Singer 401A

I have adopted a lot of sewing machines over the years. It was always fun to see if they worked, then clean and oil them, and make them purr. Most of them have left me to live with other families. I try to leave them when I see them now, but it is still hard, when I find a good deal on an old classic workhorse, to talk myself  into leaving it. I did leave a 401A in a cabinet with all the accessories where we found it, just a few weeks ago, but low and behold, another one was at another store, in a cabinet, but without the accessories, just waiting to go home with me, at an unbelievable price. Seeing two in one day, well, I thought it must have been a ‘sign’ or something, and well, I have spent more on a snack sometimes. I have a ‘few’ (quit laughing, girls who know me) sewing machines, but I did not have this one. I left the cabinet and brought home the machine.

            

This morning, I gave it a bath and a good oil and lube. These old machines have a history, and I wish they could talk. The lady who owned it was a smoker. I know this, because there was nicotine near the base, below the stitch lever, probably where her ashtray sat. If you look close, I couldn’t get it all out of the crevices, but she did take good care of this machine. Cosmetically, it is in good shape, with no visible marks on the paint. It lived in a cabinet, so she probably lovingly put it down and out of harms way when she finished sewing with it.

I also believe it was an older lady who owned the machine. Why do I say this?

          

There are four different colors of thread which I pulled off the bobbin. Back in the days of the depression, ladies did everything they could do to save money. They used every little bit of everything they could to get by. When the economy looked up, it was hard for them to break that habit. (We could all learn a few things from these ladies, but NOT this thread trick!) The green was the very last color she wound on the bobbin. The black thread was actually two pieces of thread, both very short.  When you think about it, by the time you pull it up through the throat plate, pull it out enough to sew, and then quickly run out, just how many stitches did that woman actually get? But I do understand. Sewing with pieces of bobbin thread had to be a pain though, because you could be happily sewing along, and OH CRAP! I just ran out of bobbin thread! have to stop, take the bobbin out, find the new end of the thread, and start all over again. (This method would definitely NOT work on a quilting frame…just sayin’!) You know, the stitch quality probably wasn’t that good either, being that the shorter pieces were ‘hand wound’ onto the bobbin, rather than tightly wound (gee, I know some people who are ‘tightly wound…ok, getting back to my original thought…) by the machine. Over the years of adopting sewing machines, I have seen a LOT of bobbins like this.

                    

I did have to adjust the top and bottom tensions once I got it all cleaned up, but as always, these 401A machines are a dream. They are just as strong and go just as fast as the newer ‘semi-industrial machines (like my Juki TL-98E).

         

I am going to have Louie take the motor out and go over it anyway, like he does to all the gear driven machines we bring home, and I know it will sew even faster and sound even stronger. The oil in the older machines tend to harden and turn to ‘varnish’ after several decades.

           

I checked the Singer website for the birth date of this machine, and although I did not get a month and day, it was born in 1951 in Anderson, South Carolina. It is almost old enough to retire!

Hope you have a wonderful weekend. We plan to!

Be blessed,

Michelle