Antique Singer 128 Sewing Machine

 

I've been sewing with my 103 year-old Singer 128 today! Have you ever seen a machine that uses a shuttle instead of a bobbin? The shuttle looks like a bullet, holding a long bobbin inside, and moves back-and-forth under the needle to create a lock-stitch. That shuttle action also creates an extra little up-and-down bob in the needle (you can see if you look for it in the video) you won't see with rotary or oscillating hook machines.

This particular machine came through an extended family member. The story is that the original owners had a men's clothing store, and the wife used this machine to hem pants for customers. This would make sense for how rough and ready the machine looks on the outside.

With all the wear-and-tear to the outside finish, this little 3/4 size machine still purrs! I don't use it for sewing very often, as the shuttle doesn't hold nearly as much thread as a standard bobbin, and sometimes makes for awkward sewing. But I still do love to get it out every so often and watch it in action!

I've been collecting vintage sewing stuff including sewing machines since about 1990. You can find a list of machines I have owned in my collection by looking at the left sidebar of the blog. I don't collect as aggressively as in past days, but I still love sewing on a vintage machine!