Singer 201K

As soon as I read the history about the Singer 201K, I knew I had to have one. Just to pick up some of the stories:

"Possibly the best machine Singer has ever made..." 

This machine was presented to HRH Princess Elisabeth as a wedding gift in 1947. 

Also it is rumored that Rolls Royce used these machines for some of their upholstery.

I searched and searched the local auction websites, but it seemed like this machine was nowhere to be found. I saw one in a treadle but hesitated to get it since I don´t have a room for another treadle. And I really wanted electric machine to see what all the fuss was about. :) Finally I saw an advert for "some old Singer sewing machine" and immediately recognized the 201. In a couple of hours the machine was mine. And (again) I foolishly went to pick it up without a trolley. Good Heavens this machine is super heavy! I only managed to carry it 8 steps at a time. Seriously, not what you would call a portable machine. ;) 

And here she is, meet Agatha:

Singer 201K made in Great Britain in 1936. I named her Agatha since most of Hercule Poirot films are situated in this year.

And now the problem, Agatha hasn´t been used for decades. All of her wiring was falling apart. I guess you can expect that from an 80 years old machine.

Light wiring after we took the lamp off.

The whole machine was taken apart, cleaned and rewired. Motor got lubricated and the machine got oiled properly.

Motor taken apart before cleaning and rewiring. The carbon brushes haven´t been worn out, so we didn´t replace them with new ones. I´ll have to order new ones just in case as I plan to use this machine a lot. :)

Here she is after the job was done. Ready to sew.

Agatha has beautiful ornamented face-plate. I saw the same ornament on some early Featherweight machines. My 1955 Featherweight Fiona has striped face-plate so I´m happy I got this one on Agatha.

Plug with new wiring. This model has a knee bar instead of a foot control. I cannot operate the knee bar due to my tiny sewing table. It doesn´t fit. But the plug is identical with the one Fiona has and her foot control works on Agatha well! Happy me :)

Even the motor cover is embellished with decals. It is a shame they don´t put decals on machines anymore. In my opinion the modern machines have a serious lack of grace. And they´re white! Why?

Beautiful trademark and the stitch length dial. This machine is famous for it´s precise stitches. Oh, and it sews backwards too, isn´t it great? ;)

I´m really happy I got this machine and it is now in a working order. I hope she´ll serve me years. I plan to sew most of straight stitch seams on her...