Decals
 

The decals on some of the older vintage machines are so pretty.

The new plain Jane white ones look so - plain - in comparison to some of them.

Yes, they are pretty!

Have you seen the decals for stand mixers? Why not add them to your machines? Easy to add stickers/names.

I put a few decorative stickers on the lid covers to my machines. Then I added my name in vinyl lettering. Fun! Now to decide how to decorate my new one. I say decorate away!

There are many companies that make decals (reproduction and new) for the vintage machines. Not sure if they'd work on the newer materials machines are made of.


Now, if you really want to see some amazing machines, look at the vintage ones with Mother of Pearl inlays on them - truly works of art.

Singer #12
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1865 Grover and Baker
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1864 Singer Letter A (not decals, Hand Painted with Mother Of Pearl)
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Nancy's Notions is one place that sells decals for machines. I forget where I bought the bubble decals to put on my long arm. I think Hobby Lobby or Michaels also has vinyl decals you could use to dress up plain machines.

Cari

I bought some gold Singer repos on ebay, but I haven't used them yet. I put roses on AnnieRose, my 301. One of my Redeyes has decent original decals, but one is quite worn.

Soooo beautiful!! Thanks for letting us drool over them!

They really don't make them like they used to - not on the inside, not on the outside!

I love my modern machines, but most of my vintage machines are so much more interesting looking. Even a "boring" beige machine will often have interesting decorative lines to it. I have (and have seen) some pretty ugg-o vintage machines too, though. But many are works of art as far as I'm concerned.

How much would a modern machine cost, if it were built like those beauties Steve posted? Silver plated and with mother-of-pearl inlay....I can't even imagine.

I wish more modern machines were black plastic. I feel like they'd be easier to decorate up and would look better if they had black background instead of white, but maybe that's just my personal taste!

Just for perspective.

$100 in 1864 → $1,460.40 in 2016
$150 in 1864 → $2,190.60 in 2016
$300 in 1864 → $4,381.21 in 2016

$100-$300 was the range for the G&B machines at that time. ($300 being for the Parlor full MOP Silver version)

Sewnoma there's been a black Brother and a black Singer in recent years. The chief complaint, and it's been pretty consistent from what I've read, is the black is impossible to keep clean. It shows every fingerprint, speck of dust, etc...
much worse than our old iron black machines. on a similar vein, I bought black kitchen appliances a few years back and the stove is a huge pain to keep clean. Every time I wipe it down I have to follow the wet cloth with a dry one or you can see every streak.

Cari