Yup, I'm go'n sew'n on this 26 coupe. So far sew good.. Door panels..
One down, one to go...
Very cool. I like it.
Nice!
Get'n somewhere???
Looks very very good.
Sew, you are a man of many talent's. Looks great Don.
Nice!
Aha, the manly art of sewing!
Next thing you'll want to make yourself a duster and leather gloves.
My great Uncle Bill's tailor shop Portland Oregon circa 1917
My Great Uncle Bill is seated at desk, no clue on the guy sewing.
There can be a lot of satisfaction in sewing. Mom let me try out the machine at an early age and it has served me well in the old car hobby.
Lots of terrific photos here.
Rich
Great work! Is that an industrial sewing machine?
I actually find it challenging. For instance, trying to figure out how much extra material you need to end up with a snug fit. And I'm still trying to figure it out.
Dave, no its just a cheapie Singer that my Mom had. It does seem to do the job. I learned the thread has everything to do with how well it works.
My Grandfather Julius Schmidt made dresses for Mom and her two sisters when they were young. He was a master tool and die man. Nice work, Don!
Nice work! I've always wanted to try an interior... Haven't had a chance to do one yet.
One a side note I used to live in Bay City (south end) but moved over to Saginaw a few years ago.
I just bought a complete and working 1947 Singer 15-91 sewing machine at a garage sale today for $25.00! Now I need to learn how to use it.
I've got 26 sewing machines, the oldest from 1869. How many you need?
Question is William ...how many do YOU need?
According to my wife...-26
Don, are you making the seat upholstery also?
Jim I am. But, my machine isn't big enough to do pleats. So, the owner says covers are just fine. I wasn't going to post a picture but it is better than what was on the car..
Very nice job Don. I wish I were as talented as you.
Don,
I sent you a private message. I hope you received it.
William, check your email ...
Mr Seth, notice I always have very crappie pictures...there's a reason.
William, I sent a email response to your Hotmail acct address...
Don, I think my email must have eaten it. I can't find it anywhere. LOL
I will pm you and see if that works..
ok
Yes, that worked. Thank you much. Once I figure out what all is there I will follow up.
Let's have some fun William !!
If you are looking for a machine that will sew virtually any material and never miss a stitch, look for the Singer slant needle machines from the 50's and 60's I used a 501 for years, then upgraded to a 401. It has a few more features and the motor was still very powerful. After years of use the motors tend to lose speed but there are machines around with good motors.
The slant needle makes it easy to see where you are stitching, the twin needle/dual seam feature makes it easy to make felled seams and the decorator disks make it very easy to do zig zag stitching for extra strength and of course, also make little designs.
I paid $400 for my 501 with a top grade cabinet, after years of doing upholstery with it, I found a 401 at an auction that looked virtually unused but had a cheap cabinet with it. Paid $25 for it at and auction and it is a better machine than my 501 was. They are around, USA made and will last forever with a little light oiling and care.
These are the seats Savanna and I made for her 1948 CJ2A. Her mom doesn't sew so this was all new to her. This is the 501. Material is marine Cordura.
Stan thanks so much for the information. This was my first stab at doing the interior from scratch and also my first stab at figuring out a sewing machine. Its nice to have someone with knowledge of this to comment and suggest. I was looking at different machines on Craigslist and the cost range is wild. You just gave me direction and hope of making a good choice. Thank you !!
You could always get a 201-2, the "Rolls Royce of Singers". Potted, gear driven motor. Rolls used them to sew auto interiors.
That's what i'm talkin about... Will, I wouldn't know a Rolls Royce from a Hugo. This is what makes this forum so important.
OT, here is a picture of my $25.00 1947 Singer 15-91.
Sewing machines are like carburetors, until you've run a good one you don't know how bad your old one was. OF - NH. 01 series Singers - Chinese portables.
So Mark, does it still sew ok? And how do you tell if a machine is worn out? Thx..
My personal favorite over years has been to have a machine with zig zag feature and I like the disks for decoration. It's just fun to put some of that on seats. I've done several Willy's pickup seats, speedster seats, motorcycles, etc. More important than that, tho, IMHO is a machine that you can add a walking foot which makes it easier to sew several thicknesses of heavier material.
