Colorado get-together?
08-03-2020, 06:14 AM
#183
Super Member
Join Date: Mar 2015
Location: Denver, CO
Posts: 4,261
August 2020 Colorado Sewing Machine Get-Together - Part 4
James
James writes:
I have not worked on or gotten any sewing related items lately so here is something I got in June a year ago.
As you can see it is a much larger version of the small Singer sewing box that was shown in the July virtual meeting. I have not really been able to find any dating information on these Singer sewing boxes with legs. The best information I was able to find is that they were made in various countries from possibly the late 1940s to possibly the early 1970s. Mine was made in the Philippines and has mahogany wood. It opens up to an amazing 66 inches long when expanded. I have included a hammer for scale.
I do not think it is one of the earlier versions since the outside corners joints are not dovetailed which were probably phased out over the years due to being more expensive to make. The wood is quite nice so my guess it is probably from the late 1950s to early 1960s. It is a very close match to the Strommen Bruk Hamar sewing boxes made in Norway so I do not know if Singer copied these or it was the other way around. Some of the Singer boxes use knobs instead of the long curved section for the box tops.
Closing
We're taking things month by month and value the contributions of the group members that we present here. We will post again next month. We hope everyone reading this will stay well and safe.
James writes:
I have not worked on or gotten any sewing related items lately so here is something I got in June a year ago.
As you can see it is a much larger version of the small Singer sewing box that was shown in the July virtual meeting. I have not really been able to find any dating information on these Singer sewing boxes with legs. The best information I was able to find is that they were made in various countries from possibly the late 1940s to possibly the early 1970s. Mine was made in the Philippines and has mahogany wood. It opens up to an amazing 66 inches long when expanded. I have included a hammer for scale.
I do not think it is one of the earlier versions since the outside corners joints are not dovetailed which were probably phased out over the years due to being more expensive to make. The wood is quite nice so my guess it is probably from the late 1950s to early 1960s. It is a very close match to the Strommen Bruk Hamar sewing boxes made in Norway so I do not know if Singer copied these or it was the other way around. Some of the Singer boxes use knobs instead of the long curved section for the box tops.
Closing
We're taking things month by month and value the contributions of the group members that we present here. We will post again next month. We hope everyone reading this will stay well and safe.
09-07-2020, 07:19 AM
#186
Super Member
Join Date: Mar 2015
Location: Denver, CO
Posts: 4,261
September 2020 Colorado Sewing Machine Enthusiasts Meeting - Part 1
Things are still a long way from normal in Denver. Some restaurants are open, but people largely seem uncomfortable with dining out. Many bank branches have closed entirely with others allowing entry only with masks. Think of the irony in that. A year ago, if you donned a mask and entered a bank it would have attracted a much different kind of attention.
We are again offering an online display of each others' work, with several of our members sending pictures and write-ups of their activities for posting. This month we have lots of pictures to share.
Cheryl
Cheryl got a nice vertical feed machine. She writes:
I succumbed to temptation and picked up a Davis High Arm Vertical Feed. From Needlbar and another website, I was able to determine it was from 1883.
Wow! I have never had a sewing machine that could go over such large humps without balking or keeping such perfect stitch lengths. If I can fit it under the foot, it sews it, even with a horrible old needle I cleaned the rust off (I ordered some new ones.) This will definitely come in handy for some of my projects.
The mechanism is so very different from most sewing machines. There are no feed dogs. The needle goes through the fabric and then, with the help of a moving foot, pulls the fabric along. It's supposed to work well with fabrics that easily slip. Quilters love it for putting on bindings and straight line quilting. It IS noisy though!
If you are wondering where the bobbin winder is, it's on the treadle irons.
cheryl
Courtney
Courtney has a new acquisition and has been doing some testing, the results of which he shares here:
Dear All,
I do have some sewing machine new to share. I finally got a pre-civil war Willcox and Gibbs machine. It is not pretty but neither am I and it is 160 years old. I am less than half that. I have included a couple of pictures. I have been working on getting her back in sewing condition. I have gotten her to sew but am still needing to do some minor adjusting. At least it does sew. Once I am done with the adjusting I will work on cleaning it up a bit. I have included a couple of pictures. But even the way it is it is better than some I have seen.
