Giveaways

I saw an ad on Gumtree a few weeks ago and responded immediately. Yes free machines. Six of them and no two the same.
Pinnock 101, Regal De-Luxe Zig-zag, Singer 306k, Pfaff 60, Bernina 530-2 record, Singer 287N
It's not as great a deal as it sounds. I promised to re-home as many as I could fix.  Easiest was the Singer 287N. Japanese machine, 1982. Very clean and well maintained. I just checked it thoroughly, oiled it and put it on Gumtree for $30. Naturally it was sold within 12 hours. The buyer couldn't come get it either so I had to home deliver.
The other Singer (306) is missing a few bits that would make it impossible to use as-is. The bobbin case (specific to 306 and 319s) was missing as was the chrome reflector for the light. Neither part is easily replaceable. It was also cosmetically in poor shape. Best part, though, was that it came with a complete set of pattern cams. The Pinnock 101 was a brilliant machine but somehow the hand wheel was badly bent! It absolutely must have been dropped on it. I straightened it out with the vice and some tools and spent many hours cleaning and oiling. Sold it yesterday for half the cost of a service. It was a beautiful baby blue and came with the darning foot. I tested this by doing a little embroidery. It was the perfect machine for this having a vertical bobbin. Lovely machine.
The Pfaff 60 appears to be worthless (they don't sell on eBay) and mine is missing its slide plate, so I guess it'll be staying with me a while.
The Regal de-luxe is a Japanese 1960s machine. It's beautiful and dripping with chrome. Loved it but it had to go. It went quickly too for less than half a service.
The Bernina I'm keeping. I've wanted one for ages but they seemed so expensive. Well, it seems that only applies to 1970s models. One like mine went last week on eBay for barely anything!

Pinnock 101

Regal Super Deluxe

Singer 287N Starlet

A manly machine

I bought a Singer 206K10 around Christmas. It's the industrial version of the 206 which is the earlier version of the 319. Took ages to work out the sub-model but fun. It cost $6.25 and included the irons but no table. Since I'm on school holidays out came the power tools and I built a table top, bolted everything on and tested her out. Wiring very dodgy (started smoking from the light cord) so re-wired it and all was hunky dory. The motor is powerful but is like a conventional motor (starts up when you put your foot on the foot controller). A week or so later a full sized machine with bench was listed on Gumtree for $100. Hmmm... yes I bought it. 96K49 (1952) and very scary machine. The guy hadn't oiled it for ages, it needed a clean and it wasn't threaded properly (either top thread or bobbin), oh and it had the wrong needle. Finally the bobbin was tightened right up. I have no idea how he got it to sew at all when I was there, but even the thread was old and very brittle. Tossed it and gave it a good clean. Now even more scary and amazingly fast. Sewed a new cover for my back seat in cheap (faux suede - it was reeeeaaal cheap) upholstery fabric. A quick stab gets you about 60 stitches! Doesn't seem to matter how many layers either. Anyway, it seems this is the way to do it (upholstery).
I've had to learn about needles and threads, they have to match and you should use the smallest needle you can for the smallest amount of damage to your fabric. A line of stitching had to be unpicked from the faux suede today. Seems it's more like real suede than I'd wanted: The size 18 needle left loads of big holes. Maybe a 16 next time.
That same week, I bought a second machine head for it: A 96K41 (1947). Dec-Jan seems to be a great time to buy an industrial. Saw a Pfaff industrial last night on Gumtree for $90. Amazing. Well, can't imagine I'll be getting rid of this one, particularly now it has a spare head. Perhaps I should call it "Zaphod".

 

 

 

206K10 - yes it's a centennial

96K49 from 1952. Fantastic but scary.

