Singer 221K Featherweight

One of my favorite vintage models is Singer Featherweight. They are very popular among quilters and seamstresses. Because of their compact size they´re easy to bring along to sewing classes etc. And I mean it is in fact possible to bring them along, not like other models advertised as "portable" but even lifting them on the table feels like a hard labor. Gerda is one of those machines...

I was lucky enough to come across this beauty and didn´t hesitate to bring her home with me. Here she is:

Singer 221K Featherweight "Fiona"

Back view of the machine.

Fiona was made in Great Britain in 1955 and had only one owner before me. Previous owner took a good care of her. 

I cleaned her thoroughly and oiled and lubricated all parts as the manual suggests. Her rubber feet were strangely melted, so I had to scratch them away and for the moment I have replaced them with some felt protectors. I bought new rubber feet which I will install on her later at some point. 

Fiona has her original motor. And still runs strong! I think I will have to buy a new belt though, the original one seems to be a little worn out place to place.

MADE IN GREAT BRITAIN <3 

This really means a lot to me.

Lovely trademark in gold...

Detail of the face-plate and the upper needle tension dial. 

Featherweight has vertical bobbin case and uses special Featherweight type bobbins. Unfortunately Fiona had only one bobbin with her. I will have to put in an order for more bobbins...

Fiona has her original case. Good thing I don´t have to order that one!

These attachments came with the machine: the hemming foot, the binder, the edge-stitcher, the ruffler, the adjustable hemmer and the gathering foot. 

And an automatic zig-zag attachment with a manual in swedish. Which I will have to crack at some point...

Machine itself had her original manual in finnish.

Booklet is in very good condition, although tiny for my taste. I´m really tempted to print the english version in size A4 as I have printed for other vintage machines. We´ll see...

50´s Shawl Collar Coat - part II.

Finishing the seam allowances of lining with Bebe. The lining is quite see-through, so this will make it look better and even.

Wrong side of the lining with finished seam allowances.

Using the blind hem presser foot for sewing hem. Before I used to sew this by hand... This is so much faster! :) I increased the stitch width to 4 as this is thicker fabric and the auto-adjustment wouldn´t catch the upper fabric into the stitch. The coat´s hem is finished with Bebe too. 

Over-edge presser foot. I finished facing´s lower edges with it. It has a ditch that prevents the fabric from slipping in wrong direction. Handy, if you don´t have an overlocker... (...or you´re lazy to go to it at the moment ;)

A finished coat! I´m pleased with it. It´s quite fitted model so there won´t be any thick sweaters worn underneath. But it´s ok, this was ment to be a lighter coat...

Fancy large collar. :)

A detail of the lining.

50´s Shawl Collar Coat

The weather is getting warmer and my winter coat starts to feel hot. I need a "transition coat" , warm enough to protect against the cold wind but thinner than a regular winter coat. This pattern is from last year´s November issue of Burda magazine, High Society Collection, nice! ;)

There wasn´t enough of fabric for whole coat in the store and I definitely wanted just this one so I´m improvising with the collar and facing. I got a grey-dusty pink boucle fabric which I will line with matching lace fabric.

Cutting the pattern. Since I don´t have a large cutting table (yet), I´m rolling the fabric as I´ve pinned the pieces and then I start cutting from the open end. This way I can be sure everything fits in.

The pieces are cut out. Now the boring part, transferring the pattern...

All the pieces sandwiched together. And look who thinks it is a new nest for her, Geisha cannot resist fabrics...

"This pile is mine!"

The fabric wasn´t feeding equally so I decided to try my new walking foot, aka Even-Feed Foot. It is a low shank attachment so it fits Henrietta well. And it really works, I´m surprised! The thing is, it is a bit slow for my taste. I like to sew quite fast, especially straight boring seams. Of course it might be the thick fabric´s fault it was slow. ;) I will have to try this attachment with some cotton fabric and see how it works there.  Since this isn´t a plaid, where would be lines to match, I switched back to regular presser foot.

Front view at the walking foot.

A large working space indeed! Henrietta is going strong. :)

I really like the oversized shawl collar on this coat. The right side is lined with lace fabric.

Coat awaiting the sleeves and lining. Oh, and the buttonholes!

Henrietta´s automatic buttonhole presser foot was too small for the buttons I bought. So I´ve made the buttonholes with Patsy´s regular buttonhole presser foot.

 And some knitting for a change...

Blocking the shawl wrong side up.

I have finally finished Victorian Rectangle With Center Diamond Pattern! :) This shawl is from the book Victorian Lace Today by Jane Sowerby. Although I´ve had this book for years, this is the first project I´ve made from it. The center diamond pattern was really easy to work and the shawl was knitted quite fast. But the border pattern took a while to memorize. I don´t mean attaching the border as you go, nearly the stitch pattern. Anyway, I´m very pleased with the outcome, the yarn is gorgeous as well and I shall be making more shawls from this lovely book!

A detail of the knit-on border. This is a clever technique which gives unlimited possibilities for edgings.

The Oversized Fashionista Bag-part II.

It´s finished!!! I got slightly bigger rivets than I had (they were the biggest ones in the shop),so I was able to attach the SUPER bulky straps and loops to the bag. 

Finished bag with piped handle and chain shoulder strap.

Detail of the metal parts. It was rather difficult to attach the eyelets and rivets through all those layers of bulky fabric. For a moment I thought it won´t be possible. But where´s a will there´s a way. :)

Bag´s interior with the flush-zip pocket. I was able to attach only the front of the lining to the exterior with Gerda. Back was too thick with the lap, so I sewed it by hand with a large needle and a very strong thread. Also the top of the lap is sewed by hand.

Janome Coverpro 1000 CPX

I was thinking of getting a coverlocker for a while. Do I really need it? Since I´m never fully satisfied with double needle hem finishes on jersey fabrics, the answer was- yes,I do! 

After researching available coverlockers, I decided to get this one:

Janome CoverPro 1000CPX, nicknamed Cornelia. 

This is also my first Janome machine. So far I´m happy with it but of course I´ll be able to say more after having used her on my projects more.

 I´m also pleased with this machine´s design since I want my machines to be pretty as well as functional.  She´s surprisingly heavy, must have a lot of metal inside. :) 

Side views of the machine.

Back view of the machine.

Standard accessories that have come with the machine: set of needles (it uses EL x 705 system), large and small screwdriver, tweezers, nets, spool holder caps, lint brush, needle threader, attachment screws (for the optional accessories) and accessory box.

I bought these extra attachments (clockwise,starting with the big one): The Cover Hem Guide, Elasticator for attaching wide tapes and Adjustable Seam Guide for quilting etc.

I will be getting other attachments later, such as Tape Binder, Clear View Foot and Center Guide Foot. Oh and the Extention Table is a must! ;)

The machine has extra clear threading guides and needle tension guide on the side.

Test drive- 3-needle cover stitch- jersey fabric, front view. The jersey fabric didn`t need any  needle thread tension adjustments.

Test drive- 3-needle cover stitch- jersey fabric, back view. 

Test drive- 3-needle cover stitch- home dec fabric & cotton fabric, front & back view. Neither these fabrics needed any  needle thread tension adjustments.

My first project with Cornelia- Knit top hem using 2-needle cover stitch. Front & back view. 

This fabric was a bit tricky. I had to play with  needle thread tension and make test drives until I was happy with the result. 

I´ve invaded the kitchen table for testing Cornelia. I had to re-thread her and remove one of the needles for my project. It was very easy. 

I´m very happy with this machine, she will make hemming so much easier and faster!

P.S.: In the back you can see the latest addition to my stitching family, a Singer Featherweight 221K! ;)