My Old Singer Resurrection Project

The Drop Off
Today has been a very exciting day.  The weather was great, the air clean and crisp, the wind was friendly and everything went as planned.
And to top it all, my wonderful parents came by and dropped my old Singer sewing machine at my house!

Original Singer Model 1288

O my gosh, it sure brought back a lot of memories - all 20 years of it! No, don't take me wrong.  That '20 years' label is very, very misguiding.  You must have thought that I'm a sewing goddess by now, all wise and knowing.
To tell you honestly, I used the machine only twice. Pffft! Yes, I know - a stupid waste. I wasted 20 years of my life not learning how to use a sewing machine properly ... so what did I do whenever there were torn clothes, pants needed shortening, etc, you might ask?  I 'outsourced' it.  My bad.

(I should be taking sewing lessons from these guys!) 

So, is it too late for me? Yeeaaa .. naah, I don't think so. As now I'm a stay at home mom, I have all the time in the world to start over.  Yea, that's the spirit!

The Machine
It had been 2 decades since the last time I used it, so had no any idea what to expect.  I went ahead and opened the cabinet top. Only minor disrepairs from lack of use, but what do I know? Then I lifted the heavy machine up and propped it on top of the 'table'.

Oof, the sudden musty smell and collected dust attacked my senses, not pleasant at all.  I spent a good half an hour sneezing like mad - but it was a small price to pay.  So there it was, fully opened. I had totally forgotten how it looked like.

Not too bad (I think).  This was the inside view - a nightmare!

Inside view.

I found the pedal still encased in its original plastic wraps, but the treadle cable was broken.  It was great that the spareparts box was still intact and all the stitch pattern discs complete.

I think everything is there (I hope)

Stitch pattern discs? LOL! Yes, there are 18 discs. Each has its own function: Basic ZigZag, Multi-Stitch Zig-Zag, Domino Stitch, Banner Stitch, Key Stitch, Walls of Troy Stitch, Solid Diamond Stitch, Pennant Stitch, Ball Stitch, Curved Mending Stitch, Spiny Stitch, Block Stitch, Faggoting (Feather Stitch), Elastic Stretch Stitch, Blind Stitch, Crescent Stitch and the last one, Solid Scallop Stitch Discs.  Just place one disc of your choice pattern in the disc holder and there you go.

A pattern disc and the disc holder underneath.

A Hidden Treasure

It was when I rummaged the cabinet that I had actually found another treasure waiting to be discovered.

I found an old needle book beautifully illustrated boasting rust proof, nickel plated, 60 assorted silver eye needles and threader inside!  Wow, that was a mouthful. Not all the needles were there and the threader was missing, though. But heck, it was still a wonderful find anyway. 

You can see its earlier versions from 'See Saw' a blog by Liza Cowan.

Cover view

Inside view

Satisfied with my findings, I quickly made an appointment with a Singer serviceman to have a house visit tomorrow afternoon.  After giving him ample warnings of what to expect, of course.  :)

Stay tuned.