My Two Singers

So, what's the plan with the two Singers? Some of this is self-evident, but I was going to mention it anyways.

My Singer 66 is my workhorse. This weekend, as you can see from the photo, I was sewing garments. She is so reliable, and even without reverse, she's a delight to work with. For my Etsy sewing, most of it will be done on the Singer 66 or my modern Janome.




Maybe, someday, my sweet Singer 15-91 will be a workhorse, but for now, he is relegated to making liners and hammocks for my own rats. I'm anticipating that he will become my free motion quilting machine, and maybe my primary straight stitch machine. I must say that, when he's working properly, he's a delight, but his reliability is lousy right now. I'm still working on the bobbin issue and the rest of his refurbishment.

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My Style of Sewing Machine Shopping

Today, I was out yard sale perusing, my idea of sewing machine shopping. Tough thing is that I don't want to buy another machine right now. Even tougher was that I saw my next machine although the price may have been high for me. ---- Treadle for $75 Singer 15-something from 1907. All parts moving. Intricate decals but not in the best shape, but I don't know if 100 year old decals can even look better. Anyways, I walked off with a small bag of sewing incidentals.


Fourteen 66 bobbins - I'm puzzled why they were in the drawers of the Singer 15, but there was a Kenmore sewing machine upstairs that used 66 bobbins, so probably just its bobbins. Fortunately, my Singer 66 will enjoy these.




Low shank feet - I've not seen this before. Please note- I'm pretty much a neophyte with vintage machines, so it really ain't earth shattering that I don't know what I've got. I'd been hoping that these would be variations of hemmer feet and such, but they aren't. Some have hinges. Some don't. Mainly they appear to have different widths to the pointy parts. Some are actually labelled 1/4", so I think I have a couple nice quilting feet (one hinged, the other unhinged.)




Now, for the real puzzle, these appear to be attachments for the feet, but I'm not sure how and to which foot they attach, but they are labelled with like 5/8" and 1/2". So, I am thinking they are seam guides which explains why the old Singers lack the seam lines on the throat plate. You were apparently supposed to switch out the feet or use one of these ?seam guides for seams.

You may notice the bobbin case, and you may be thinking... ah, she found herself a new bobbin case to fix her bobbin case issues for her Singer 15-91. You are wrong. Ok, maybe I was hoping that it was a bobbin case I could use, but on closer inspection. It is just plain bizarre. It appears that it is a 66 bobbin case which I've never heard of (not earth shattering news). And, it lacks that handle like thingy.

So, I've got a few mysteries...

1. What are all of these feet/spacers and how are they used?

2. What the bleep is that bobbin case?

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Singer 15-91 Update - Bobbin Case Issues

So, here's my new Singer 15-91. I'm still cleaning, fixing, etc., but I have made 3 liners for the rats. There's a big change in the machine if you look closely, but if you can't see the difference. Take a peak at the photo below.





I've replaced the throat plate with a modern one because it's just a pain to not have those lines. This one is cute because they must have rubbed some red something into the engraving. Quite nice.

Now, for my biggest issue right now. The BLEEPING bobbin case....




On the left, is the rusty original bobbin case. Now, one would think the brand spanking new one would work like a charm. But, alas. NO. You see apparently, the shiny smooth (non-rusty) bobbin case catches thread and makes nasty tangles and jams the works. I can get through a project with nice looking stitches with the rusty horrible original bobbin case, but the brand new shiny one jams about every 12 inches of stitching. GRUMBLES.




Here's the part that I think is jamming the works. Just to confuse things, the bobbin case on the left is the new shiny one. The rusty bobbin case has switched sides to the right. So, the bobbin on the left, you may notice is a tad taller. That hook which appears to be part of the door hinge is not as curved as Rusty's.

So, what to do....

Well, I hate to do anything that may lead to loss of function of the machine, so I don't yet want to derust ole Rusty bobbin case.

I want to just bend that piece so that it looks like ole Rusty, but what I will first do is discuss the problem with my handy dandy neighborhood sewing machine store.

This provides me the opportunity to tell you how awesome they are.
Stitch in Time website and their Facebook page. I primarily use their Ridgefield, CT store. A few years ago, I bought my Janome, and you get lifetime sewing machine instruction when you buy a machine from them. But, they are more than just a sewing machine store. They have fabric and every single notion that you can imagine, and a very knowledgable and friendly staff. I spent $30 on the bobbin case and the throat plate. I could have saved a couple of dollars by buying those on Ebay, but I wouldn't have gotten them the next day (and if I'd driven to Darien, CT, I'm sure I could have gotten them same day.) They also steered me towards using plastic 15 bobbins for the Singer 15-91 that way I can interchange them between my Janome and the Singer 15-91, and they work unlike the ones I bought at Walmart.




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