.... to be continued
We are again offering an online display of each others' work, with several of our members sending pictures and write-ups of their activities for posting. This month we have lots of pictures to share.
Cheryl
Cheryl got a nice vertical feed machine. She writes:
I succumbed to temptation and picked up a Davis High Arm Vertical Feed. From Needlbar and another website, I was able to determine it was from 1883.
Wow! I have never had a sewing machine that could go over such large humps without balking or keeping such perfect stitch lengths. If I can fit it under the foot, it sews it, even with a horrible old needle I cleaned the rust off (I ordered some new ones.) This will definitely come in handy for some of my projects.
The mechanism is so very different from most sewing machines. There are no feed dogs. The needle goes through the fabric and then, with the help of a moving foot, pulls the fabric along. It's supposed to work well with fabrics that easily slip. Quilters love it for putting on bindings and straight line quilting. It IS noisy though!
If you are wondering where the bobbin winder is, it's on the treadle irons.
cheryl
Courtney
Courtney has a new acquisition and has been doing some testing, the results of which he shares here:
Dear All,
I do have some sewing machine new to share. I finally got a pre-civil war Willcox and Gibbs machine. It is not pretty but neither am I and it is 160 years old. I am less than half that. I have included a couple of pictures. I have been working on getting her back in sewing condition. I have gotten her to sew but am still needing to do some minor adjusting. At least it does sew. Once I am done with the adjusting I will work on cleaning it up a bit. I have included a couple of pictures. But even the way it is it is better than some I have seen.
.... to be continued
09-07-2020, 07:25 AM
#187
Super Member
Join Date: Mar 2015
Location: Denver, CO
Posts: 4,261
September 2020 Colorado Sewing Machine Enthusiasts Meeting - Part 2
Courtney ... continued
My daughter has a friend who has decided to learn to sew so that she can make some face masks. She has managed to inherit a 1937 Featherweight from her family. At least she is starting with a good machine and not a $60 plastic machine from a box store. She has sent me some pictures of her masks and it looks like she is coming along nicely. She sent me an email asking if she should be looking and buying a zigzagger for her machine. I responded that I did not think that she needed a zigzagger since most home sewing was done with out a zigzag for nearly a hundred years but if she was serious about sewing she might get more use out of a buttonholer.
The request about a zigzagger got me thinking. I have a number of zigzaggers that I have picked up over time, so I decided to have a shoot out with six different zigzaggers on a Featherweight. To make sure everything was fair I kept the same stitch length (about 13-14 spi and a wide but not the widest zigzag) First up is a couple of Singers. The first is the automatic zigzagger from the mid 50’s. It has cams and can do a number of different stitches. I have shown the four stitches that comes with the attachment. It did a nice job on a zigzag stitch. The blind hem is strange since it loos like an arch. The last stitch of the arch is rather wide so as to produce the blind hem stitch. The other two stitches are are decorative and shown but not to best advantage since the stitch length is too long. With a shorter stitch length they do look quite attractive. The second Singer is a zigzag attachment only. It only does a zigzag stitch. It produce a nice zigzag but had one problem, the bottom of the attachment was not smooth. I was stitching on some leftover signature squares from a friendship quilt and the fabric got caught on a post that stuck down below the bottom of the attachment. As I sewed, the square got caught on this post. Since my square was backed with freezer paper is slowed and then nearly stopped the advancement of the material so the stitches got very close together. If my squares were not backed perhaps the stitch would not have been retarded as much but it could have caused a big mess if I were to keep going.
