Last fall, I decided to try my hand at refurbishing something over the winter. Something I had never done before and I didn't really have anything in mind. So, after some internet surfing and going down the YouTube rabbit hole, I found myself watching video's on how to restore vintage singer sewing machines. And the more I watched, the more interested I became in these old machines. After all, I sew and quilt so it peaked my interest.
I started digging into the history of the sewing machine, which I will not get into here, and realized that the actual technique for machine sewing really hasn't changed all that much in the last 100 years or so, which I thought was pretty interesting.
And I thought, maybe I could find an old treadle sewing machine and restore that over the winter. I've never done anything like that and some of those old machines are pretty cool. I also knew that they are fairly common and not that expensive and I thought it would be a nice affordable project. So, I started my search on FB marketplace and over the course of several weeks, I looked for vintage machines locally and not so locally. I found a few in PA and MI but I wasn't really prepared to go a 100 miles for the thing so I kept looking. I wanted one that was dirty but not so destroyed by someone's wet basement or racoon filled attic that I would have to completely rebuild the thing. Then about a week later, I found a listing for a machine that appeared to be in decent shape and it was about 30 minutes from my house.
I contacted the seller and after some back and forth, I decided to purchase the machine. The woman I purchased the singer from told me she was selling it for a friend of hers who was in poor health and in a care facility. The owner was the 3rd or 4th generation (I wasn't sure which) to own the machine and it had been in her family since 1903. Apparently, they primarily sewed clothes, a wedding gown and some christening gowns on it.
Thankfully, at some point the previous owner had some glass cut to protect the top, which no doubt protected it from major damage. The top has a few minor cracks in the veneer and few areas with some discoloration but nothing that can't be fixed. The cabinet has 7 drawers and is embossed with a scroll/thistle like design that I've seen called art nouveau. This one also has spindles on the outside drawers and I haven't seen many cabinets with this feature. The wrought iron legs are in good shape with little rust on the feet and of course, it's dirty. I mean really, really dirty.
Which brings me to the machine. This machine is a model 15 style 11 with serial K1057910, which dates the machine to 1903 and has the pheasant decals. And of course, it is very, very dirty.
The manual was also in one of the drawers but the paper is very brittle and falling apart. I was also very happy to find a singer puzzle box tucked into one of the drawers. This box stores all the sewing machine attachments and sewing feet, however it is incomplete. It too needs a bit of refurbishing and a good clean.
So I've got my winter project in the bag. I'll get to cleaning and repairing and hopefully, I can figure out how to treadle.
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