Sewing Pains

I performed actual mending of fabric today! The 320 performed admirably with the special Darning & Embroidery Foot #161236. I found I had to have quite loose needle tension to avoid needle thread breakage, so had the machine set on 2. #161236 is an unusual darning foot: the long upper bar slots into the area where the lever to lift the foot operates - and essentially blocks the lever from being operated. You use a mini-lever near the top of the spring foot to raise and lower the toe to remove or place work. Singer #161236, the spring foot which came with my 320. I've never darned jeans before, I think I once darned socks on my mother's Pfaff, but that was a long time ago and nothing but a hazy memory. The jeans in the photo below had been reinforced with a fusible patch, which I zigzagged in place and then darned over. I'm sure it could have been a bit neater, but the result seems like it will give my husband's jeans life for a few more months. Interesting

After several long weeks, my second 320K is finally here. My mother-in-law drove it up the coast for me, while on her latest Brisbane trip.  I was thrilled to see a zippered denim bag with feet and accessories - an unexpected bonus! I have replaced the original #173058 bobbin case with the modern modified version. The machine had a 15x1 needle fitted, but the bobbin case showed needle strikes. The modified bobbin case fits perfectly and the machine stitches like a dream! There were the usual issues... unpleasant smells and grime, but at least the machine wasn't dry, it had been well-oiled and well-used in its life. The original green bobbin tyre. I cleaned the body, tension assembly, feed dogs, and hook assembly in-situ, as I didn't want to upset the timing. Much energy was expended. I was happy to see the carbon brushes still have length of about 10mm. Linty yuck. I've never had multiple throat plates for a machine, and I didn't know I was getting any,

For several weeks I have been wanting to complete a few important machine repair tasks, this week I started knocking them over at last: Re-wire a better pedal for my 401G. Re-time my 320K after parts arrive from the UK. Schedule my Pfaff 1222E service. An additional task kept me busy last weekend when I finally found a 1980s Horn sewing cabinet locally for a good price. We brought the cabinet home and I set about cleaning every inch of it. It is in wonderful condition and has cleaned up like new. The hinges had some surface rust (very common - we live in a port city and sea air affects everything), but I lightly brushed some sewing machine oil onto them. The big attraction with a Horn cabinet is the built-in lifter, I tested the lifter and it worked - exactly three times before it failed. When this happened I was so bummed and figured I had gotten another bad deal ...my husband took pity on me and we took the lifter off, and then examined it. The lifter would stop at the fir

The non-working 320K, that is... It may not work, but it sure is nice to look at.

After discovering that my newly-purchased 320K was sold without the bracket for the bobbin case (a crucial part needed for the machine to be timed), I have been hunting for the part without success. Six local and international queries have been fruitless so far. This evening I found another 320K, this time working, and with a box of cams and unknown accessories - for half the price of the non-working first machine. Fingers crossed that this one is a success...

Yesterday I unexpectedly found my last wish list machine - an unusual free-arm zigzag machine in the prettiest shade of pale green! I'm still too excited to write. More next week, I collect it on Saturday.