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Most quilters collect fabric. Some also collect machines. I’ve started collecting both. These are my vintage machines.
My first vintage machine is a yard sale Singer 413 that I bought when I graduated from college and moved away from home.
It was fine for the little bit of sewing I did. Then I started quilting. I was obstinate and insisted that I should be able to piece with it. But I’ve never been able to sew an accurate ¼ inch seam with it, and I think the stitch should be better. It now sits on a shelf.
After I’d been quilting awhile, I noticed that a lot of quilters like old straight stitch only machines for piecing. When I saw one being used in a vendor’s booth, I immediately understood why: both feed dogs are under the foot. So last summer when I visited my parents for a week, I was on a quest for a machine to use when I visit them. Since they live in a rural area, I figured I could find an older machine at a bargain price. I was right.
I bought this Singer 285
at a thrift store for $10. A 3/4 size machine, around 50 years old, hardly ever used. Straight stitch only. I’ve only sewn a little on it, but so far I’m happy with the piecing: I don’t have to fight the tendency of zig zag machine feed dogs to curve. It seems to have only one speed, fast, but I’m working on that.
And since I couldn’t stop at one, I also bought this old black Singer for $15 at the same store.
Since it’s electric, and I knew Singer made “old black machines” quite late into the 20th century, I figured this was maybe 1920s, 1930s vintage. Boy was I wrong.
When I stated to clean it up, it became obvious that it had been repainted at some point. Including the serial number. I had come across a web site that helps identify Singer models. The tension assembly on the side, not front, identified it as a Singer class 15 machine. But it had too many differences from the 15-30. I needed that serial number. I finally took a pin and scratched off the paint to reveal the serial number: 13,395,190. Manufactured in 1896 per Singer’s website. That’s as far as I’ve gotten in my research: an early Class 15 machine that was electrified at some point (the motor is from Delco). Next visit to my parents I’ll take it to the local sewing machine repairman for a missing bobbin case. Hopefully my dad will have dug around in his shop and will have found the old sewing machine foot he picked up in a box of parts at a garage sale. And I’ll see how it sews; the parts move fine. In this age of disposable products, I’m excited to be able to sew on a something that still works after 107 years.
I’ve used the following resources ID'ing and dating my machines, but there are many more out there.
International Sewing Machine Collectors Society A great place to start. So much info. Manuals, too.
Singer serial numbers
Sandman Collectibles Singer ID template
What vintage machines have you known?