Monday, September 16, 2019

Lada treadle cabinet and base

9/16/19

Quick micro videos showing the cabinet for my lovely Lada treadle sewing machine.

The nifty leaf/cover


The retaining chains. Why there is one for the wooden frame, I don't know.


Machine storage.

And now, the beautiful base!










Tuesday, September 10, 2019

Lada Tension Woes

9/10/19

As an earlier post mentioned, the upper tension assembly on my Lada treadle is not complete.
I made a video detailing my thoughts so far.
Including trying (failing) to swap in a Singer 15-30 faceplate.




If the embedded video does not work, here is a direct youtube link

Whole Lada Love

9/10/2019


Lada? Don't you mean Lotta?

Why, no. No I do not. I mean a fabulous vintage sewing machine by Lada. Made sometime after 1918, it is a lovely hunk of metal, with  Lada SobÄ•slav Made in Czechoslovakia stuck on the front. Interesting that it might have been made for export? (SobÄ•slav is the town where the Lada sewing machines were made.)



I know nothing about this machine. I have no manual, nothing via internet searches (I can tell you it is not a Lada 77. I can tell you it is awfully similar to a Singer 15-1 or 15-30).
It is also incomplete. Not much is left of the upper tension assembly, and there was no bobbin case with it. However - drumroll please - I took along a Singer class 15 case and it fit!
Despite the missing parts, it really really wants to sew. I managed a few stitches with my handheld upper tension (I will never have a job controlling the top thread tension. Not in this life or any foreseeable one).



I also managed to work out how the bobbin winder functions. Trying to wind a bobbin while 1) holding the modern class 15 bobbin on the spindle (modern ones are a bit loose) and 2) turning the balance wheel by hand was ... difficult.
I have ordered a replacement belt. It will make future tests easier.



But before any of the fun sewing-adjacent activities, I had to haul it home and figure out what I had.
It fit in the back of the SUV. (The seller's husband helped me load it up, and my husband helped me unload it). It spend about 24 hours in the garage, where I started by taking the machine out of the cabinet, and the cabinet off the legs.



That was when I noticed that one of the legs was on backwards. Because both legs, and the bit in the middle have an enchantingly industrial LADA welded in. But the LADA on the left leg faced in, not out.
So I started applying WD40 to the stubborn bolts, and took the base apart. Look at these cool bolts!



These are all metric bolts. 16mm for most of the base (one 14mm to make life interesting).
AND I discovered under the grime the LADA logos are in gold. And there was the barest trace of red paint on the bottom part of the base. I'm not one to try to restore stuff to original condition. I like the sense of age, history, and use an antique embodies. So I just cleaned off all the metal, greased the bolts, and stuck the whole thing together again. I wiped the base down with sewing machine oil. Boy, it looks good now!
At some point in the future, I will take the bearings for the treadle apart and re-grease them. I first need to believe that I can actually get the machine sewing before I spend huge amounts of time with it.
I will say that the treadle mechanism is in great shape: it treadles easily and coasts to a stop very slowly. It is also nearly silent.



Then it was time to apply some Howard's Restor-a-Finish to the cabinet and then some wax. Looks good. And  - there is a centimeter ruler inlaid in the cabinet!



Now, I was unable to get the machine completely out of the cabinet - the frame that holds the machine when it is folded into the cabinet, I could not remove. Because some hamhanded fool wrecked the grub screw for the lefthand bolt. It was not me. Repeated lashings of penetrating oil and various tools yielded no results. It is very close quarters in there. I do not want to further chew up the head. So, I'll worry about that later. I did remove the whole frame from the cabinet. Which meant I could carry all three components up to my sewing room. One. At. A Time. Huff. Puff. Gasp.

I plan on taking it apart more extensively and giving it a good clean, but my focus now is to solve the upper tension puzzle. I have a drive belt, various springs and tension disks, an entire (hopefully intact) very rusty 15-30 faceplate coming. I hope that these things will get me on my way to a properly tensioned upper thread.



I will post about the tension later.


Saturday, August 24, 2019

DuBarry 2451B

I love finding a pattern that I like, that is approximately my size. And making it up? Bliss!!

This pattern is a 42 bust, which means - theoretically - the arm holes and neck and shoulders should fit me. And they did.
I added a wedge of width to the center back: 2" at the waist and 0" at the neck.
I added 2" all the way down the center back of the skirt, and added a bit to the hips of the side back skirt pieces.
No length alterations, and I turned up the 3" hem called for in the pattern.
I had originally added 1" to the length of the bodice, but undid that on the pink flamingo dress.

Now the sleeves, there is a tale. From having made a DuBarry pair of 1940 PJs, I knew that DuBarry sleeves are very very skinny. I added 4 1/2 " to the bicep of the sleeve, while leaving the armscye untouched.  And it worked! I do not particularly care for my fat arms, but this pleated sleeve is so charming I could not resist.






For even more fun, I sewed this entirely on my new-to-me vintage Singer sewing machine. A 1948 15-31. It has the best topstitching!





Trusty automatic buttonholer attachment

Grandma's buttonhole scissors

Walmart buttons on clearance!

Yes, I have not done up all the buttons: needed to move the waist over a bit.


Friday, August 23, 2019

Singer 15-31 1948

8/23/19
About a month ago, I impulse bought a vintage sewing machine.
So FUN

I will not post tips or links to vintage sewing machine supplies or repair tips.
I will suggest you seek out the Facebook group Vintage & Antique Singer Sewing Machines & Products


It needed a little bit of work: tension, bobbin winder, presser foot pressure.
Eventually, it will need to be rewired (I have got to get up in there and grease the speed control knee lever - it squeaks like a Halloween prop.
It does need a bit of cleaning and oiling, but I'll do that after Labor Day.

Here are random photos of the machine and me fixing it up.









I also have a  copy of the Singer Sewing Book from 1949. Right at the beginning is a sketch of the exact machine I have in the exact cabinet!
How cool is that?!


She's BAAAAACK (how many times have I said this?)

8/23/19

Well, I'm not even going to look at the date of the last post. Because that's just darn depressing.

I have continued to sew some vintage things, but frankly, I spend my days either in pants and a white or black shirt (work) or in PJ bottoms and a tank top (home).
Grocery store trips only happen on my way home from work.
But, on the rare occasions when I do venture out, I try to dress like woman who has  not given up.

Grab some tea or whatever while I catch you up.

So, I have a couple of early 1950s sleeveless dresses I like. One in red with tiny white polka dots and one in black with, you guessed it! tiny white polka dots.



And a mid 1940s that I also like.



Incredibles fabric for that sleeveless 40s dress

Recently, I've ventured into the late 1930s. I LIKE.

I've made some A-line skirts, which I love, but I seem to like dresses better. One thing to choose. No matching required.

I've also made some blouses. Oh, and a couple vests.


I've even finally gotten a basic pants draft that fits! Thank you American Sewing Guild local chapter!
I've made some 30s palazzo pants and tried a Hepburn-esque pair (wrong fabric, didn't really work out).

Ok, I totally lied. It has been about exactly TWO YEARS since my last post. Oy.

Now, the trick is to round up all these photos. Some are on Google Drive. Some are on my phone. Some are on the phone that died. Oops. Some were taken through Facebook. Or Instagram. Or gods know where.

Well. That was futile. I hate pictures of me SO MUCH. SO VERY MUCH. Aaaaaaargh.



I work in a fabric store, and we get to dress up on October weekends. So I chose to go vintage last year. Every Single Weekend. Only one picture. I shall do the same this year (dressing, and probably a paucity of photographic evidence).


Stay posted for some news about a late 1930s dress and a late 1940s sewing machine ...