As North American sewing machine suppliers go, Sears Roebuck & Co. was second only to the Singer Manufacturing Company. Unlike Singer, Sears Roebuck was a mail order supplier and relied on contracts with various sewing machine manufacturers to supply and rebadge their machines. The White Sewing Machine Company was one such manufacturer. Over the years, White grew in prominence and eventually became the sole sewing machine supplier for Sears Roebuck. Early Kenmore branded machines were in essence, White Rotarys in disguise. White machines were highly regarded and often considered comparable in quality to Singers.
Read MoreOne of the things I really like about puppet building is that it draws upon such a wide variety of skills. Students learn how to cut fabric from a paper pattern, work with foam, learn about fabric nap and grain lines, learn how to sew darts, apply proper pinning technique, practice hand stitching, and best of all, get to explore their creative side by customizing their designs!
Read MoreLove or hate it, the Singer 500a is easily one of the most iconic sewing machines ever made. Designed during the height of America's space craze with a full complement of futuristic style-lines accented by brown and gold, this retro sci-fi relic is aptly nicknamed "The Rocketeer."
Read MorePerhaps the most common "artisan" machine is the 3/4 sized Singer 20U which has been rebadged and cloned many times over. Today we'll be taking a look at the West German made Pfaff 138--a full sized straight and zigzag lockstitch machine.
Read MoreI've talked a lot about vintage portables in the last couple months, so today I'm going to switch things up a bit and weigh in on the extreme opposite end of the spectrum, vintage industrial machines. While similar to domestics, industrials are typically built for highly specialized operations and perform those functions quickly, tirelessly and efficiently.
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