What a little beauty!

**OK, so I warned you that an image-heavy post was coming LOL. Forgive the quality of the images though, it's been overcast here the last few days and the light is pretty awful.**


Anyway, as I mentioned the other day, I finally managed to snag Miss Seven's birthday present on eBay. Hubby picked it up for me on Wednesday night and I'm so thrilled with it! See, I've been looking to buy her a very simple second-hand sewing machine to learn on, so that she doesn't accidentally break mine - not that mine is anything expensive or complicated.

I was originally going to let her learn on my grandmother's old Singer, but a friend pointed out that her feet may not reach the treadle, which they don't when we tried (thanks for the tip Nicola :-).

Although I wasn't specifically looking for vintage machines, in my searching then I came across another old Singer, operated with a knee lever which I thought may be suitable but a quick eBay search brought up an even better option:

I present to you the fully-operational, hand-operated vintage Singer 20 'toy' sewing machine!



How cute is it?! It's about 25-30 cm high I suppose and about the same width. It's in perfect condition, considering it's age and came with the original G-clamp to attach it to the table to stop it from moving around.

I didn't even know such a machine existed until I did a search for sewing machines within 50km of my place on eBay - not only did I find this one in near-pristine condition, it came with copies of the manuals AND it was being sold just one suburb away from hubby's work. Serendipity in action.




As you can see from the back, it's pretty simple and it only does one straight chain stitch & like my (grandmother's) Singer 201k, has no reverse, so you need to tie off the thread at the ends, or manually turn the fabric around and sew back a little way to finish off.

This particular model was manufactured in New Jersey in the U.S, although they were made all over the place over the years. They were first manufactured after World War I, then on until the 1950's, and were briefly resurrected in the late 1970's for a couple of years.

From my brief research, the rounded base and the seven spokes on the hand crank on my model suggest that it dates from the mid 1920's or early 1930's - it is commonly called the '1922' model. The 'toy' models don't have serial numbers on them, unlike their big sisters, for more accurate dating.

Check out the bright chrome finish on the base plate. Not a speck of rust! Note also the big fat guard around the needle on the foot - it makes it slightly more difficult to thread, but it also means no little fingers can be inadvertently sewn to the fabric! The doohickey with the screw on the right of the base plate is an adjustable seam width guide.

The seller obtained copies of the instructions & adjuster's manual, and two packets of spare needles are included with the machine as well. Although the machines were originally sold as 'toys' for little girls to sew doll's clothes (early Brand Awareness marketing at work - get them young!), it was later marketed to women as a handy portable machine for mending and small sewing jobs.

It produces lovely even stitches (the wobbles are all my own). The stitch length is adjustable with a simple lever underneath the base plate. Because it is operated with a hand crank, Miss Seven will be able to go as fast or as slow as she pleases, with more accurate control than an electric machine's foot pedal, meaning that there should - theoretically - be less chance of a broken needle.

The back, showing the single-thread chain stitch detail. The machine does not have bobbin, something I often wish my machine didn't have!

Now, don't ask me what I paid for it as it was about 3 times what I was prepared to pay for an old electric machine (ahem) - plus you have to factor in a bit of collectability - but I LOVE that it is so solid and simple that it should be still around for her to gift to her grandchildren.

I think she's going to be just as stoked with it as I am :-) Now I just have to find the perfect sewing basket at the oppies to go with it!



Cheers,