My second pair of zigzaggers were made by Griest. The first is an automatic zigzagger. This was by far the largest of all the attachments it has 8 built in stitches and I had great hope for this device. My hope did no come through. I could not get the attachment to fasten tightly to the presser foot bar no matter how hard I tried there was always some wiggle. When I tried to do a zigzag stitch it would only make a few stitches and then stop feeding as shown in the picture. The cloth was not caught on anything so I don’t know what was wrong. The other Greist zigzagger was the decorative zigzagger. On the outside and inside it looked nearly identical to the Singer zigzagger only above. The only difference between the two was that id had 6 cams that you could attach to the side to produce different stitches. The zigzag from this attachment was OK but had the same problem with things getting caught up underneath the attachment. In the picture you can see that the stitch looks OK but I didn’t sew a straight line since I was concentrating of keeping it from catching up.
The last pair of zigzaggers were from Japan. The YS Star attachment produces 7 different stitches. Two of the stitches are zigzag, a wide and a narrow. Unlike the other attachment you cannot adjust the width of the stitch. The blind hem is quite nice as shown in the picture. The two decorative stitches are not shown at their best because the stitch length was too long. At a shorter stitch length they too looked quite nice like the Singer automatic above. This attachment is rather unique since you change the stitch by inserting a plate in the back of the machine. I have shown the plate for the two zigzag stitches next to the attachment. Over all it can do a wide and narrow zigzag, a blind hem, and 4 decorative stitches. This is a nice solid attachment that is not too large. The last attachment was a generic zigzag attachment. It is not fancy but does produce an acceptable zigzag. The only problem is when this is attached to the presser foot there is very little space under the foot to push the fabric.
Over all here is my ranking as to the easiest and best stitch control: 1) the YS Star, 2) the Singer automatic, 3)tie The Singer zigzag only and the Greist decorative zigzagger (these are basically twins on one another) 4) the generic zigzagger. All of the above could be adjusted to give an acceptable stitch. Unfortunately, I was never able to get the Greist attachment to even give a decent stitch so I have to rank it last.
Courtney
Dianne
Hello everyone,
It was a quiet month except for one amazing day in August. SewLucky, an eBay dealer in Florida, had listed a 1951 Singer 15-91 with refurbished motor. The 15-91 is my all-time favorite machine, and I never want to be without one in working condition. But, they do have the potential of problems with the potted motor. Luckily, I won this auction and the machine finally arrived yesterday. USPS took forever, but it arrived in great condition, having been exceedingly well-packed. The machine is delightful. I’ve been sewing with it this morning, and all seems well. A base with hinges has been ordered to make maintenance easier. So now there are two of these graceful ladies in my sewing room. To my eyes, they are stunningly beautiful.
Later that same morning after winning the 15-91, my other routine search for the first time brought up a Brother FZ-2. Oh, isn’t that one lovely! It had been listed as a BUY IT NOW only a couple hours earlier. I tend to follow directions, so I bought it. Immediately. Two special machines in one day. The seller in Iowa said he rarely picked up sewing machines, but this one looked really special. It was like a Buick among Chevies. He also did a great job of packing. The manual is dated 1956, and I’ve not found a serial number or JA indication on the machine. It is only missing the cloth guide, ruffler and two screwdrivers. A bit of oiling and new grease on the gears got it sewing nicely. The machine by itself weighs 17 -18 pounds and magnets are not attracted to it. The case, including all the accessories, is about 10 pounds. Sadly, the case exterior has water damage which seems permanent, but it is just superficial and the case interior is great. Everything about the machine and case is very well engineered. It is simple to operate, despite being advanced for its day. The darning ‘foot’ is a darning spring, but very nice quality. The bobbin case is unusual, and the stop motion procedure to wind bobbins also. One can get a peek at the cam stack and other related mechanisms by loosening a front plate where the Pacesetter logo is located.
Here are a few photos from the auction:
Dianne
.... to be continued
My daughter has a friend who has decided to learn to sew so that she can make some face masks. She has managed to inherit a 1937 Featherweight from her family. At least she is starting with a good machine and not a $60 plastic machine from a box store. She has sent me some pictures of her masks and it looks like she is coming along nicely. She sent me an email asking if she should be looking and buying a zigzagger for her machine. I responded that I did not think that she needed a zigzagger since most home sewing was done with out a zigzag for nearly a hundred years but if she was serious about sewing she might get more use out of a buttonholer.
