ISMACS - Vintage, antique, and rare Sewing Machines

Recent Additions to ISMACS International

Bradbury Update
Not just sewing machines!
1/19/2013
The Mystery of the Singer Model 68 Cabinet
More information about the Featherweight Cabinet
1/7/2012
Our Grover & Baker
... featured in the New York Times ...
6/1/2012
Singer Model 12K Industrial Sewing Machine
... industrial strength ... sews leather!
3/24/2010
Franklin Rotary Sewing Machine Manual
Instructions for Operating the Franklin Rotary Sewing Machine; Sears, Roebuck and Co.; 1926
2/18/2012
Singer 411G Sewing Machine Manual
"World's first automatic that produces not only the conventional lock stitch, but also a single thread chain stitch which can be used for basting seams . . . "
2/12/2012
Comprehensive Singer Model List
Updated: A descriptive list of all Singer's sewing machine production...
2/4/2012

The Pfaff Sewing Machine: Without a Teacher
"Illustrated Directions for using the machine and all it's parts, being a practical, easy and rapid guide to learners." An early Pfaff Sewing Machine Manual contributed by a member.
10/7/2011

Comprehensive Singer Serial Number Charts
Identify your model number and find out when your Singer Sewing Machine was made using data direct from Singer
10/1/2011
Singer Model 327 Manual
Instructions for using the Singer 327 Sewing Machine. 32 pages.
9/10/2011
The Next Generation
"I am 14 years old and a quilter."
8/21/2011
Singer Model 115 Manual
"Instructions for using Singer Sewing Machine No. 115 - lock stitch, for family use" Form 8255, May 1915 (32pp).
6/27/2011
Singer Models, 31-19 & 31-47 Manual
For the two walking foot versions of the class 31 ("The Tailor's Machine"): "Singer 31-19 and 31-47, Instructions for using and adjusting. (1951), 16pp."
6/10/2011
A Sewing Machine We Do Not Recommend
Montgomery Ward did not recommend this sewing machine in 1913
5/17/2011

2/6/2011
Invention of the Sewing Machine: An Alternative History
We wouldn't want our little girls running around with a hole in their stocking, would we?
1/18/2011
True Story Number 17 -- The Holdup, or The Story of ISMACS Member Number 375
"You can't hold up a plane with an 1886 Moldacot Sewing Machine ... Can you?"
1/4/2011
Using Your Attachments: The Underbraider
Featuring the Jones CS and Raymond Underbraiders
12/3/2010

ISMACS Sewing Machine Book List
A guide to the literature that typically turns up on eBay, in secondhand book shops and who-knows-where?
11/29/2010

Singer Sewing Machines for Manufacturing Purposes
Updated: Machines recommended for the manufacture of different articles
Singer Model 12K
Updated
Singer Model 13K & the 13K Manual
"Singer 13k Medium (New Family) manual, approx. 1890. 12 pages. With instructions for roller feed attachment for boot sewing. Despite its size, it was an industrial machine."
Elusive Left-Handed Singer
A photographic error?
Updated
Singer Industrial Manuals
Manuals for Singer's Industrial Machines
The Great Singer Give-Away
Miss Green won a Diamond Jubilee 27K Treadle
Updated: New Color Pictures!

The Pendleton Mystery
It’s no wonder the Board of Bradbury & Co Ltd were a tad upset ...
American Hand Crank
... cast iron base with drawer for attachments ...
Carry On Baggage
How to Travel With Your Sewing Machine
How to Orient a Sewing Machine Needle
Instructions and advice on identifying, orienting and testing replacement needles. Read in conjunction with the Needle Cross-reference Charts.
Needle Cross-Reference Charts
An exhaustive list of modern replacements for vintage needles.
ISMACS Needle List
UPDATED 4/9/10 - Sewing Machine Needles and their Equivalents
Free Manuals List
An exhaustive listing of sewing machine manuals available - without charge - on the internet
222K Free-arm Featherweight Manual
Dated November 1955 (Form K5969). Including how to use the attachments. 96pp.
Kimball & Morton
... so much more than lions ...
Sewing Machine Research Links
Cheapskate's Corner
The most important sewing machine find of the century
An 1830's vintage Thimonnier is found in South America ...

From the archives of the International Sewing Machine Collectors' Society