Hand cranks at the museum for Kansas day
 

Today is Kansas, USA's birthday. Friday Chrisquilts, Iris and I took handcranks to show kids and teachers at the historical museum. around 800 kids came through and many did a seam or a little pouch with our machines. Great fun. It was nice to have one more machine than demo folks so if someone made a thread jam, we could just trade.

Many kids got to thread ne[ATTACH=CONFIG]587996[/ATTACH]edles too.

IRis L and Chris R
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[ATTACH=CONFIG]587998[/ATTACH] Somebody was tired.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]587999[/ATTACH]Dad/teacher? tried it too.

Nothing's quite a much fun as teaching the 'younguns'.

bkay

I envy those who know how to use (and enjoy) hand crank machines. I have a couple of them but could never warm up to the idea (or the reality) of engaging one hand with the crank and manipulating my work with the other; too often I need both hands to ease, navigate sharp curves or other fine work. I do like the idea of human-powered machines, so I've found pleasure in working on treadles; a Singer 31-15 (the "tailor's" machine) from 1916 is now my go-to.

What a great thing to do!

Interesting, every person we have ever shown how to sew with a handcrank has said that it was WAY easier to control and be more accurate....

What folks do not take into account when considering this, is that there is a direct "connection" between the action of your right hand and the action of the feed dogs pulling the fabric through. It is as though you are pulling it but it is "virtual"

With an electric motor, you lose the feeling of control over the feed and to the second hand is needed for stability. With a handcrank, you hold/guide the fabric in line with where you want the seam and you "pull the fabric" through with the feed dogs.

Once a person has done piece work on a handcrank, they almost always say that going back to electric is hard to get the same control.

My .02

lady in russia
 

when I was in St Petersburg Russia I stayed with a lady who had 2 sewing machines - a new electric and a handcrank. She didn't like the electric. Here she is hemming a sheet. She could sew as fast as an electric. Said it sewed straight stitches. Her mother had owned it as a treadle before WW2 and they managed to keep it safe all during the 3 year seige of Stallingrad. Shehad it modified into a handcrank because it was easier to use.

I had a blast working with the kiddos & tje adults too. Sew much fun. Leon & Iris are a hoot too.

Thank you for doing this for the kids! It's not something that many get to see, much less try for themselves. I love it, but as I looked through the pictures it dawned on me that probably a few of those kids may have never seen a recent sewing machine up close, and they might have the impression that sewing is something people did only in the old days. It would be cool to put a modern machine side by side with one of the hand cranks and demonstrate that much of the working concept is still the same and the stitches can look the same, too. We owe a lot to those who went before.

By the way, I grew up in Leavenworth and have many fond memories of the town and Kansas. Last I saw it was a few years ago for my 50th LHS reunion.

We do this same thing in Idaho and Montana. Here we are in Bannack Montana. We have the kids of all ages sew a little bag It's a blast. If you ever get the chance to get to Bannack Montana (ghost town) it's the third weekend in July. [ATTACH=CONFIG]588125[/ATTACH]