Decline and Fall of the Australian Clothing Industry

I get sad when thinking about the loss of industries like clothing manufacture, and disagreed strongly with Paul Keating in his interview recently with Kerry O'Brien (that four part documentary that finished last week) where he said that it was something he thought was a good thing, all these people losing their jobs in manufacturing. He said they just got a better job. Not only is that certain bollocks, but consider the loss of skill with these industries? Since almost nobody manufactures clothing in Australia and those who worked in the industry are literally dying off, we now rely on third world countries and China to make our clothing. We should all know that their conditions and wages are very significantly worse than those who worked in our factories. In what way does this make our country or the world better?
Now that we don't make our clothing here, all the equipment has also gone "offshore" permanently. I feel that we have lost something important. How can we be comfortable with relying on third world countries? How can we be OK with mistreatment of the people who make our clothes just so we can pay almost nothing. I know I felt better with a "Made in Australia" label (or Britain, Ireland, USA) because the workers were not mistreated. I can't support slavery just because the slaves are in a different country. Think about that when you buy your next piece of clothing.
My affection for vintage machines is an extension of my affection for quality, locally made garments. I love my Pinnock machines (although I don't use them currently). Made in Adelaide and beautiful things for sure. There's no need to pollute the air shipping them to Australia (ships can spew out any amount of pollution, as anti pollution laws don't apply to shipping), because they were proudly made here. Go into a shop and look at a new "plastic wonder" sewing machine. Made in China, plastic, electronic. Sure it seems to do everything you want it to, but try sewing through a couple of layers of denim and it won't. Ask about its warranty - 12 months? It will break down shortly after this (it's meant to). Now ask who fixes them and how much they'd charge! Not to mention the extreme discomfort that I for one get when the machine continues after I remove my foot from the controller (the computer feels it necessary to finish a cycle). Older machines don't break down often and if maintained to a basic standard they may never break down at all. Of the fifty or so old machines I've owned, only one has ever broken. The Singer 498 Stylist, and this was because Singer started using plastic gears in the late 1960s. However, it was still easy and cheap to fix, and to give it credit the original plastic gears did last over forty years.

So if you ever wondered why anyone would ever pay $20 for a t-shirt, now you know. If you ever wondered why I rave about a fifty something year old sewing machine, now you know.

Additionally, I do value a treadle: Summer in Australia always comes with power outages. In the middle of a seam? No problem, pop the machine into a treadle cabinet and in a minute or two you're finishing your seam.

Pyjamas for my daughter

These were from a Vogue pattern (EDIT: I lied! They were Simplicity. Number 5552 to be exact), which I just spent some time looking for (unsuccessfully). I'll edit it in when I find it.
(edited out the bit where I raved about vogue patterns - oy!). The garment was very pretty too. Here is the finished garment, modelled by my lovely child:

It was pretty easy to follow in general, and no doubt I'm becoming slowly better versed at interpreting these instructions, but the older the pattern, the more knowledge they assumed. Simply put, until about 50 years ago, most women bought patterns, fabric and notions then headed home to their sewing machine to put it all together. It wasn't a hobby, but a necessary part of life. For me it's a luxury, a hobby, but self sufficiency seems to be something I value more as I get older.

The pants were made on my VS2, the top on the 320k.
I'm now working on a pair (different design - mine are really a Vogue pattern).

Singer 401a

I bought a 401g (German made) a few months ago. Apparently it's a fantastic machine that can do everything. It's called "slant-o-matic" and I say apparently, because I don't use it. Well, I love sewing on the 320k so why change? The 401 was just there because I was told I had to have one, and it appeared.
So, now that it was sitting on the shed for months, I see a 401a (American version). This model is probably not as good and it said "doesn't work" on the ad. Well, how couldn't I have a go? I picked it up and had it fixed in no time. Can't even recall what the problem was, but was probably lint. SO which one to keep... You'd think the German version. It is truly more handsome and almost certainly better engineered and built. That's not just because of the German thing, but they were made later, in the 1960s. The American one stays, because it had a full set of accessories and the original manual. It was a one owner machine and apparently I value that sort of thing more!
Here is the 401g:

Isn't it lovely? When you look from the side you can see why it's called slant-o-matic:

And the 401a:

Very similar but it doesn't have that rocketeer thing happening at the top. Well, the differences when a machine is this good are stupid. It's like choosing whether to live in a mansion in Paris or a mansion in Switzerland: They're both such unbelievably good options that it doesn't matter!
The 401 has a vertical bobbin, so you can also do embroidery with it. As a bonus, this machine was designed so you can fit not just a needle into its needlebar, but two needles! Yes, two needles can go in, meaning you don't have to buy twin needles for special patterns.

