Posted on 08/20/2013 1:06:13 PM PDT by djf
Just got one at a yard sale.
In very, very good condition, has all the parts, I may need to order some needles.
Tracked the serno to a manufacture date of 1941.
This one isn't mine but has exact same appearance, same number of drawers, etc.
So how do preppers sew?
Foot power, baby!
Now all I gotta do is figure out how to use it!
Looks just like my Granny’s....many clothes were sewn on that old Singer of hers.
My Mom’s machine has a foot pedal that activates it and controls the speed according to how far it is pressed down. I was wondering how difficult it might be to convert the machine to an original manual foot treadle. I know I could fabricate something fairly easily but it would be slick to install and use an OE treadle.
Looks just like the one my Mom keeps trying to dump off onto me. :-)
One of my Singers. It's the latest addition. It is motorized, but it will run on DC as well as AC.
I learned to sew on a treadle type. I don't know how many I've repaired over the years. My last ex-wife collected them.
I made a coverlet/quilt thing out of my old military uniforms with one of the sewing machines.
/johnny
LOL! Mine do better when under my plant light. My living room unfortunately gets an Eastern exposure, plus there are many large oak trees out front (what Sandy and the 2010 tornado left), so I had to supplement their light. Now they are growing like the proverbial weeds.
My grandmother had one that belonged to HER grandmother and now belongs to my sister. Best guess is that the machine was made in the 1880s or 1890s.
/johnny
My dad was able to find a leather drive rope/belt at a little store in town that has been open for a jillion years.
I have my great grandmother’s and a bazillion attachments. The sales receipt is dated 1901. The story is the first thing made on it was a dress for a baby who had died and that she made several funeral dresses on it. I also have a beautiful christening gown she made for my granny. Four generations have had their pictures taken wearing it. I use my plain jane electric machine these days but could get the old Singer going if needed.
Know that machine well.Just has forward and reverse depending on how you use the treadle. If you post a close up of your machine I can help guide you through thread up. Hope you have bobbins, if not I am pretty sure they are still available. My grandmother had the same machine and mom mom had the electric version same machine. I have that one although I use a modern machine.
Johnny you are just Everyman, aren’t you!
I don’t think it is a Singer. I think it is a White.
/johnny
/johnny
I got one much like it too for the same reason.
In the ‘50s, my mom was piecing a quilt top on her old Singer treadle machine, and she was very pregnant with my brother. So I sat on one side of the machine and worked the treadle while she sat on the normal side doing the actual sewing. (The weird things you remember!!)
Apparently, new machines that don’t requir electricity are still being made — probably for the Amish, etc. Probably not a bad investment just to have on hand for SHTF.
Last Christmas, I made place mats for Miss I’m-in-College-and-Have-Stupid-Parents from her daddy’s uniforms and other memory-type fabrics. I thought they turned out very nice. I was wrong. Lead balloon.
You have what’s called a “Featherweight”. They are very popular with quilters.
Bet you are both.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.