I, too, learned on a Singer like this -- believe it was from the 30's, belonging to my maiden aunt who lived with us. She herself taught me. Later, she sold it to my mother when she got a cabinet model, and years later, after mom had a stroke, my dad got it cleaned & repaired, and gave it to me for Christmas. I still use it for most of my sewing. Doesn't sew backward, nor any fancy stitches. It just sews forward, with any size thread and any needle -- and does that eminently well!