Sunday, March 18, 2012

Fear Factor

After reading Peter's post yesterday, I was finally shamed into inspired to reconsider my vintage machine, the Singer 185J, made in 1959 and gifted to me by my MIL. Here's an awesome vintage commercial produced by Singer to tell you about how fab it is.

For starters, I've done some research on this machine and I can tell you a few things about it:
  • It was Canadian-made in St.-Jean-sur-Richlieu (QC) NOT St. John's (NL) as many people have mistakenly supposed. Back then, mon Dieu, the suburb of Mtl. was known by its English name. Kind of contextualizes the October Crisis...
  • It came with a piece of paper sporting my MIL's measurements in 1959 (before she had kids): Bust 35.5, Waist 25, Hips 35. OMG. Note: She is widely regarded to have been a mega-hottie.
  • It's a 3/4 sized, mint-green machine and has (essentially) the same guts as the ubiquitous, early-era Singer 99, which was produced for more than 40 years. The 185J was the "modern" version.
  • It was made in "St. John's" and in Scotland. The British version was called 185K and it was a suspect shade of beige.
  • It's widely regarded to be an excellent machine - if underrated - with a strong motor (.75 amp) and a cast iron chassis. It can sew through leather and even plastic. I've seen well-preserved versions online for up to 400 bucks (and heard about those purchased for 20 bucks at thrift stores).
  • It's a "portable" model. Um, yeah. It weighs 33 pounds.

My green genie gift is not in cosmetic mint condition (pun intended) - my MIL must have worked the shit out of it, what with all the missing enamel - but it runs perfectly, especially since my husband helped me to refurbish it last year. I haven't used it much, though, cuz (honestly) I've been afraid of it. This thing is seriously hard-core. And I never used the buttonholer cuz I'm tremendously freaked out by a) wacky vintage gizmos and b) button holes. You can see my problem.

Today, though, I was so sick of being sick - and so intrigued to figure this out - that I harassed my husband into helping me set it up. It's quite a production to install the buttonholer:


You have to install that face plate on top of the regular machine plate (note the screw at foreground of photo).


You choose the stitch width with that mechanism on the side of the main piece (the beige thing at the back). The cloth clamp (the thing with the grooves) needs to be at the front-most position.


Egad, see the nicks and dings on this machine?! Sadly they're everywhere.


At some point my MIL lost the thread spool pin so she simply put a nail in the slot?! What can I say, my husband's people are practical. Totally doesn't work using a modern thread spool, which is why I've got a bobbin where the thread should go. Last night I found a plastic replacement on Amazon and bought it. Of course, the vendor won't ship to Canada so I've had to send it to my mother.

Finally, here are the buttonholes it made expertly. I used no interfacing, fyi. I was too lazy.

Ok, this is a reasonably thin wool blend (the culottes fabric), but I was still impressed at the perfect buttonholes this thing turned out first time around... These are my very first 2 attempts and they use different sized templates.

But the piece de resistance is most definitely this:

These holes go through 2 layers of medium weight denim with no stabilizing interfacing. I didn't even press the fold! I've opened the top button and the bottom one is still closed. These are the WRONG SIDE of the buttons, people.

Sometimes vintage really knows how to get it right. The buttonholer moves the fabric, not the needle. Seems like it wouldn't work as well as a modern (needle-moving) machine, but it's 100% more reliable.

I may actually have to make something with buttons now.

33 comments:

  1. Yay, vintage machine love! Hehe. I am all fired up to dig out the army machine I got before Christmas, too, after reading that post, although I'm not quite sure how reliable it would be for an actual project (and it won't fit my vintage buttonholer)

    I definitely find my Greist buttonholer works better than the buttonholer function on my new machine (on anything heavier than blouse-weight fabric, anyway), though it's still not perfect.

    That looks like a really adorable vintage machine. :)

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    1. Isn't it bizarre how the old machines do better buttons. I think it has a lot to do with the motors in them. My modern machine is a piece of plastic, effectively.

