Hello Kitty Janome 11706
My daily driver sewing machine is, weirdly enough, a 3/4 size machine marketed to kids and beginners. But don’t let the mint and flowers fool you! Hello Kitty is a surprisingly tough stitcher — she gets the job done on everything from many layers of quilting calico to precision coutil corsets. There are some downsides to Sewing Pretty with Hello Kitty — she doesn’t have fully-adjustable zigzag, she takes weird feet only, and her favorite stitch speed is medium-fast. She can’t do blazingly fast and she doesn’t like to do carefully slow. Regardless, somehow, she’s my reliable machine. I can count on Hello Kitty to get the job done for any sewing. Any sewing projects I develop for other people will always
Singer 201-2
My Singer 201-2 is from the 1930s. It arrived in a #40 Queen Anne cabinet with significant shellac missing, but thankfully no real water or wood damage beyond some stains and dents. I have spent many years cleaning the oil varnish out of the 201 — every time I think I’m done, I find somewhere else that’s still dirty. (Don’t over-oil your machines, kids, at least not if you’re not using them!) I also refinished the cabinet top with French polishing in 2022.
Restoration WIPs…
I like to restore old machines. I’m not the fastest, though. If you have an interest, I recommend checking out the Victorian Sweatshop forum. They have all the resources you need to learn how to fix up your machine. NOTE: they don’t put a value on machines unless they’re making an offer to buy — and neither do I. (And I’m not looking to buy until this WIPs section is empty!)
- Singer 503A (Rocketeer) in an 87 Priscilla Alden cabinet – came to me as one owner from new…but unfortunately had been serviced poorly at some point, as it had inappropriate gray “grease” clogging up the gears and plenty of stuck oil varnish. The needle bar was even out of position, with a chip out of the enamel on the screw to show that Igor Wuz Here. Thanks, Igor. Now I have to fix what you messed up. Luckily, it’ll be worth it, as she was missing only 4 cams out of the set. I’ve since bought those, so when I do finally get it running, I’ll be able to stitch whatever I want.
- Improved Eldrege Rotary in a parlor cabinet – A fun rotary machine with top-clamping feet and gorgeous decals. Unfortunately, the cabinet’s got some veneer damage on the top, and the bottom is completely shot. I wasn’t expecting this level of project when I bought it, so it’s been sitting around.
Restoration TBDs…
I have these, but haven’t started working on them yet.
- King Sewing Machine Company Bison in a 5-drawer treadle table – a very special piece of Buffalo, NY history! This machine was purchased in the 1910s in Buffalo, made in the King Sewing Machine Company factory. It’s a dead ringer for a King machine or the King-made Franklin machines that were sold in the Sears Roebuck catalog at that time. I bought it in 2022 from the grand-nephew of the original owner. The weird/cool thing is that it has an exact copy of the original Singer Sphinx decals…how? why? We may never really know. It may be unique. If you know of another one — please tell me!
- King machine with pansy decals in a bentwood portable case – 1920s machine, I think, maybe 1930s. Exact date TBD. Definitely after 1925ish because it has a White-brand motor. Came to me missing the front slide plate. I mostly bought this for the pansies. Unknown if the electrics work. Might need rewiring. Bentwood case definitely needs veneer re-glued, and possibly a new lock, and definitely a new bottom panel.
- Class 15 machine with no badge in a beige paper-covered portable case – probably from the 1950s, nothing special on the outside, but remarkably shiny and clean. I don’t think it was used much.
- the other one with the sphinx decals – (brand is known, just not in front of me) I bought this so my Bison could have a knock-off-sphinx friend. It came in an annoyingly tiny table with chunks of veneer missing. I can’t even fit a standard folding chair under it…
Defunct
- Brother Boutique 751 – it’s dead, Jim. It’s lovely and orange on the outside, and the plastic portable case has some groovy flowers, but it’s got two big ol’ cracks on a central plastic gear. Internet says these aren’t worth restoring and I’m not likely to find an intact parts machine. Display only.