1884 Peerless B Embroidery attachment
 

Ok, I will admit that when I bid on this, I had no idea the age or how this worked.
I didn't even expect to win since I put in a bid and forgot about it....

But my opening bid won and after some research I know that I have now added another very rare attachment to the museum.

this is an 1884 Attachment made by Peerless (same folks that made the original buttonholer)

I will put up photos of it in use once I have tried it out.

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pretty sure that it is for the VS2...hehe
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it was missing the spool holder.

the hole that the holder goes into is a 1/2 circle. so I made the part, and ground 1/2 of the bottom off.
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with a little filing, she fits great!
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here is the even rarer instruction sheet.
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on the back is a stamped ad for the buttonholer
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You come up with the neatest things! And then make your own parts that are missing! My hat is off to you.

CD in Oklahoma

Steve, you've done it again! As CD says, you come up with the coolest things!

Jeanette

wow - I can't wait until you play with it

me too...

One of my favorite parts of the instructions is where it says you can embroider with tinsel.......

So interesting!! and you made the missing holder! Will be watching to see it in action :)

like an idiot I left it at work yesterday. My boss is also the Engineering Manager and he likes to have unusual mechanisms brought in and shared. you never know where inspiration will come from. This ratcheting mechanism certainly qualifies.

The first stroke of the drive arm makes it move out, then next stroke makes it move in, and so on. It basically is holding the "embroidery" material first to one side of the stitch, then the other. the result is the top material is held in place on the surface by the regular stitching.

Pretty cool, Steve. Want to see some embroidered tinsel :D

Stephen, you hit the jackpot with that auction. I have never seen one with the box and instructions. I love collecting and I'm lucky enough to own 2 of these gems. This embroidery attachment can be used on other vertical bar, low shank sewing machine models. So far I've used it on Singer models 221 and 222 Featherweights, Singer 99 and Singer15-91 I'm pretty sure you use it on other manufactures machines as well.

well, I'm glad I was able to share a copy of the instructions with you! I'm hoping to try it out tonight on my VS2 (Daisy)

thank you for sharing and all this info. it is sew interesting to me, although I don't collect.

Installed on Daisy awaiting a spool of chenille

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This time we may need a video. Great find!

Now I am envious. That is a way cool attachment. But I would never have given it a second look ...having no idea how to fix, what machines it would work on, etc! Very cool find and restore Steve! Does it need a particular type of spool? I guess I've not seen chenille on a spool...

Here is the result of the first and second test. Way too cool!

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there is a video here
http://www.victoriansweatshop.com/VS...broidery01.mp4

WOW that is VERY cool

Very cool Steve! Not quite the same as couching a yarn where the sewing thread actually pierces the yarn. You mentioned the attachment moves the yarn side to side so the thread actually goes over the top around the yarn instead of through it.
Very neat attachment.
Rodney

Yes, if you can watch the video it shows the process pretty well.

If you wanted a stitch through the yarn, you would use a cording foot.

This was designed to primarily use Chenille spools (still looking for them now) and if the top thread was color matched to the chenille it would be mostly invisible.

Very interesting and pretty! Nice to see antiques that do something, not just sit there looking pretty!

Yes, thank you for sharing the instructions and your video. There's also a youtube video on the attachment and the person made their own spool holder too. It's rare to find the attachment with the spool holder. Only one of mine came with the original spool holder. Then I had a couple made.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iS5R1BTobwg

That's really neat! Thanks for sharing.

That is fascinating!! You do find the coolest stuff and quite impressively, know what the heck it is!

I'd love to see a couple of good pictures of the original so that I can make one that is more correctly shaped.

I found an article in the Journal of Domestic Appliances May 1st 1885 (Vol 13) page 210
https://archive.org/stream/journalof...earch/peerless

"One of the chief and most useful accessories of the sewing machine that is now being offered to the sewing machine trade by the enterprising. Sackett Manufacturing Company, of Wallingford, Conn., is their new embroiderer, which has been named the Peerless, from the perfect confidence its owners and manufacturers have in its superiority to all other attachments of the same description, The "Peerless" is certainly an easy working, attractive and substantial embroiderer, manufactured altogether of steel and nickel plated. It will work equally well with silk, chenille, tinsel, or worsted. The embroiderer is now-a-days perhaps one of the most interesting attachments when well shown up to the female users of sewing machines who are as a general thing more or less interested in the fancy-work, now so universally popular, As will be seen by the company's advertisement in this number, the "Peerless" is made up and in stock for a number of leading sewing machines - - and will be adapted to any machine and run through to order by the machinery plant at Wallingford, in amounts of one gross, At an early day the "Peerless" will probably he manufactured for every machine extant"


Here is a listing of the editions they have on public file
https://archive.org/search.php?query...iatype%3Atexts

Steve, Just read your post. I'll take pics and try to post them by the weekend.

Awesome thanks!

Hey Steve, my VS2 is Rosie and has the same decals as yours :-D

Yes you do find the coolest things.

That is so cool! I love that you are able to find all these things...I can't wait till you demo it in action.

Check out post #17 in this thread, hehe

Hi Steve,
Sorry for the delay. I was unable to attach the pictures to this message. Please view two pictures of the original Peerless spool holder here...... https://www.flickr.com/photos/67962724@N04/16726148201/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/67962724@N04/16539975960/

Interesting...

That looks like the one another person made. I expected the original to have an arced section, as opposed to all straight and 90 deg bends..

Thanks again!

Steve, both ends of the original spool holder are not bent at 90 degrees, I've taken 2 more pictures that include the original and duplicate spool holders. I hope you're able to view the slight angle bend at one end of the original spool holder. I also cleaned the original spool holder that is why the metal looks so bright/new.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/67962724@N04/16113077254/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/679627...n/photostream/

Excellent! Thank you.

Would you mind posting one more but of the "D" shaped end?

wow that is really cool to see.

You're welcome! Steve, I'm not home now but I will take more pics for you.