and love using it. I only wish that I could work out what all the feet and things are for!!

I don't think I've ever seen a Featherweight.

MIssBeehiving the people onthis thread (not including me!) will tell you what they are for :) or you can Google the serial numbers, apparently.

Have a Google for either an old manual or an online shop selling them, MissBehiving - I identified all mine a while back (and even managed to use some of them). They will mostly be things like rolled hems, ruffles, tucks, applying braid or bias binding (that one is heaven when it works) without having to pin it on first.

I would love to have a white one. I think most, if not all of them, were manufactured in the UK and are harder to come by in the States where I am.

This is a good resource on the Featherweight.

www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=featherweight%20the%20perfect%20portable&tag=mumsnetforum-21

Did I mention that GM's old Singer came with the instruction manual...?

Ooh - I'll have a look and see if I can find a manual.

I've attached a photo of my machine with its attachments - does anyone know what the bits are for?

I also have another machine which says Wilcox and Gibbs on it but I've never used it.

II m sur someone told me the foldy ones at the top were for rolled hems or something like that.

If they have a number on, you can google it.

The Wilcox and Gibbs one is like a sculpture!

MissB, my guess for your attachments is:

1 to 5 are rear attaching hemmers. There's a few as each one gives a different hem depth

6 is a seam guide and attached to the base of the machine with a small screw. There's a couple of screw holes near the foot

7 is, I think, a cording foot which is used with 8. Which is a quilting guide

9 is part of the tuck marker. 11 is the other bit. Sadly I have no idea how they go together - sorry!

10 is a ruffler I think!

That's a great help thank you - I shall go and do some research!!!

I think the top right is the bias binding one, because it's sort of double compared with the hemming ones.

FWs crop on n eBay etc more than they do IRL. I've never seen one in a shop, either.

FW site but this explains a lot of Singer low shank attachments, which fit most other Singers, pretty well:

singer-featherweight.com/blogs/schoolhouse/86607363-vintage-singer-attachments-accessories

Also, here:

www.singersewinginfo.co.uk/gallery_accessories/

If you feed the Simanco number into Google, with an unidentified attachment, you may well get some results as well.

Forgot to say but with the first link, if you click on her links, you get to scans of the original manuals.

FWs were originally sold with 5 or 6 attachments, and people would then buy extra ones. I have a couple of extras with the original manuals in the box of my 1951 FW.