Why Vintage Sewing Machines?

My mom sewed.  My Nana sewed.  I took sewing in Home Ec classes in school. Every department store and Five & Dime store had a fabric department.  During those years sturdy, well-built, easy to use sewing machines were the norm for home seamstresses.  These machines were used for making everything from jeans, draperies, wedding dresses and bathing suits.

"Sewing patterns" by AForestFrolic - http://www.flickr.com/photos/stampinmom/4842730898/. Licensed under CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons - http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sewing_patterns.jpg#/media/File:Sewing_patterns.jpg

Time has passed, life has changed.  Fabric stores have closed, sewing machine companies were sold.  Most towns now only have a chain store for fabric, or a small selection of quilting cotton in a craft store. Sewing machines are either cheap plastic wonders from a big box store, or expensive computerized marvels.

All of those sturdy machines end up at garage sales and thrift stores - mostly being sold by folks who don't know how to sew.  Often for a low cost and some oil and elbow grease you can end up with a great workhorse sewing machine.  I can't rescue all of the machines out there, but I have brought home a few. I keep telling my sewing machine stories over and over in forums and when I meet folks, so I decided to start this blog and share some of my rescues with you.

I don't want to reinvent the wheel when it comes to resources out there, so here is a classic blog post on how to buy a vintage machine:

  http://malepatternboldness.blogspot.com/2010/11/how-to-buy-vintage-sewing-machine.html

And a few more thoughts from this blogger:

https://scheong.wordpress.com/2013/12/15/buying-a-vintage-sewing-machine-what-you-need-to-know/

And because buying vintage sewing machines can quickly rise to the level of having a little bit of a problem, here is some good advice on moderation:

http://www.briansews.com/2009/07/vintage-sewing-machine-addiction.html