Vintage sewing machine.

[pearl]

Hi all,

I have been lucky enough to get my hands on a treadle-powered Singer model 201K that (according to the serial number) dates to 1939. After taking over the garage, pulling most of it apart and putting it back together again, I have a new (to me) machine that sews in a straight line, is very quiet to run, and doesn't need to be near a powerpoint to work.

Photos are below the cut:
Click on the photos to see larger images.

This is the cabinet, closed and open.


This is another photo of the treadle mechanism inside the cabinet. You can see the leather belt that drives the machine in the upper-right hand side.


Finally, the sewing machine itself (which is also known as the 'head' I think?). From left to right, it is the 'front' (ie. the side you see when you sit down), the face-place, and the 'back'. I haven't managed to get all of the old oil and grime off, so if anyone has any suggestions it would be appreciated.


The person selling the sewing machine also gave me two mystery boxes of attachments. Some of them I recognise, like the tool used to keep your hem stitched straight, but others... this is what downloading the user manual is for, I guess!

Comments

[rydra_wong]

Ooh, treadle-powered. I was having a moment of brainfail and confused that with hand-cranked (which is what the one I remembered from childhood was). That's a gorgeous beast!

[weaverbird]

Oh, very cool. What a beautiful machine! You're going to love sewing with it.

[teapot_rabbit]

The old Singer machines are so pretty. :) The mystery attachments appear to be all sorts of specialised presser feet. Here is a link to a page that tells you what they are - though not, unfortunately, how to use them.

[weaverbird]

Singers really are lovely. My mother's Singer head looks exactly like that one, except hers is motorized. She bought it in 1944 when she was in high school and she used it so much over the years that she's had the motor replaced three times! She has that buttonholer attachment, too - same black box and everything. I know how to use that one! The rest are a puzzle.

I'm in the same boat as you; I have a Wheeler and Wilson treadle machine with a whole drawer full of those mysterious attachments and no idea what to do with them. *g*

[teapot_rabbit]

aaand I totally meant to reply to the original post. This is what I get for checking dreamwidth before my morning tea!

I have a lovely old treadle machine (that is unfortunately stuck at my parents' house until I can magic up some space in my sewing room) with all the weird attachments. I am incredibly grateful that not only did it come with the original manual, but that some thoughtful soul xeroxed it before the old paper fell apart completely. Now I know what the presser feet are, even if I don't know how to make them work.

[pearl]

I'm having enough fun just testing out all the exciting things like stitch length and tension (it has an older-style dial with no numbering, so it's a little random). :)

Mystery feet

[buffarama]

Lovely find. My grandmother had a 99 and a 401 that I inherited, she was a seamstress and taught us everything she could. Here's most of your mystery feet identified with the correct names or their usage, as i had them. Never seen the one on the bottom right, but if your manual doesn't list it, there's a couple sewing groups out in yahoo land with people who might remember.

Re: Mystery feet

[pearl]

You're a genius! I was secretly hoping I had a binding-thing, too. :)

Re: Mystery feet

[seekergeek]

The unidentified foot on the bottom right may possibly be a zig-zag foot(to make zig-zag stitches!), but I'm not one hundred percent sure.