Caroline94535

In the summer of 1975 my dear Grandmother (who raised me) bought a Singer Fashion Mate 252 for me. I was sewing a wedding dress and veil. She thought the fabrics were "too delicate" to be sewn on our workhorse of a Singer treadle, which she bought, used, in the 1930s.

Fast forward. I've dragged that Singer Fashion Mate 252 with me around the world and coast to coast. It fit my gypsy lifestyle for decades. It has pieced quilts, mended clothes, made curtains, costumes, baby blankets, dog beds, and sewn military patches on uniforms both foreign and domestic. I made a set of Red, White, and Blue gowns for a friend's Independence Day wedding. I taught a niece, a nephew, and two neighbors "how to sew" with it. It was retired about 12 years ago when DH surprised me with an all-the-whistles-and-bells Bernina and I was also given a vintage Pfaff 130.

I had long ago learned to dismantle, clean, and oil the 252 in order to keep it running. It was a floor model and I had never seen the instruction manual until the late 1990s. It never sewed perfectly, but I made it work.

Fast forward, again, to discovering and joining this wonderful board. I cannot let the old 252 go even though I doubt I'll ever sew anything with it again. It holds too many memories not to keep. I pulled it out of the storage closet last night to put its Model No. in my inventory app. Guess what? It does not have a Model or Serial Number, at least not ones that I could find.

The motor is stamped "Made in France," and the body, on the post facing the bed, is stamped "Made in Italy." There are no other markings. How would I find a Model No. or when it was made?

There is a long metal rod under the bed imprinted MI192189, but that does not seem to be a Model No.

The machine is avocado and fern green. It is in the original two-piece carrying case, but the hinges connecting the machine to the case base are missing. Where could I find these hinges? Or even just what they are called?

There was apparently a long-lost large screw to connect the center of the base to the bottom of the machine. I think I've found that part on-line. For all the moves over all the years, I still have the three original feet that came with the machine.

Thanks to reading this forum I now know what the "bobbin tire" is, and that I need to replace it! While I had the top open, hoping to find a hint of a Model No., I gave it a really good oiling.

I want to tweak, clean, and oil the Fashion Mate 252 some more and then tuck it back in the closet to resume exuding good memories. I'll keep busy stitching away on the Singer 15-91, the Pfaff 130, or the new Bernina.