Originally Posted by
themadpatter
OK, I have a question that all of you probably already know the answer to. Why do so many of the old machines have a band of cloth around the horizontal arm? Inquiring minds want to know...
It was used as a pincushion. Some are thicker than others and I have some that had pins or needles hidden in them. I don't know if the 1908 patent
http://patentimages.storage.googleap...s/US890628.pdf was ever produced, but if it had been used, maybe there wouldn't be so much "pin rash" on the arm and missing decals.
Janey - Neat people never make the exciting discoveries I do.