I went to my Bee last night and my friend Faye asked is I wanted an old sewing machine (well, YEAH). She wasn’t sure what it was. We went up stairs and opened the case. I saw right away that it was a Singer. Not only a Singer, but a 1955 Singer Model 99K. I sewed on that model for over 20 years before succumbing to computerized sewing. Research says it was made in Clydebank, Scotland, but the machine shows Made in Canada. I brought her home last night, and this morning I oiled and cleaned her, got her all adjusted. She sews beautifully!
I know I’m repeating myself, but below is the rest of my Vintage Sewing Machine Obsession:
1924 Singer Hand-crank
1939 Singer 221 Featherweight
1953 Singer 301a Slant Needle. This machine reminds of a locomotive.
1953 Singer 15-91. This machine has really beautiful stitches, perhaps because the tension is on the front plate and offers a straight line from the thread spool to the needle.
1958 Singer 404 Slant Needle
1961 Singer 503a. I need to play with this machine, it has many cams for decorative stitches.
1969 Singer 237 Fashion Mate. I learned to sew on a machine like this in high school.
Davis New Victory Treadle
Davis Vertical Feed Treadle
Free Westinghouse class 15. I bought this because it has Statue of Liberty decals on it! I call her Libby.
Below is my Idle Hour, another class 15. I absolutely love the colors of this machine. This is the heaviest machine I own, sews great. It reminds me of Vintage Buick!
If These Threads Could Talk 
I have a 1969 Fashion Mate that I received that year as a present for my 19th birthday 🙂 I can’t seem to find bobbins that fit the machine. All the ones I buy in the store have the holes in the wrong place! Please guide me to where I can get bobbins that work. I have ONE right now! Can’t lose it! Thank you so much!
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I always go to http://www.sewingpartsonline.com to find bobbins.
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I have the 1969 Fashion Mate in your photo! Please tell me the best place to get bobbins. All the ones I buy in the stores don’t have the holes in the right place. Thank you so much!
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I go to http://www.sewingpartsonline.com to get bobbins
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I just got my hands on a Beautiful Blue Idle Hour 770 and cant find ANYTHING about it! This listing is the Only thing I found online that says anything at all! Do you have any info on yours? Help! I will be taking it in to a local repair shop for a tune up and hopefully a tutorial…while I search for a manual . Thanks!
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I wish I could help. I bought mine on EBay just because it was pink. I know they were made in Japan, but that is all. I have no manual either.
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You have a beautiful collection of machines! Thank you for posting the photos; I really enjoyed looking at them! I am completely obsessed; I am a quilter and I only have two machines–a SInger Featherweight and a Husqvarna Viking from the late 60s or early 70s, but I love them and am totally uninterested in a modern plastic computer sewing machine….Regarding the Idle Hour and the Free Westinghouse: I wonder if those are just brand names applied to a single manufacturer? They both look very much alike and very similar to the Visetti and Brother machines on this page: http://www.sewingmachinesteve.com/Pages/GalleryofFavorites.aspx
According to this man’s website, many many machines were made in Japan, often by Toyota, after the war and branded as Brother, Morse, and many many other brands or department stores. (Universal, De Luxe, Nelco…)
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I love sewing machine Steve’s page. I’m sure it is a Japanese clone. They are good machines. I recently was given a clone of a Singer 15 -91. It is a beauty. Are you part of the group “Vintage Sewing Machines” on Facebook? It is a world wide group that loves Vintage sewing machines.
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I have an old buttonholed attachment with the box and instructional booklet for a singer 301 in amazing condition. As well as the original box of sewing machine attachments for a singer 404. Including bobbin box. I can send pics if interested thx melissa
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Thanks, but I have those attachments.
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I was wondering if you had a manual for the Free Westinghouse machine. I have the exact machine, purchased at a resale shop for $10. It runs but I can’t figure out how to thread it. I did thread it and it sewed fine, but I could see thread flopping around as I sewed so I think something’s not right.
If you have a manual I’d pay for a copy! BARB
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I’m sorry I don’t hVe a manual.
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I have a Davis Vertical Feed just like the one pictured. It was my grandmother’s. What can you tell me about the machine? My uncle had it sitting in his shed for years before I got it. It has a little rusting and needs a good cleaning. Any advice on restoring it would be greatly appreciated! I’m so in love with this machine and I want to bring it back to life! Thanks!
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Hi Cindy, I’ve had my Davis Vertical Fed for 35 years. I’m not an expert on restoring vintage sewing machines, I mostly fly by the seat of my pants. I get advice from a group on Facebook. The group is called Vintage Sewing Machines.
It is a great group to join. From them I learned to use an automobile polish called TR3. I bought it on Amazon. It really shined up a dirty sewing machine without hurting the decals. I may have the manual for that machine, email me at sewjackie@live.com and I will send it to you.
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A beautiful collection!
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Thank you so much!
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Love your collection of sewing machine. I have a babylock & 1953 Featherweight.
I was wondering what is the first featherweight with a zagzig stich.?
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Well, the featherweight was always a straight stitch although they did have zig zag attachments. If I’m correct the zig zag stitch was introduced when they started to use cams when they came out with the Rocketeer. I’m not sure when the first Rocketeer came out, sometime in the late 50’s . My Rocketeer the 503a was made in 1961.
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I have a really beautiful vintage machine. There’s something about the styling the the sheer machinery of them that I love! What a great collection! I also think of them like vintage cars…
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I agree. A machine can sit for years without being touched and then a little oil and love and they are off and running again. I Am a sewing machine addict!
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