The request about a zigzagger got me thinking. I have a number of zigzaggers that I have picked up over time, so I decided to have a shoot out with six different zigzaggers on a Featherweight. To make sure everything was fair I kept the same stitch length (about 13-14 spi and a wide but not the widest zigzag) First up is a couple of Singers. The first is the automatic zigzagger from the mid 50’s. It has cams and can do a number of different stitches. I have shown the four stitches that comes with the attachment. It did a nice job on a zigzag stitch. The blind hem is strange since it loos like an arch. The last stitch of the arch is rather wide so as to produce the blind hem stitch. The other two stitches are are decorative and shown but not to best advantage since the stitch length is too long. With a shorter stitch length they do look quite attractive. The second Singer is a zigzag attachment only. It only does a zigzag stitch. It produce a nice zigzag but had one problem, the bottom of the attachment was not smooth. I was stitching on some leftover signature squares from a friendship quilt and the fabric got caught on a post that stuck down below the bottom of the attachment. As I sewed, the square got caught on this post. Since my square was backed with freezer paper is slowed and then nearly stopped the advancement of the material so the stitches got very close together. If my squares were not backed perhaps the stitch would not have been retarded as much but it could have caused a big mess if I were to keep going.
My second pair of zigzaggers were made by Griest. The first is an automatic zigzagger. This was by far the largest of all the attachments it has 8 built in stitches and I had great hope for this device. My hope did no come through. I could not get the attachment to fasten tightly to the presser foot bar no matter how hard I tried there was always some wiggle. When I tried to do a zigzag stitch it would only make a few stitches and then stop feeding as shown in the picture. The cloth was not caught on anything so I don’t know what was wrong. The other Greist zigzagger was the decorative zigzagger. On the outside and inside it looked nearly identical to the Singer zigzagger only above. The only difference between the two was that id had 6 cams that you could attach to the side to produce different stitches. The zigzag from this attachment was OK but had the same problem with things getting caught up underneath the attachment. In the picture you can see that the stitch looks OK but I didn’t sew a straight line since I was concentrating of keeping it from catching up.
The last pair of zigzaggers were from Japan. The YS Star attachment produces 7 different stitches. Two of the stitches are zigzag, a wide and a narrow. Unlike the other attachment you cannot adjust the width of the stitch. The blind hem is quite nice as shown in the picture. The two decorative stitches are not shown at their best because the stitch length was too long. At a shorter stitch length they too looked quite nice like the Singer automatic above. This attachment is rather unique since you change the stitch by inserting a plate in the back of the machine. I have shown the plate for the two zigzag stitches next to the attachment. Over all it can do a wide and narrow zigzag, a blind hem, and 4 decorative stitches. This is a nice solid attachment that is not too large. The last attachment was a generic zigzag attachment. It is not fancy but does produce an acceptable zigzag. The only problem is when this is attached to the presser foot there is very little space under the foot to push the fabric.
Over all here is my ranking as to the easiest and best stitch control: 1) the YS Star, 2) the Singer automatic, 3)tie The Singer zigzag only and the Greist decorative zigzagger (these are basically twins on one another) 4) the generic zigzagger. All of the above could be adjusted to give an acceptable stitch. Unfortunately, I was never able to get the Greist attachment to even give a decent stitch so I have to rank it last.
Courtney
Dianne
Hello everyone,
It was a quiet month except for one amazing day in August. SewLucky, an eBay dealer in Florida, had listed a 1951 Singer 15-91 with refurbished motor. The 15-91 is my all-time favorite machine, and I never want to be without one in working condition. But, they do have the potential of problems with the potted motor. Luckily, I won this auction and the machine finally arrived yesterday. USPS took forever, but it arrived in great condition, having been exceedingly well-packed. The machine is delightful. I’ve been sewing with it this morning, and all seems well. A base with hinges has been ordered to make maintenance easier. So now there are two of these graceful ladies in my sewing room. To my eyes, they are stunningly beautiful.
