How Do You Know if Bobbins Are Vintage

Tips for Buying a Vintage Sewing Machine

Take you ever seen a cute vintage sewing machine at Goodwill or Salvation Army? Only so yous're not sure if yous should get it because you don't actually know what y'all're doing? Every bit the proud owner of six vintage sewing machines, I've learned a lot (and made a few mistakes). Here's my advice on what to look for and which machines to buy. Be forewarned, though, in one case you start rescuing old sewing machines, y'all won't be able to stop.

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What to Look for When Ownership a Vintage Sewing Machine

This listing is not exhaustive, and I'll get into more detail about some of these points below, but this is a quick-reference guide on what to wait for in a vintage sewing machine.

The handwheel should plow without too much difficulty
The needle (or needle bar) should go upward and down
The feed dogs should motility with every rotation of the handwheel
The bobbin case should rotate or oscillate with the turning of the handwheel
Look for apparently missing/broken parts, holes where screws are missing, etc.
Machines from the 20s-50s were well-engineered and unlikely to need weird bobbins, shuttles, or not-standard needles
Singers are probably the manner to become, since it's easier to notice information/parts for them
But if it's actually inexpensive, you should probably purchase it!

A Cursory History of Singer

In the tardily 1800s, at that place were many manufacturers jockeying for the top spot in the sewing motorcar marketplace. These sewing machines all used their own individualized parts, which tin exist difficult to find today. Many of them used long shuttles instead of the bobbins we're more familiar with today. These shuttles are difficult to find and don't piece of work as well as bobbins.

Singer didn't necessarily manufacture the best sewing machines, but they were fantastic at marketing. They offered payment plans (one of the first instances of pay-to-ain) and they incentivized trade-ins, so that people would buy more sewing machines. Singer gradually took over the sewing machine market. This was before planned obsolescence, and these sewing machines were congenital to last. Many take outlived their original owners and are still going.

Bobbins and Needles

Images from Singer 15-91 manual and Singer 66-18 manual

If you have a modern sewing machine, it probably takes a form xv or form 66 bobbin. These were originally constitute in Vocalizer 15 series and Vocalist 66 series sewing machines, and the overwhelming popularity of these ii machines created an manufacture standard that most brands utilize today. Similarly, your modern sewing machine probably takes a standard 2020 needle (or 15x1 or HA1--these are even so type of needle). Once again, this is an industry standard gear up by the popularity of early on Vocalizer sewing machines.

The dandy matter well-nigh vintage Singers is that you can oftentimes use standard needles, bobbins, presser feet, and accessories. Information technology'southward as well fairly easy to detect compatible replacement parts because so many people have vintage Singers. For virtually vintage Singers, yous'll be able to find detailed instructions on cleaning, oiling, common issues, easy fixes, user manuals, service manuals, and exploded diagrams of parts. For actually pop models, like the Featherweight, there are entire online communities dedicated to them.

Vintage Singer Sewing Machines

The following machines are recommended. They were produced in large quantities and there's lots of information nigh them online. They have entirely metal gears (rather than plastic, every bit is common today), and they're well-engineered and sturdy. In terms of manufacturing dates, they range from the early 1910s through the 1960s. Before machines are more than hard to maintain, and later machines weren't congenital to last. This l year period was the golden age of vintage sewing machines.

Vocalizer 15s

As noted earlier, the 15 series was so popular that its parts became an industry standard beyond different sewing automobile brands. It is a sturdy and reliable cast atomic number 26 straight sew machine (just see the attachment mentioned below for creating zigzag stitches).

Vocalizer 66, 99, 185, & 201

Two Singer 99K Sewing Machines — Ii Vocalist 99K Sewing Machines

With minor cosmetic differences, these are all substantially the same machine. Singer 66s were full-sized machines, while the 99 and 185 were iii/four size machines. The 201 was an improved version of the 66. The 185 had a green torso, while the 66, 99, & 201 were black. They're solid, well-built direct stitch sewing machines. They tin practice fancy stitches if yous buy a zigzagger attachment (note that the ones below is for a slant shank machine, rather than a low shank automobile, as the 66, 99, 185, & 201 are).

