My Old Sewing Machines

After sewing at Jackie's house last night I got to thinking about my old sewing machines.

Featherweights were introduced by the Singer Company at the Chicago World's Fair in 1933. It has a reputation of being one of the most durable sewing macines ever made. It weighs only 11 pounds, while most other portables at that time weighed between 25-40 pounds. It's a great machine for transporting to classes and doing straight stitching.

This beautiful machine came all the way from England and I have it in my studio. Wendy bought it for me when she was on her mission there. Across the street from her flat was a little thrift store. She purchased it for what would have been $5.00 in U.S. currency. It was housed in a wonderful wood rounded case. We packed it as well as we thought was possible, but the case was damaged on the plane on the journey home. Thankfully the sewing machine was not. This machine looks like Jackie's.

This child's sewing machine (hand crank) came all the way from England also. I found it in a little antique store up north. I packed this in my suitcase. It's heavy for a child's sewing machine; it weighs just under 8 pounds.

Toy sewing machines: Isaac Singer believed that if you teach a child to sew, then the adult would know how to sew. These are Singer's Model 20 and were unique chain-stitch machines manufactured from 1900-1950. These sit on a shelf in my studio and are two of my most favorite things.