Later that same morning after winning the 15-91, my other routine search for the first time brought up a Brother FZ-2. Oh, isn’t that one lovely! It had been listed as a BUY IT NOW only a couple hours earlier. I tend to follow directions, so I bought it. Immediately. Two special machines in one day. The seller in Iowa said he rarely picked up sewing machines, but this one looked really special. It was like a Buick among Chevies. He also did a great job of packing. The manual is dated 1956, and I’ve not found a serial number or JA indication on the machine. It is only missing the cloth guide, ruffler and two screwdrivers. A bit of oiling and new grease on the gears got it sewing nicely. The machine by itself weighs 17 -18 pounds and magnets are not attracted to it. The case, including all the accessories, is about 10 pounds. Sadly, the case exterior has water damage which seems permanent, but it is just superficial and the case interior is great. Everything about the machine and case is very well engineered. It is simple to operate, despite being advanced for its day. The darning ‘foot’ is a darning spring, but very nice quality. The bobbin case is unusual, and the stop motion procedure to wind bobbins also. One can get a peek at the cam stack and other related mechanisms by loosening a front plate where the Pacesetter logo is located.
Here are a few photos from the auction:
Dianne
.... to be continued
09-07-2020, 07:33 AM
#188
Super Member
Join Date: Mar 2015
Location: Denver, CO
Posts: 4,261
September 2020 Colorado Sewing Machine Enthusiasts Meeting - Part 3
Dianne ...continued
James
James got two new machines, one of which he sent pictures of:
I ended up with two sewing machines last month. The one I want to feature this month is a very nice pink and white Necchi Supernova Ultra. They made these in the late 1950s to early 1960s. My guess is that my machine was made around 1959 or so. The Necchi features a 3 layer cam with each layer controlling how a stitch is made. Unfortunately it did not come with any cams although it came in a very nice shape Necchi case. The wiring as usual was in pretty bad shape including the connection to the molded plug into the 4 prong machine socket so I just ordered a replacement electronic pedal with the correct connections and and the motor runs just fine. The cam stack is frozen so I will have to work on freeing it. Other than the frozen cam stack the stitch controls seem to work just fine.
A couple of interesting bits about the machine includes a rotating needle plate allowing switching between straight, zigzag and double needle sewing. There is a pull down magnifying glass to aid in seeing to thread the needle. There is also an automatic needle threader that has a hook at the end to catch and pull the thread through the eye of the needle when the needle is at its highest point. I do need to bend the hook slightly sideways as it is lined up correctly, just off a little to the side. The machine also features two toggle switches for turning the machine on and the motor speed.
James
.... to be continued
James
James got two new machines, one of which he sent pictures of:
I ended up with two sewing machines last month. The one I want to feature this month is a very nice pink and white Necchi Supernova Ultra. They made these in the late 1950s to early 1960s. My guess is that my machine was made around 1959 or so. The Necchi features a 3 layer cam with each layer controlling how a stitch is made. Unfortunately it did not come with any cams although it came in a very nice shape Necchi case. The wiring as usual was in pretty bad shape including the connection to the molded plug into the 4 prong machine socket so I just ordered a replacement electronic pedal with the correct connections and and the motor runs just fine. The cam stack is frozen so I will have to work on freeing it. Other than the frozen cam stack the stitch controls seem to work just fine.
A couple of interesting bits about the machine includes a rotating needle plate allowing switching between straight, zigzag and double needle sewing. There is a pull down magnifying glass to aid in seeing to thread the needle. There is also an automatic needle threader that has a hook at the end to catch and pull the thread through the eye of the needle when the needle is at its highest point. I do need to bend the hook slightly sideways as it is lined up correctly, just off a little to the side. The machine also features two toggle switches for turning the machine on and the motor speed.
James
.... to be continued
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General Chit-Chat (non-quilting talk)
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04-21-2011 08:51 PM
