Working with the Old Girls

 

Lately I've been working with the older black sewing machines in my collection.  Above is a 1940's Japanese "clone", also known as a badged machine.  It's an Elite DeLuxe, named for the gold badge that has that name embossed on it.  I named her Ellie.  She only does a straight stitch, but she can do it exceptionally well.  She can quilt without a special foot--just the one she came with.  She's a hard worker.

Another machine I've used regularly is a Singer 66.  It's a 1955 model.  

She is another straight stitch machine that takes a different bobbin style (class 66 vs the Elite's class 15), and threads differently as well.  Recently I converted her from an external motor to a hand crank.  She's a wonderful hardworking machine that is my go to for heavy fabrics such as those in hubby's hunting clothes.  She proved herself when she stitched through heavy duck and didn't flinch.  

These are my favorite machines to work with for lots of sewing.  Most of what I sew, from quilts to clothing, do not require a serger or even a zig zag overcasting stitch.  I use French seams, bindings, and learning other tailoring type ways to finish seams.  If needed, I can use hand couture stitching as well.  

Both the Elite and the Singer are very easy to maintain.  Simply keep the lint out of them with a gentle use of a small brush, and oil in the ports and the moving parts underneath as needed, and they'll work for years.  Once in a great while a screw may need a little tightening from the vibration of use, but nothing out of the ordinary.  Both of these girls are already quite aged, but they work as if they were just purchased.  Both of them use the same type of feet attachments, so I can use gathering feet, ruffler, walking foot, binding foot, zipper foot, and so on if I choose to with no issue.  

It is with these girls and a White 1010 that I've been making medical scrub hats.  The hats have the seams enclosed inside themselves and handmade ties, and are quite easy to make once I got the hang of them.  I intend to return to my first love in time, making modest skirts and culottes and jumpers/dresses, but for the time being working on scrub hats has taken a bit of my time.  During this Covid thing, they seem to be well needed.  With camps closed down this last summer, the desire for culottes used in our conservative camps went down as well.  Maybe next summer it will better.  

Do you enjoy sewing?  If so, feel free to comment and share what you enjoy the most about the hobby!