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  2. Wow, awesome machine... this looks exactly like the Singer machine I learned to sew on, color and everything... it was my mother's, and she had a buttonholer attachment that seemed to cause much swearing (the only time I ever heard her curse). It was definitely an all-metal monster, and came with its own very cool oak drop-in table, that allowed the machine to rotate down and covered so it could turn into a regular desk. (Why don't they make custom tables anymore?!) She sold it for something ridiculous like $20 in the early days of ebay and now I'm regretting not having the forethought to ask her for it.

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    1. I want one of those drop-in tables! How awesome! When I think of all the things that have slipped through my fingers because I didn't know how fab they'd be for me one day...

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  3. Vintage machines are the greatest. In my experience they're always more durable and much prettier which makes me prefer them.

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    1. I'm seriously considering getting an industrial machine with a cabinet. I want an old Juki. But I'm not quite ready to make that kind of investment. And I don't yet know if I'm ready to determine what kind of machine will do the trick for the long haul.

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  4. Wow you mean you've had this all along and never used it??? Well done for trying it out. It looks great. I was going to try a button on my pencil skirt but I'm not sure now. I should get some practice in because I've bought the Beignet for heavens sake!

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    1. Oh man, that is the ne plus ultra of button garments. I look at that skirt and freak out!

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  5. That machine is as old as Mr.OM!—I mean Dave!

    It's a beaut. Enjoy it, it'll run another 53 years!

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    1. I know people who refuse to admit that they're of the same age as the Green Genie. :-)

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  6. I love my vintage machine, especially for making jeans, those things don't let denim push them around like my wimpy brother does!

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    1. It's so true. I may never go back to my other machine for denim.

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  7. I'm intimidated by my vintage Singer 301, so I can kind of relate to this. But then, I'm always intimidated by an unfamiliar machine, so I should follow your example and just start using the darn thing. Hope you get to feeling better soon, and can't wait to see what sort of pretties you whip up using it. :-)

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    1. I think it's the only way to go about it. If you think too much, it'll just sit there gathering dust.

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  8. I have my Mother's Singer 401 set up in the guest room, in its custom built cabinet, specifically for the purpose of doing buttonholes on it with the Singer version of your buttonhole attachment. It makes the BEST buttonholes.

    Lois K

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  9. 25" waist... OMG.
    nice buttonholes babe!
    I hate making them so I tend to use large sew on snaps instead! I like the way they look too.

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    1. Thanks! That gizmo is awesome. And do you have a snap setter? I like to sew on snaps but also to use long prong snaps that you hammer together sandwiching fabric in between, using this tool. (Sounds more violent than it is). It's like the home-version of an industrial snap machine.

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  10. The 33 lb portable sewing machine reminds me of how computers used to take up a whole wall....

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    1. That is TOTALLY what it's like! I can't even move this thing from one side of the room to another without pulling something!

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  11. That is wonderful that your mother in law gave you such a beautiful machine!

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  12. Great machine, and I'm glad you got over your buttonholer fear. They really do work so well, and that machine is a tough one. On a recent project I used my singer buttonholer to bang out 10 buttonholes in about 10 minutes! It makes them rather painless :) I have a 185k, and mine came from the thrift store. Like most other Singers from the 60s or earlier that I have encountered, all it needed was a cleaning and oiling, and it runs great. With their narrow feed dogs they do great edge and topstitching.

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    1. Hi AJA: Just went over to your blog and I read posts with the tag "Singer". I don't think we have the same machine (though they are totally similar). Isn't yours the 338? (Maybe you have this and the 185?) Is yours more blue than green?

      The 338 is the more modern sister to mine, from the mid 60s. Production on the 185 stopped in 1963, I believe. Then the 338 came around. The 338 should do a variety of stitches, including embroidery. Mine is simply a straight stitch machine. I actually love the modernity of the 338 - moreso than the 185. I wonder how similarly those two machines sew...

      Anyway, I'd love to know if you actually have them both and how you find them different.

