So I was at my Grannies house today, talking about sewing as I usually do and she mentioned an old sewing machine that she had, and that my Grandad used to use regularly, collecting dust in the attic. I was kind of expecting a grotty plasticy thing from the 80's, and was prepping my "thank you for the lovely gift face" (you know, the one you usually reserve for weird christmas presents and donated net curtains...) when she brought out this:
My heart was in my mouth when I opened the box.
This is Mabel.
She's a spritely 122 years old, having been manufactured in 1891.
She's a little rough around the edges, but damn.... she's still got it.
An afternoon of frantic googling has led me to the following conclusion. This is a 1891 model of the Singer VS3 or 28K machine. It has whats known as a Vibrating Shuttle, which is this little bobbin casing thing that swings back and forth from a pivot under the plates.
From what is left of the decals, I'm pretty sure it is the Primrose variant of the Painted Roses standard, which I'm lead to believe is quite rare.
So yes. I'm kind of in love. Now to figure out how to thread her.... I may here be some time ;-)
My heart was in my mouth when I opened the box.
This is Mabel.
She's a spritely 122 years old, having been manufactured in 1891.
She's a little rough around the edges, but damn.... she's still got it.
An afternoon of frantic googling has led me to the following conclusion. This is a 1891 model of the Singer VS3 or 28K machine. It has whats known as a Vibrating Shuttle, which is this little bobbin casing thing that swings back and forth from a pivot under the plates.
From what is left of the decals, I'm pretty sure it is the Primrose variant of the Painted Roses standard, which I'm lead to believe is quite rare.
So yes. I'm kind of in love. Now to figure out how to thread her.... I may here be some time ;-)
Lovely! That's the kind of surprise that's worth having!
ReplyDeleteWhat a fabulous gift!
ReplyDeleteoh, how totally amazing!!!! She's a beauty, enjoy!!!
ReplyDeleteEeeeeeeeeeeeek! What a fabulous gift. Your granny loves you!
ReplyDeleteBrilliant- apparently you can't beat the perfect stitch of a hand turned machine :)
ReplyDeleteMabel is a very lovely old lady - look after her :)
ReplyDeleteWhat a lovely surprise!
ReplyDeleteI love old machines, you are so lucky. Please she more once you get her sewing.
ReplyDelete*thud*
ReplyDeleteThat was my chin hitting the desk at how gorgeous that old machine is. With the cute flowers! You lucky duck x
Oh wow, lucky you! I inherited the 80's plastic crap from my gran...
ReplyDeleteFrom experience - thread goes in the obvious place - from there across to the little hook at the top left that sticks out towards you. From there down and round between the two plates of the tension thingy, (down the right and coming up from the left) up and though the hole in the moving lever, down thrown the little hoop that should stick out from the side just below the moving lever, and then down to the needle in exactly the same way as a modern one. Hope that's right - it's from memory. I bought one as a student and gave it away on freecycle when I got my electric one - regretted it ever since. They are so beautiful and you are very lucky. Manuals here http://www.singersewinginfo.co.uk/manuals/
ReplyDeleteShe's beautiful! When I got my treadle singer I was able to find the manual online. Really useful :)
ReplyDeleteoh she is lovely! What a fabulous thing to get. I can't wait to hear how you get on with her.
ReplyDeleteAw she looks a fine old lady.
ReplyDelete5 to 10 years ago we couldnt sell them for much more than £10 on our cat rescue stall.........such a shame.
ReplyDeleteI recall we had a magnificent one that had all egyptian decals on it and it was pristine........wish Id kept it for myself.
You can still unearth shuttles for these old machines at car boots, Ive seen them.
You need to get a worldwide network going here so we could buy them when we see them at bargain prices for you!lol
Try Freegle you never know, there may be one or two sat in a button tin someplace!
They weigh a ton but are a lovely solid machine to use.
Wowsers! That is a gift and a half!
ReplyDeleteHow wonderful! She's a beauty!
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful machine! I love the wooden case too - it looks so sturdy and classical!
ReplyDeleteFabulous! Have you managed to thread her?
ReplyDeleteOhhhhh, wow, thats a great gift
ReplyDeleteGreat gift!
ReplyDeleteShe is beautiful! Love my Singer machines! :)
ReplyDeleteShe is beautiful! Love my Singer machines! :)
ReplyDeleteOoooo she's lovely! Terri's got an old Singer, although not quite as vintage as Mabel, and we found threading instructions on Google, no problem - we definitely needed them!
ReplyDeleteWhat a genuine old beauty! That's for keeps! Jxo
ReplyDeleteVintage Mabel is a beauty. Di x
ReplyDeleteWow - what a find. Bet your Grannie is pleased that it has gone to someone who appreciates such things. The oldest sewing accessory I own is a Needle book of my Grans dated 1956 from her muum.
ReplyDeleteHoly shit you lucked out! What an amazing thing to have, and the sentimental value, priceless! How very exciting :D
ReplyDeleteMabel is a beauty and you can see she was well loved. I have my grandma's 1920 White brand machine.It's a treadle, but haven't tried to play with it yet.
ReplyDeleteI learnt how to make clothes on a machine just like that! Topstitching a collar and cranking the machine by hand at the same time was a bit of a challenge, but if you can do that then you can do pretty much anything ;-)
ReplyDeleteBeautiful, and the perfect gift, history and beauty all rolled up into one, what could be better! I hope you enjoy finding out all about her. :o)
ReplyDeleteThis manual is for a later model but should help you. I love my 28K handcrank - and it was great for teaching my kids on.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.ismacs.net/singer_sewing_machine_company/manuals/127-128.pdf
Dorothy in Oz
It is lovely! I have a more 'modern version' of that machine. Mine is a model 128. Still has the vibrating shuttle, but is electric rather than hand driven. I'm still trying to figure it out. Good luck it is a beauty.
ReplyDeleteOh, wow! Have fun!
ReplyDeleteMabel is beautiful! What a generous gift, you'e a very lucky girl. Good luck threading her.
ReplyDeletePlease do look at muvandfarve you tube channel for information on Singer 28Ks especially good videos on how to wind and load bobbins and top threading. Good luck with this machine. I hope you use and enjoy it.
ReplyDeleteHugs
G
Oh wow. Just wow. You're going to love this!
ReplyDeleteShe's a beauty. My Dad has a hand crank that belonged to his mother that I didn't even know existed until last winter.
ReplyDeleteIf you're looking for more info on threading, maintenance, availability of bobbins, etc you might want to join the Yahoo group called Vintage Singers. I discovered the group after I bought my first vintage Singer and they are a great group of people with all sorts of knowledge and very helpful.
This is just stunning. My brother-in-law has one of these (he has turned into quite the Singer expert) and is rehabbing it. He also has an old Singer on a base like this that he just finished rehabbing--I'm going to do a blog post on it one of these days. I'll send this post to him--he would LOVE seeing it! This is a treasure for sure.
ReplyDeleteWow! You're incredibly lucky. It's beautiful
ReplyDeleteHello Laura,
ReplyDeleteOoh very nice, you lucky cake!
I suggest you hot foot it round to my blog and Youtube channel. You could have that machine sewing in 5 minutes flat. A thorough clean up will take a bit longer but will be well worth the effort.
Love,
Muv aka Lizzie Lenard
Ooh I have my great granny's hand crank Singer! I had someone check it out and he said it made a perfect stitch! Still in working order - they built them to last!
ReplyDelete