It’s a strange thing to realize just how dependent I am on modern technology. We live in a push button world and I am learning just how much I appreciate that. I’m also gaining a lot of respect for my female ancestors.
With my continual weight loss, which is now at a total of 48 lbs, I’m finding that it’s just costing too much to continue to buy new clothing once the clothes I have don’t fit. The 2 pairs of jeans that I purchased last month are already a size too large. So, I had the “brilliant” idea of altering them.
I’ve had, collecting dust in an unused room, my Great Aunt Sybil’s old sewing machine. It’s a beautiful machine, shiny black with lots of detail in an oak cabinet. It’s a Singer 99-13. From what I can tell it was made in the late 1920’s and looks like it’s never been used, except as a plant stand.
I got it out, plugged it in and decided before I got too carried away I should see if it actually worked… it did. However, it was in desperate need of oil. Once I borrowed some from mom’s house (thanks mom), it ran great.
Now, you have to understand, the last time I attempted to sew anything with a machine was back in Junior High School. Let me just say it now, that attempt did not go well at all. I clearly remember smoke coming out of that sewing machine’s motor and the teacher being none to pleased. So the idea of attempting this on my own, on an antique, might not have been the best plan.
I looked through the instructing book, yes… the original instructions that came with the machine and had girls in flapper dressed in the illustrations… and was able to thread the machine and even the bobbin. I grabbed a bit of scrap fabric and gave it a try. I was surprised that I didn’t do too badly, however I knew I was forgetting something.
I vaguely remembered that you had to lock in the stitch by going forward about a bit, then reversing over that same spot and then forward again, that would secure the stitch into the fabric. One problem, although the machine was advanced for it’s time by having a light on it, there was no reverse. So, I once again depended on technology for a solution and read a few different websites to figure out how to do it. I started the line of stitches, with the needle still in the fabric I lifted the foot, turned the fabric around and ran back over what I had just stitched, stopped and swung the fabric around again and continued to sew.
Finally, I was ready to actually try to alter some clothing. I took out a shirt that was so big that if I didn’t alter it I’d never wear it again and while wearing it inside out attempted to pin it. That process wasn’t the easiest thing to do. I assume that pinning a garment on someone else is much easier then on yourself using a mirror.
When it was pinned, I gave it a try. I will admit that it took quite a few attempts, of sewing, pulling out the stitches and redoing it to finally get the shirt how I wanted it. To my shock, it actually looked good in the end. So, I grabbed a few more shirts out of my closet and kept myself quite busy for the rest of the night.
