Crafts

I have never used any other machine or model Singer. Its sticker says it's the 1917 model. And I am SHOCKED to learn that there are other model Singers that people aren't happy with. My favorite things about it are the extraordinary range of speeds it will run at, its simplicity, and its reliability. It will sew forward, and back, install a zipper, and would make a ruffle if I ever used that attachment. Straight sewing, no fancy frills, but I have used it for about forty years with utter satisfaction. I just finished a new shirt the other day, and it delivers a tight uniform seam without complaint or temperament.

I think that these machines were built for women like my grandmother, who kept her four daughters clothed in the middle of the depression with her treadle Singer. I rather think that's the first machine I ever sewed on. The users' manual tells you how to maintain it yourself, which would have been a godsend to a farmer's wife in hard times.

And once, in the 1970s, I had taken it in to a shop for cleaning, and when I came to pick it up, had to withstand four offers from the sales clerks to buy it. I thrust money at them, grabbed my machine, and fled, having concluded that many others liked this model too.

I do recommend this model if you can find one. It is one of the oldest friends I have.