Having a BIG table for layout with the machine set into the table makes it so much easier to keep seams straight and corners round.
Go to a fabric store and buy a big layout board, a roller cutter - which looks like a pizza cutter - and some various sizes of needles. Singer slant needle machines have the hole in the needle from front to back which makes it far easier to thread and see the thread feeding. You can also use the dual needle feature which sews two seams side by side at even distance which is very hard to do on a single needle machine.
Pressure on the foot is critical. Thread size is critical. Bobbin tension is critical.
But overall it's pretty fun.
Somewhere I have some pictures of my Willys pickup seats with my brands inlaid in them.
Took up a couple long winter days years ago.
Don, I was told by the seller that it worked, it was her grandmother's and she hardly ever used it, so I doubt that it is worn out.
I know nothing about how to operate it yet, but I plan to learn. It was an impulse buy at the time because it was a screaming deal and I thought it looked neat. Plus, the lady made her son deliver it to my house, no extra charge!
When I installed the top and side curtains on Betsy, I made some modifications that left a few open edges. I wish at that time I had a sewing machine to close them up. As it was, I just stapled the edges. It works fine, but would have looked better sewn.
Dang Stan I could use some sewing lessons. I agree, I found it to be quite a challenge but pretty dog gone fun. I did find out one thing...you don't use a card table for the sewing machine. That causes a bounce that is only comparable to dribbling a basketball like that Harlem Globe Trotter guy use to do..
Here's a few of mine.... the Singer Model 12 is from 1869. The sewing machine in the rear seat of the car is a Singer Model 27 made in 1912. I had to disassemble it to transport it.
15-91
101-2
201-2 "The Rolls"
66 "Redeye"
Here's a Domestic from the mid to late 1880s
Started with this:
Ended with this. It took me a year to find a set of matching drawers.
Way cool!! I wonder when the first commercially available sewing machine was made? Had to be mid 1800's because by the 1880's they seem to have been pretty available.
I also have a Singer Featherweight. I had a White portable for a long time but never could get it to sew like a Singer. Years ago when my mother died she left me $800 to pay me back for some things I had done years before that I wouldn't take any money for. I decided to buy my only sister a Featherweight because I knew if I gave her money she would spend it on the kids instead of herself. I found her a pristine one that had hardly been used. She is a quilter and for years took it to the quilting meets. I found a nice one a few years ago that a lady was selling to buy Christmas presents for her granddaughter. It is nice but not as nice as the one I got for my sister.
When you are working on upholstery, it is nice to have at least one other machine set up nearby so you don't have to reset your machine to do some basting or tack a seam. I use the Featherweight for that. A friend that does a lot of upholstery has three or four set up all the time in addition to his main one. Guess he uses all of them all the time when he's doing an interior.
Hard to believe some new machines cost almost $20,000. Friend bought his wife one for Christmas last year that was over $18,000.
Elias Howe received the patent for the first lockstitch machine in the US in 1846.
Isaac Singer actually stole the idea from him. There were machines sold to the mass market as early as the Civil War but they really took off around 1870
WOW !! I had no idea this thread would open up to this.. Very impressive Stan and William. Also very interesting to read. It's a very neat history lesson. Thx !!
Stan,
The singer slant needle that threads from the front that you spoke of must be a singer 253 chain stitch. A chain stitch machine uses a looper and will ravel out a lock stitch machine uses a hook and a bobbin and will not ravel out..
Years ago the most popular machine for upholstery was the consew model 226 which is a walking foot machine. You would also want a binding or piping folder.
Chain stitches won’t unravel if you end the thread like the manual tells you to. I have a Willcox & Gibbs chain stitch. Sews excellent but you must finish the thread like the instructions call for
From the instruction book: Raise the needle to its highest point by turning the handwheel toward you. Loosen the needle clamp screw. Insert the needle upward into clamp as far as it will go with the flat side of the needle to the back and the LONG GROOVE TOWARD YOU. Tighten needle clamp screw.
This puts the needle in position for the thread to be inserted from front to back.
Here is a link to the 401 instruction manual PDF.
file:///C:/Users/Stan%20Howe/Downloads/singer-401-slant-o-matic-sewing-machine.p df
Will,
I was just explaining a couple of different stitch types.
