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Ever heard of a Jewel SM?

Well, I just bought one at a thrift shop for $20. It's a "portable" with a cute little carrying case, even though it weighs a ton. Solid metal, motor on the back, beautiful -- gleaming silver and deep aqua blue. It purrs like a kitten and sews beautifully. Only problem is, I can't make it sew anything but a zig-zag machine. I've had ownership for about 30 minutes, so I'm not out of the game yet, LOL. I can't find any reference to a Jewel SM online. I did find one small reference in passing to a Jewel treadle, but..... this is definitely not treadle. It looks like new except for a couple of black marks that look like maybe somebody's grandbaby got hold of a Sharpie. It has a medallion that looks like a coat of arms with M on top left and W on bottom right. Montgomery Ward? I'll post a photo on my flickr.com site later tonight. I could not go off and leave this machine. Now, I'm not given to collecting machines. But this is the prettiest thing I've ever seen. And so clean. This was somebody's baby. Or maybe she didn't ever use it much. Tough to say. It's got several bobbins and that's all the "extras." A good friend is coming over in an hour and we're going to figure out how to run it. If anybody has any information about Jewel SMs please post.

Sunny

Reply to
Sunny
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Will a threading diagram help?

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Wards sold machines under other names over the decades; Brunswick and Damascus for example. Many of them were made by the National Sewing Machine Company in IL until they were taken over by New Home around

1953. Yours looks Japanese, probably from the mid-to-late 1950s, when a lot of machines had chrome and some even had fins.

They often have a number in the casting underneath, like JA-1 for Brother or JC-3, Janome. Does your machine have a number cast into it? It's sure a beauty! I'll bet the original owner got it as a gift and didn't like sewing at all.

Maria in NE PA

Reply to
Maria O

Marie, thank you so much! I've ordered the manual and can't wait for it to arrive. This is just the most fun experience.

Sunny

Reply to
Sunny

Sunny: Many years ago, before the earth cooled, a friend and I were interested in buying new SM. So, we checked out some 'special' offer advertized as a zig-zag machine. Found out the SM did not have a straight stitch. It ONLY did zig-zag! Maybe that is same with your new Jewel. She sounds pretty though. :)

PAT in VA/USA

Reply to
Pat in Virginia

If the zig-zag width can be set to zero, you so have a straight stitch. If I recall correctly, that's how I set my old Elna Supermatic to do a straight stitch.

Julia > Sunny: Many years ago, before the earth cooled, a friend and I were

Reply to
Julia in MN

I found the straight stitch. It's quite nice. Most importantly, this little beast is just made for free motion embroidery. Wowsers is it nice. I couldn't manage to choke it up or break a thread once.

I don't usually get sentimental about things. But I find I'm really attached already to this machine. And I -- who has never ever named any inanimate object other than a car some years ago that became the Brown Bomber -- can't help myself from calling her Jewel.

See? I'm calling it "her" without even thinking. Oh well, she's beautiful and I'm happy. Works well.

Sunny

Reply to
Sunny

Well, sure, but I wanted to point out that some SM are zig-zag specific. Not everyone would know this.

I'd be wary about assuming one could get a good straight stitch on one of those just by setting to zero width. Worked okay with your old Elna, but then those were nice SM. So, I'd be sure to test it out before making a commitment. PAT in VA/USA

Reply to
Pat in Virginia

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