Zigzag attachments for straight stitch machine

Vocalist Featherweights

People dearest Featherweights. Every bit the name implies, it had an aluminum body which was much lighter than the bandage fe sewing machines that came before. It's cute and portable. It tends to be more expensive than other vintage sewing machines, since it's quite pop. One minor drawback to Featherweights is that they use a 221/301 type bobbin, rather than a standard size. You lot can still get these bobbins, merely you probably won't find them at your local arts and crafts store.

Vocaliser 301

This was the start of the slant shank machines manufactured by Vocaliser. As the proper name indicates, the needle bar was slanted forward for greater visibility while you're sewing. These were very popular sewing machines, and so slant shank attachments are still made today, even though slant shank machines are not. As y'all might gauge, this machine also uses the 221/301 blazon bobbin. The 301 also continued to use a lightweight aluminum frame.

Singer 401 & 403

A continuation of the slant shank series. The 400 and 500 series machines were referred to as Rocketeers because of their space age pattern, and their biscuit color was a divergence from the mostly black Singer sewing machines that had come up earlier. Some of these included born or insertable cams, which could create fanzy zigzag stitches. They take standard class 66 bobbins.

Vocaliser 501, 503

I have a Singer 503A, and I dear some of its features. It has different needle plates for straight sew vs. zigzag. There'due south a narrower opening on the straight stitch needle plate, and then your fabric is less probable to be pulled nether while sewing. It has the capacity to hold two regular needles side-by-side, rather than needing a fancy double needle. And information technology came with a bunch of cams to create zigzag stitches. These are inserted into the top of the motorcar, and they crusade the needle bar to follow the bumpy pattern around the edge of the cam, which creates distinctive sew patterns.

Singers to Avoid

With the Vocalist 285, they poorly re-engineered the 185, just used the aforementioned cute green body. 1 reviewer chosen it "the worst sewing car Singer ever produced" and another reviewer said it's "not actually heavy enough for a gunkhole anchor and non pretty enough for a door terminate." It's piece of cake to get fooled because the 185 and 285 look very similar, so exist sure to double check the number earlier you buy it.

Singer 285K Sewing Machine — Vocaliser 285K Sewing Machine

Every bit Vocalist progressed into the 600 and 700 series, they continued to make slant shank machines, but they started to introduce plastic gears, which wear out faster. They also started to use odd bobbins, such every bit the "Touch & Sew" or "wind-in-identify" bobbins. These weren't widely used and are difficult to find.

What nearly non-Singer sewing machines?

Be careful with these. Other machines may have not-standard needles and bobbins. It may exist difficult to find parts and replacements.

Equally noted earlier, Singer didn't necessarily make the "best" sewing machines, simply because their brand became so popular, vintage Singers are the all-time sewing machines to collect because they're like shooting fish in a barrel to maintain and they use common parts that are all the same in product.

For instance, Wheeler and Wilson sewing machines were considered amend than Singer sewing machines, but you'll accept a tough time finding the right bobbins and needles if you buy an former Wheeler and Wilson. Fifty-fifty though I'd love to have a treadle auto, I passed this ane up.

Wheeler and Wilson W9 Sewing Machine — Wheeler and Wilson W9 Sewing Motorcar

I only paid $viii for this New Dwelling house Light Runner (and its cabinet!). However, it takes a non-standard size needle, which has proven hard to find, so my restoration of this one has come to a standstill.

New Home Light Runner Sewing Machine — New Abode Light Runner Sewing Machine

Similarly, this White was $x, and it came with a bunch of bobbins, too. Merely I've had a tough time finding a case to fit information technology, and I wanted to mount a hand creepo, but it doesn't accept a boss in the right place.

Lastly, this Dressmaker looks great, but I tin't observe much data about it online. In the 50s and 60s, Japanese manufacturers made sewing machines with a variety of brand names, so it'southward non uncommon for the exact aforementioned auto to have a few unlike names. This makes finding parts and manuals hard.

What if you need parts?

If you lot start collecting vintage sewing machines, you're bound to demand replacement parts. Be conscientious who y'all buy from. Information technology'south better to pay a lilliputian more to buy from an expert who has described the role accurately and has tested it out for you, if necessary. Other sellers may charge less, but they also may non know what they're selling. I've bought cheaper (but inaccurately labeled) products, and it'southward not worth the gamble.

I recommend these sellers for buying vintage sewing machine parts:

haddadwalach.blogspot.com

Source: https://mermaidsden.com/blog/2016/11/20/buying-a-vintage-sewing-machine