A 301 lockstitch is the most common type of stitch. It looks the same on the top as on the bottom. It also uses a bobbin inserted into the hook which has to be changed when it runs out. If a mistake is made in sewing, the stitch has to be ripped out.
A 401 chainstitch sews a flatter seam with less pucker than a lockstitch. This type of stitch looks like a lockstitch on the top but yet it has a chain on the bottom. It utilizes a looper for the bottom thread which is more productive because you do not have to change a bobbin. We use this stitch type to sew inseams and outseams on dress pants because it makes a flatter seam. If you make a mistake this stitch will ravel out but you have to know how to do it.
There are many different stitch types but these two are the most common.
Robbie,
I have both types. All of my machines are lockstitch except the Willcox & Gibbs, which is chain.
Is your Wilcox and Gibbs machine a serger? Most W&G machines I have seen were a 5 thread safety stitch machine. Two threads sew the chainstitch and three threads do the serge. You can unthread the serger needle and loopers and use the chainstitch only. You will be limited on your seam margin but it works very well.
Mine is not an industrial one. A chainstitch machine. It's currently bolted to a treadle drop-leaf table.
Nice!
Forgive me, but just what is a "serger" ? I see them on Craigslist all the time. It looks like they have 5 or 6 different rolls of thread. So what is a serger used for?
Sewing
There main use is to "serge ahead" with your sewing projects I think Don! Nice job on that interior,hope to stop by and see your progress...JD
A serger uses 3, 4, or 5 threads to sew a seam, trim off the raw edges, and finish the edges all at the same time. ... When you are sewing with woven (non-stretchy fabrics), a serger is helpful because it will finish the raw edges and prevent fraying.
A serger does not take the place of a regular sewing machine.
Denny....thanks a lot ~~!!
Jim, please ~~!!
William, thanks for the education. Never to old I guess.
We don't use our Bartlett any more.
WOW !! That's a cool machine. They knew how to design class !! Thx for sharing Richard...
I should add that it is good storage for odds and ends.
Looks nice..
I have a Singer 211 G 156 walking foot machine that I've used for decades to sew everything from car seats to Theatre curtains and pew covers. The latest use was the flex boot from the organ blower to the wind line. Oh wait, one of the volunteers used it to make new velvet rope covers since then.
I have a Brother with a walking foot. Dave, did U ever get over to Colusa to see my cousin's train set up?
Hal,
Sad to say, I haven't yet! too much time working on the theatre Pipe organ.
Thursday at Hershey was a rain out for us and Renee and I generally then go to Adamstown or other towns nearby to shop for antiques. Funny the things you find yourself buying. We don't collect sewing machines but found this very nice condition Singer 128 for not much money and decided it would look nice in our house. Amazed to find a thread with sewing machines in it (pun intended). It runs really nice and smooth and someone has taken really good care of it.
Wow, beautiful!
Update - I oiled and threaded my garage sale Singer 1947 15-91 and tried sewing with it - it sewed well for about a foot, then the motor bogged down.
I'm going to take it to the local sewing machine repair shop to let them look it over.
All the local repair shop will do is tell you to throw it away and try to sell you a new one
Well William, you were right, the repair guy didn't want to have anything to do with it.
He did plug it in and run it long enough to decide that the mechanism is good, but the potted motor is going bad and that he can't get new ones.
So, I'm going to try and fix it myself. I saw online that the main failure mode of these motors is worn out brushes, so I'll try replacing the brushes first. While I'm at it, I'll also replace all the old cracked wiring and grommets to make the thing electrically safer.
Wish me luck!
Update - My 1947 Singer 15-91 is fixed, I fixed it myself.
Turns out the motor brushes and commutator were caked up with oil and carbon dust, so I disassembled it, cleaned everything up, and replaced the rotten wiring with new.
The machine started running better immediately and is running faster and faster as the mechanism frees up with the fresh oiling.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9q2vkUhl1qA
Too cool Mark, don't ya just love a successful do-it- yourself !!
So now, in addition to your many other credentials, you're a master sewing machine repairman. Good goin', Mark.
Great job Mark! Most anything with an electric motor just needs a little oiling and cleaning it seems, but most folks would just say it's broke, or it doesn't work...Kinda like the T's we all love so much. JD
Here is a picture of my early sewing machine.