My adventure with the Brother Select-O-Matic is not over...yet. I love this model of vintage sewing machine and that is what you will find when it is on your radar so another one came up on my local Craigslist. I made a beeline to it.
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Brother Select-O-Matic in teal (again) |
Although it wasn't the cool two-tone pink and teal, it was in great working condition until I arrived. Henry bemoaned how it was breaking thread so we both looked it over and he thought it might be the needle opening on the needle plate. With a bit of emery cloth he smoothed out the roughness and it stitched just fine, no broken threads.
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Needleplate in rough condition |
As happy as I was to get this great sewing machine, I was even happier to hear about Henry and his own sewing machine adventure. Henry had a Singer 31-15.
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Singer 31-15 |
I have heard about these industrial type sewing machines but had never seen one so I happily tagged along behind him to see this treasure. Just to prove you do not need a large room to have a sewing space, Henry kept 2 treadles at the bottom of the stairs in what would be considered wasted space, just for turning around in or to place a decorative pot or something equally useless. His Singer 31 was a gem, with the presser foot lift lever, too. I also did not know about this, but it's an added on feature where there is a lever at the back of the machine head that is tethered to a knee lever by a leather belt just like the treadle belts:
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Knee lever for presser foot lift (look above the letter R) |
You can move your knee to the right and it will lift the presser foot while your hands are engaged with the fabric. This is a feature on some Berninas from the 830 Records on but to find this on an antique Singer? Yes, my eyes were wide and I was excited.
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Industrial treadle base |
And this unique set up continued as Henry showed me his Pfaff 130
treadle.
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Pfaff 130 in treadle base: pristine! |
It was in pristine condition and even had the "coffee grinder" or Automatic 50010 attachment for 54 decorative stitches on the backside of the head. He had rigged up a table top with an old bamboo shade, gluing it in place and added a healthy coat of something durable over the top. There was a hinged back and side section for extra space to support your work present on both treadles, another feature I had not seen before. Wow, oh wow, I was very impressed.
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Pfaff 130 with decorative stitch mechanism on back |
Henry walked the box with the Brother sewing machine inside to my vehicle and we continued to talk about our mutual interest in sewing machines when I remembered to give him one of my business cards. You never know where any single contact might lead you and Henry and his sewing machines were a real find. By the way, Henry's wife told me he also sews on them and even made all of their window coverings. Way to go, Henry.
3 comments:
I learned to sew on a treadle machine, and at times have gotten to the point that I would love to have one, but have no space for one. I already have 3 machines and a serger.
I always enjoy your blogs. I live in a rural area, so I live vicariously through your sewing machine adventures.
You are too kind but I appreciate your praise!
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