Broken But Still Running?

Answered a Craigslist ad for a broken Singer sewing machine, only $10 and I wanted the carrying case. Sure enough, the wood case was sturdy but missing a handle but I think that can be found or at least substituted. Machine looked okay but  that carrying case was too old for this model yet she comes home with me:

Singer Fashion Mate 237

This Singer 237 is called a Fashion Mate, which I think is a bit of a lower line when they came out. The Touch and Sews were coming out about then and were pretty different with the type of dials, wind in place bobbins, etc. You can find Fashion Mates in a variety of colors: aqua, green, tan, (you can join in with comments about colors you have seen) that make them appealing for the 1960's seamstress. Although no one can recall, I think this is the model my mom brought home one day. How exciting to get a new sewing machine!

We must have been about 15, 12, 10, and 8 if my memory serves me right and we were sewing on my mom's White, probably a White rotary with a crinkle finish. I have some wonderful memories of my mom making doll clothes on that machine but when I started to sew I was a bit frustrated because it was only straight stitch so no zig zag for buttonholes, no attachment to make buttonholes. I went over to a neighbors house to have her make a buttonhole on a waistband of a pair of shorts. But moms are wise in these kinds of things and one day we came home from school with the announcement that we needed to get our homework done first and then we could use the NEW SEWING MACHINE!

We raced to the downstairs of our 60's tri-level house to find a new Singer Fashion Mate in a color not black like those dreaded old fashioned numbers. Man, this was cool. We got our homework done that night and fought over who was going to use it next but it did get used quite a bit. When it sat unused for many years my mom sold it to a friend of mine who was giving it to her daughter. She even got the old cabinet that had a well for supplies and a large drawer that we kept patterns in. I don't recall that we ever closed it up unless company was coming because it was always in use.

So my broken Fashion Mate 237 featured in this post? I plugged it in and hit the gas to find it ran pretty good. A light cleaning and heavy oiling really brought it back to life. My husband commented on the like-new wiring so that was good, too. Not a thing wrong with this one, it works just fine. It brought back some nice memories, too.