Pink Princess

There are advantages to "being in the business" when I find lost and lonely sewing machines. I know what to look for, those to avoid (Singer Touch & Sew), and when to grab and run to my car before the gem gets away. It also helps when parts are missing because I know how expensive it could be to replace those parts or how cheap. Today we are going to look at a sad little Janome 344 in pink!

Janome 344

She was sitting on a shelf at one of the local thrift stores but didn't have a foot control. I thought I might have one that would fit but that's usually only a $25 item, not huge but could be a deal breaker. It was missing all accessories including a foot, and bobbin case so there wasn't going to be much testing it out. I went home, checked online for the model and type of foot control it would need and I figured I could go back on Wednesday when senior citizens get 25% off. Sure enough, it was still on the shelf so I pulled out two foot controls I brought from home and got one to fit. It has a nice built in handle so I carried it over to an outlet and turned it on: beautiful sound. I happily brought it home and got it cleaned up. Then we start to notice the flaws: she has a rusty needle plate! And it wasn't just missing the bobbin case but almost the whole mechanism. Good thing I have many, many parts so I got to work:

Bobbin area before

Bobbin with hook and retaining ring in place

Bobbin with casing inserted that holds the actual bobbin

One of the photos isn't very clear but I think you can see the progression of empty to full. Next came the rust on the needle plate. I had the most success with a razor blade and scraping the rust off until it was smooth to the touch. It still shows two marks but is not going to snag the fabric.

There are a nice variety of stitches, nothing exciting but it does have stretch stitches and a four step buttonhole. I'm pretty excited to get this modern but basic sewing machine and will sell it to someone young who doesn't want the weight of an older model. It's probably 20 years old with metal framework and back but plastic on the front. Janome is known to make pretty decent sewing machines and this one surely is. And it is pink...

Sold the White sewing machine in the zebra print case also to a nice man who is going to learn to sew. His teacher came along and tried it all out and claimed it was a very nice and smooth sewing machine so they walked out happy. I was a bit sad to see it go because it was so very nice but it needed a new home.

Black White model is pristine

More appointments on Saturday for some good sewing machines, a Singer 301 in a trapezoid case and a learn to sew Singer that will be going to a family man who needs it for something specific that he is going to bring along.

We are happy at Sewing Machine Mavin's house today with things getting fixed and machines moving out the door. Now if I could only figure out the Pfaff 262 and 332 this weekend.