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    2. I had them both- I sold the 338. I am a bit of a sewing machine hoarder, although I am getting better about passing them on after I've played with them a bit. I had the 338 for a year; it is a beautiful machine, and the embroidery stitches are lovely, but it uses cams, which are a bit of a pain, and the big thing that allowed me to pass it along was the lack of free arm.

      I have a 60s/70s Kenmore that I use daily that is nowhere near as pretty, but has all of the features I need to use regularly. A big plus is that the feed dogs drop for my buttonholer (no plates to screw on!).

      But, back to the Singers. The main thing I love about the 185 is those narrow feed dogs allow for way more control on the edge of a piece of fabric than a zig zag will. Even if your zig zagger has a straight stitch throat plat, the feed dogs are still spread apart and won't grab little narrow edges that well. It's a "do one thing and do it well" sort of straight stitcher.

      I also have a Singer 66 and a white 221 featherweight. The featherweight performs similarly to the 185, but with less power. Though on the plus side, it only weighs 11 lbs :) Can't believe I never posted on the 185 at all- probably my machine hoarding shame :)

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    3. Wow - you are a bit of a hoarder! :-) I would love to see a post on the 185. I really do think it's an undervalued machine (maybe you agree). I have relatively limited exposure to machines. Mostly, I know from what I've read (which is not a good way to know anything about sewing machines). I'm also amazed that, on eBay and Etsy, you see ones that are selling for 400 bucks and others selling for 70 bucks and they all seem to be in about the same shape. Isn't that odd? You think everyone would be looking at what the others are selling for to determine value.

      Do you think these are rare machines? Easy to come by? (Seemingly so) Popular (not so much written about them compared with other vintage machines)?

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  13. I think you are right about them being undervalued, and I think that's true for well made older machines in general. Some people think "I can just go to Wal Mart and buy a brand new one for $100." That's fine with me, because I have purchased a several very nice machines for very little. I have a vintage Kenmore that does everything that I paid $15 bucks for. The only reason I have the 185 (I didn't need another machine :) ) is it had been marked down to $8 at Goodwill, and that's pretty cheap for a few hours entertainment for me.

    As far as pricing goes, people know as much about machines as they do about sewing- I'm sure you know a lot of people who are in awe of the fact that you can sew a straight line. Some people think that if a machine is old, it must be worth a million dollars, and others think, well, someone could just go to Wal Mart and buy a brand new one......

    All in all, I have 4 machines and a serger, but that's only because I live in a very small house. If I could fit more, or should I say when I can fit more I will! Many of them were project machines, and I have learned a lot about machines by fiddling with the ones I pick up cheap at the thrift (am I trying to justify?) But really, I think the best way to get really comfortable with machines is buying "junkers" no one else wants and cleaning and playing with them. I stay with the older ones, as they are generally more straight forward and there is a ton of info online.

    I am not an expert by any stretch, but I would say that there aren't too many Singers that are truly rare. Most were shipped out in batches of tens of thousands. I have seen many 185s on eBay, and a few in thrift and antique shops. Still, mine needs a new light mount and so far it hasn't been as easy as finding any part for a featherweight.

    My 185 is blemished too, and I've thought about stripping and repainting it some wacky color. Sooooo many project ideas, soooo little time!

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    1. Honey - there' is not enough time in the world to have a farm, a baby, a blog, a commitment to sew AND to repaint a vintage sewing machine! :-)

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  14. you're making me want to give my 221's zigzag attachment another try. I love my vintage machines, but my 221 is my only straight stitch, and when that thing moves the fabric back and forth like it's having a seizure I want to run for the hills. so, you say moving the fabric rather than the needle is better?

    I just realized this might be my first comment here. um, hiya.

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    1. Ms. Balloona: So happy you have left this comment - perhaps I should go crazy and leave a comment on your blog, which I also read :-) I really would not have believed that moving the fabric is the way to go - and what do I know - I've used 2 machines total. But I can say that the fabric moving machine does the end result SO MUCH better that it has to be part of the reason, yes? (That's scientific.)

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  15. Whoa! This is so cool! I'm having serious sewing machine envy over here! And it's so cool that this belonged to your MIL (oh, and her measurements?!?! Holy cow!).

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