Singer 201s are very common, not so popular

It's a bit sad really. The greatest domestic stitcher ever made is the Singer 201. It has specially hardened gears and does a perfect stitch. It sews through practically anything with no fuss whatsoever. In its day, it was, fittingly, the most expensive you could buy and Singer still sold millions and millions of them!
 From the moment I used one, my eyes widened and I was deeply impressed with the ease with which it did its job.
Lately there seems to be a flood of them on eBay and Gumtree, and of the last two I got, the first (last Saturday) was free in a cabinet. It was, admittedly, seized and took about two hours solid work to clean and lubricate it, than another ten hours to get it moving properly! The foot controller was also faulty and didn't work at all. It took only an hour to fix and adjust this because I didn't disassemble the carbon pile (the wiring was the problem). I now make a point of always removing any capacitors in foot or knee controllers, and always checking and cleaning the motors. Cleaning them improves contact between the brushes and the armature, and results in a stronger motor.
The second machine was $50, and I didn't actually want this one, but in the picture with the machine was a very nice looking Swiss Zigzagger! It seems I was the first person to call: First of dozens according to the lady. She said she'd done research and they seem to sell for about $50. I told her about the Swiss ZZ and that it was probably the reason for its popularity. Got the machine, attachment and a buttonholer into the car and went home. She had admitted that she had never cleaned, oiled or serviced it and when it got stuck she just pulled out whatever was obviously in the way and kept going again! Needless to say it had an unusual amount of lint and dirt. Additionally, the motor's wiring, like most knee machines, was really stuffed. I carefully replaced the dangerous bits and repaired any damaged insulation. The Swizz ZZ was is very good condition, and all pattern cams were present in their original package. The buttonholer was seized up (I'd never seen one so stuck), and it took days of jiggling to loosen it up. Still not happy with it, so more work required there.
Before I post pictures, I have to suggest why 201s aren't more popular. It is a domestic machine that only does straight stitch. That's it, simply, these days people either want a domestic to do everything or an industrial straight stitcher. The 201 is not to be ignored, however. Add a good zigzagger and buttonholer (which the lady had) and you have a machine that can not only do a perfect stitch but everything else you'd expect. It won't, however, do free motion embroidery/darning very well. Apparently the horizontal bobbin makes it difficult for the machine to maintain good tension doing this.
OK, so it can do almost everything. What are you waiting for? Go get one! They're cheap, easy to fix and use the most common Singer bits: Class 66 bobbins, 15x1 needles, all common attachments, common bulbs and drive belts etc.

 

The free one, aluminium machine from 1954

Now the $50 one:

Bobbin area	Lovely lovely lintfest
Bare wires and melted plastic	After a clean, she looks lovely

Incidentally, I generally sell these machines for what I paid plus whatever it costs in fuel and car wear and tear. This makes for a very quick sale, very happy people and a lovely machine that will immediately see more service.

Tip Shop Overlocker

People have been asking me for ages now why I don't have an overlocker (Americans call it a 'serger'). The reason is not knowing how they worked and it would obviously raise the level of complexity of my life a bit. Not to mention that they're expensive: New ones were a lot more expensive than sewing machines, so I looked at second hand (eBay). Very expensive there too (more than $100).
The tip shop had one last week for $30. Here it is,

It looks a bit plastic for me so I asked a friend and my partner (by SMS) if it was any good. My friend is my enabler, so she said yes. I picked it up and ooh... it passes the weight test. About 15kg. The tip shop guy plugged it in for me and tested it. Well, the motor went, so I was in.

The machine was made from 1981 in Japan (I just changed that from "France" - where did I get that from??). Funny, my new favourite machine is from 1891. Anyway, the manual was very clear (got it from singerco.com) so after a good clean I read how to thread it and set the tensions. Also disconnected the knife (the default behaviour is to cut the fabric as it gets fed through) because I'd like to do the cutting. EDIT: Re-enabled the knife - Oh, so handy!
Test fabric was denim and the results were a lovely chain around the edge. Might not use it for every garment but it's a good thing to have if it's needed.