Oh Baby

I typically don't buy the white plastic type of sewing machine for several reasons. First, they can rarely be fixed; they were meant to be used until they break, especially the low end models. A repair charge would be more than the purchase price! Second, they were not meant to be opened and maintained by the user. Screws are hidden, parts snap together, hence they don't "unsnap" easily, oil spots are not open as in a vintage sewing machine. About the most you can do is clean the outside and try to vacuum out any lint. But I'm a sucker for any machine I have not tried out yet so the following came home with me last week:

 

 

 

 

Babylock 2300

She is so cute and very basic so I plugged her in and she moved so I brought her home. It was seniors day at the thrift store so even a discount! I managed to sneak the straw of the oiler into a few of the moving parts to give it a nice lubrication and she sounded quieter, ran nice. I went to thread it all up and noticed this Baby has been in an accident. The spool pins on the back were gone, only two screw holes remained. One of the thread guides also looked like it had snapped off so Baby definitely took a tumble. Looking at my spare parts and donor sewing machines I found an old Kenmore double spool pin holder. The screw holes didn't match up but I could use one of the holes and my husband suggested using double stick tape for the mis-aligned holes:

Babylock 2300 with Kenmore spool pins

Looks okay and functions quite well so it's a win-win. The thread guide doesn't need to be replaced but I'll still look to see if I have something. I made up a stitch sample and although it stitches fine I don't think the satin stitch (close together zig zags) is all that even but that's to be expected from a low end machine: they are simply menders and sewing small simple projects.

Straight and zig zag stitch with a practice buttonhole

This seems like a nice machine for a young girl who wants to see if she's interested in sewing or just for travel so Baby will get added to my stock for a future sale.

Here's an update and photo for the Pfaff 130 repaint project:

Pfaff 130 with about 4 coats of black paint

I'm hoping another 1-2 coats will make her ready for the clearcoat and then the decals. It's so exciting to see how these take shape! I hope this post wasn't a case of whiplash, going from modern to vintage so quickly but that's what happens sometimes: old and new right next to each other. Stay tuned!