Thursday, January 1, 2015

The Elna #1~Grasshopper

This little baby has been hiding under my Christmas tree for quite awhile. In fact, I didn’t even unwrap her until today, when Louie and I took the tree down. Now she sits in my living room so I can admire her whenever I like.

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I bought ‘Ellie’ and she arrived before Thanksgiving. I opened the box, checked her out, cleaned and oiled her up, then wrapped her back up, put her back in the shipping box and gift wrapped her. Then I put her under the tree. The military style case needed some scrubbing, but it didn’t look much different when I was done.

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Well, maybe a little…..

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The serial number’s first two digits indicate the year of manufacture, so 500970 means she was born in 1950. I also understand this model was the very first model of sewing machine ELNA ever made.

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Here is a little bit about the Elna sewing machine, taken from the Elna website:

Elna sewing machines have been around since 1940 with the launch of the Elna #1, the first compact, portable, electric sewing machine with a free arm (when unfolded, its metal carrying case formed a sewing table). The Elna #1 was green in color, breaking away from the traditional black, an innovation in itself for the time. The machine was a resounding success and so began Elna's commitment to the home sewing industry.

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Here’s some more pictures of Elly after her bath.

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The accessory case with the green lid tucks nicely against the back of the free arm and blends color wise into the machine.

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The next few pictures showing how the case converts into an extension table were borrowed from THIS blog. Pretty cool! You lay the case flat, open side down….

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The panel, which is held down by two clips, folds down on the opposite side, to reveal the cutout for the free arm….

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…and the machine slides into place….that is, AFTER you pull the Grasshopper ‘leg’ out, and swing the extension of the leg down so it can be used as a knee control.

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Here are some cute advertisements for the Elna. Someone also posted a neat video of a Grasshopper on youtube if you would like to see it!

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Click the photo below for more Elna History.

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9 comments:

  1. Very nice! I'm so glad that you found another one. :) It looks like it is in very nice condition.
    Kristie

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  2. I had to come see if you had a post on this. So cute & you do amazing clean-up jobs!!

    I got one of these -- it arrived here just after Tgiving after needing a courier (free) to bring it to me from Ohio.

    I have a green case and it is in a HUGE need of cleaning and polish as well as who knows what else. However, it doesn't have the power bar so it will be a display piece, I'm sure.

    Do you have a favorite degreaser for the outside of the machine and all the case?

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  3. I remember using one of these at school back in the 60s, you used to see a lot of Elna machines in the UK back then

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  4. Interesting machine. Quite different from the old blacks. It reminds me of something 'military'. Pretty art. Isn't it wonderful that we have access to so much history and information today.

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  5. How cute! I keep hoping that I'll come across a grasshopper one of these days.

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  6. How fun is that! I love the look of this one - it looks like a vintage machine should. :) blessings, marlene

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  7. Thank you for sharing all of this information.

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  8. Hi!

    I have an Elna Grasshopper and I need a manual. Ho can I get some? A copy or a pdf or pictures?

    A reduction gear should also be good to have...

    Som good ideas?
    Iwill pay a good price.

    Tor Magnussen
    tor.magnussen@gmail.com

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  9. Actually, the manufacture date is a very VERY small imprint underneath the round black plate just above the hand wheel. By starting with a 50, only the 5 is important, it means 1945, maybe '55. But I believe they stopped making the grasshopper in '52. Several serial numbers start with 1s or 0s, so those can be a bit ambiguous. Look under the plate, on the very bottom of the unpainted aluminum circle. There should be 3 numbers...month/year of manufacture. I just happened to find one yesterday with 5 52, May, 1952. My mother's birth date!! She is going to freak when I get her cleaned up and polished. This will be her present under the tree this year.

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