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Lelan

Customized Sewing Stations/ Sewing Rooms

I am almost finished with a retro-fitting project on an old sewing table that I couldn't find a machine machine for. It is very sturdy with plenty of drawer space, and the kind of work station geography that invites customization. Into this work station, I have dropped a 1927 Singer 99 (manufactured April 23rd, 1927 - in a few days, I will have a 99 that is 99 years old) which has been equipped with a hand crank. I don't have many photos of it yet (because it isn't finished) but I can share a couple pictures of some of my favorite details.

Anyway, what kind of DIY long-term renovations have you made to a space or a workstation for no reason other than your own sheer enjoyment of it?

· 6 days ago
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SewHayleyJane's avatar
SewHayleyJane Admin

This sounds amazing!! Excited to see more as it develops.

I’m not much of a renovator myself, I tried to upcycle a desk once and am ashamed to say it never got finished!

· 6 days ago
Lelan's avatar
Lelan

But - you can say you took it on while unsure of the outcome. More than most can say. Thank you for the compliment and the encouragement, Hayley.

· 6 days ago
SewHayleyJane's avatar
SewHayleyJane Admin

That is definitely one way of looking at it! Sadly it ended up in the household recycling centre but the enthusiasm was definitely there at the beginning.

· 5 days ago
Lelan's avatar
Lelan

Here are some more photos. I wanted to really make the most of the acknowledgment of the extent to which rationing schemes and Make Do and Mend mentality really shaped both American and British household economics from 1939 all the way into the 50s. The work station itself is finally settled in its permanent place of duty alongside the display of my private collection of 100+ year-old sewing machines, to turn what was once whatever was left of a linear wall space in a space that is both cozy and open. Please enjoy, and feel free to ask any questions you might have. (By the way, yes, the official "Make Do and Mend" booklet from the UK and its American counterpart, "Make and Mend", are both 100% complete and authenticate, and I think they capture the era I am paying homage to and the intent of the work space perfectly well.)

· 5 days ago
SewHayleyJane's avatar
SewHayleyJane Admin

This is fantastic, it's like your own private museum! Is that a teeny tiny sewing machine on the desk?! Where do you find them all?

· 5 days ago
Lelan's avatar
Lelan

Excellent eye! Yes, that is a 1926 Singer model 20. It is not a toy but a simple, direct-drive chain stitch machine meant for children to learn and sew with until they grew up, went to college, and found their ways into homes of their own with full size machines to use. Singer made it very clear that these were very real machines intended for very precise hemming and similar 2-dimensional sewing projects.

And yes - it is very much like my own personal museum... and I am exceedingly grateful to have it as such.

Admittedly, I find most of the machines online through Etsy and online auction sites. Most of the ones I find and bring in have finishes that are too far gone for the "purists", but those are exactly the machines I want to find and preserve - the faithful and steadfast workhorses that bear the scars of their age, service, and misuse and yet still carry right along, happy for the chance to be brought out of squalor.

· 5 days ago
AnnieRose's avatar
AnnieRose

These are amazing and lovely. I had a 1950s miniature machine to learn on (long since passed on to others) before I had the use of my mother's.

· 5 days ago
SewingandDoggos's avatar
SewingandDoggos Plus Member

! A fellow restorer and collector in the wild!

My workaday machine is the Singer 201k aluminium in a short bottom of the range cabinet, but also I have…every single variant of the 66k in both full and 3/4 size ranging from the first 66k with the lotus decal to the 275 which is exactly as horrible as everyone says it is. Kept as hand crank if the cranks have decal but I swap out motors for a brand new YDK motor as default

My machines are not mint mint but close enough and all bought for under £30, I do preservation on the japanning rather than full paint jobs using warhammer nerd paint in black which is the same colour as singer black to prevent any chips from getting worse. I have absolutely not used a nail gun at any point to fix any bases, oh no not me.

Did you know the singer 201k’s full rotary hook is a perfect match for maraflex without having to touch the tension? Just me French seaming knit t-shirts on a straight stitch machine while cackling wildly.

· 11 hours ago

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