Jones Sewing Machine

In October of 2018, I purchased a Jones Swan Neck Sewing machine from France, on eBay. The purpose of selecting this machine is that when restored, it is quite beautiful. I intended on taking a class from Ray Elkins of Sew Purty workshops, in Elkhart, Indiana. Ray teaches you to tear down the machine, soak off rust, clean and polish the paint, clean and polish metal parts, oil parts and put the machine back together

Here are the before photos:

Here are some after photos, after taking the weekend retreat with Ray Elkins:

Close up of the cleaned up logo

overall machine

Comments

Singer 319w Do-over

I fell upon this Singer 319 "typewriter" or "piano" sewing machine at a local estate sale. The cabinet had been repainted into a very cool deep striated turquoise blue. The seat, however, left much to be desired. It was smelly but actually comfortable. I removed the bathroom rug cover, and am in the process of adding memory foam and a custom fabric to pull all of the mid-century colors together. It came with ALL of the cams for specialty stitches, I am so blessed to have found it. I'm excited to start using it. I have read that this machine was a "bust" for Singer because people thought it was too difficult to use, something I can understand, however, I think it is a cool piece. It was the top of the line in its day, all aluminum and all metal inside. Enjoy the photo progress.

Custom LV Birkenstock’s

So my next big project in 2018 was a pair of Birkenstock’s for my friend in Australia. Nannette has size 43 shoes; she is a tall woman. She was in a bad car accident at 18 and has suffered problems to her feet as a result This was exacerbated by an accident on a train platform in Australia, so comfortable shoes are a must. And what is more comfortable, than a pair of Birkenstock’s? But they couldn’t be just any Birki’s. They had to be Louis Vuitton Birki’s because Nannette is an LV nut. I started with a used pair of Birkenstock’s with good platforms from eBay. I took them to our local cobbler who deconstructed and separated the leather tops from the platform. I then used the Birki leather as a pattern. I had an LV purse to deconstruct, but there was not enough leather for the necessary 4 straps. I needed another 2 pieces of leather for the sides, so I shopped at my Goodwill for a red purse with gold buckles. However, upon inspecting another friend’s Birki’s, I noticed

Wilcox and Gibbs restoration

This Wilcox and Gibbs machine was purchased for me in the 1990s. It had completely frozen up, so in late 2019, I took out my trusty q-tips and odorless kerosene and went to work cleaning and loosening the machine. I got it unfrozen and then recently added the repaired base and belt. Ray Elkins of Kentucky, who runs the Sew Purty workshops, repaired the base for me and sold me the belt. Using the skills learned in his workshop, I treated the paint with Howard's Feed and Wax, polished it, and mounted it on the base. I think it looks fantastic. Here are some photos of the completed machine. Here is the completed machine mounted on the base with the handle and belt, above.

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