oh, and in case you don't have too many sewing machines

I recently saw an ancient Necchi in a local Thrift Store - up in the silent auction at $ 20. .. awful wooden case falling apart ; ... It too was a hand-crank model - I tried to see an aux. pulley of some sort - for treadle power - nothing. ... did people actually sew using hand crank ? It seems unlikely to me - I must be missing something. My other thought was it might be a specialty machine ? leather work ... but didn't seem quite that heavy. Dunno. I almost put a bid in just for interest sake .. ... clean it up and have a nice boat anchor. John T.

My 1897 Singer hand crank machine is a dream to use, especially in bad weather, and the power is off for hours-think hurricane. It has, as we used to call them, long bobbin. I found it in a antique shop while driving through TN with my brother, traveling from Baltimore to New Orleans.

A very bad storm came up and we stopped overnight in this small town in E TN; the next morning, we saw this antique mall across the street, and since both of us are antique buffs, we had to check it out. I found the machine and he found an old churn, with a magnolia painted on the side. He loved it, magnolia is the state of MS & LA. He took it back to the rectory to use as an umbrella stand. Since his death, my sister has it.

The sewing machine is heavy, but it lives in my bedroom, on a heavy table. If I wake up during the night, I can sew without disturbing my DS.

Emily

Hand crank machines are great for precision work, where you want to take it slow and see where each and every stitch goes. They're much more common in the U.K. than in the U.S., due to space constraints, we think. Treadle cabinets take a lot more room than a sewing machine head with a hand crank, the machine can be stored in a closet or handy corner, then put on a table when used. Both have their uses.

A 20-year-old plastic-fantastic sewing machine is not likely to work very well, if at all, but a 100-year-old all-metal, straight-stitch hand crank or treadled machine will stitch well, and continue to do so for the next 100 or 200 years, easy.

Yes, indeed. My husband's first suit was made by an Indian tailor in Trinidad, who sat on the shop floor with a handcrank machine. Mid 1960s.

----- Original Message ----- From: Newsgroups: alt.sewing Sent: Monday, April 11, 2011 4:42 PM Subject: Re: oh, and in case you don't have too many sewing machines

People not only did sew on a handcrank, they still do. Remember that was the first portable machine. It was sooo much easier to move around compared to a treadle. It also took up a lot less room. So it could be used almost anywhere. A lot of folks on the Treadle On email list use handcrank machines too.

Sharon

I don't know anything about using a hand crank machine, but HOW could you sit like that????

Ouch, that makes my right wrist, shoulder and elbow hurt just watching!

The hand-crank machine I have was the first one that could be converted to a treadle. And I recently found out that it is the same model as my DGM's; no wonder I liked it so much on first sight. I didn't recognize it, since it's been so many years since I'd seen hers, which was a treadle.

Emily