Singer 319k, the Green Machine

I love old machines. Mechanical devices where you can see this-connects-to-that; solid things with wheels and levers and gears.

And so I introduce the lovely Singer 319k, which I use for most of my sewing.

two-tone green, it's a racing machine!

I bought her (her?) for $35 at a disposals store, when my beloved Singer Blue Magic was potentially unrepairable. (That's a story for another post.)

She was a bit grubby, but shined up nicely with some orange oil cleaner. I spent, ahem, a bit more money having her serviced and replacing her bobbin case. However, she's been purring like a dream ever since.

Tilts back to access bobbin case, and stays like that until you release the hinge.  Not the easiest bobbin arrangement I guess but the bobbin holds a really decent amount of thread.

She's heavy; heavier I would guess than my three-year-old, despite being made of "lightweight cast aluminium".

The very sixties carry case clips on securely but it makes me nervous carrying it only by the handle.

She was one of the first Singer zigzaggers, and also has a number of other 'built in' stitches via these nifty levers on the top, which remind me of a typewriter. They engage cams inside the machine. The plain front lever engages replaceable cams on the outside, for a whole heap of other stitches. Cute, huh? Not that I use them.

This is the bobbin winder, with adorable colour-matched green rubber wheel. The original belt was green, and intact, but sadly wore out.

The only drawback with this lovely beast is that it requires special needles which have points ever so slightly shorter than your average. These are only made by Schmetz these days. They're comparatively expensive and not stocked many places. But my sewing repair shop has them and I've also found them online.

this is the trickiest part to master, essentially stitch width on the side and needle position on the top

This machine feels smooth, solid and relatively quiet. I just love the look and feel of her, which I appreciate every time I sit down to stitch. A lot of people find that sort of pleasure in fancy new machines, I'm sure. My criteria for a perfect sewing machine? Whatever makes you excited to sew.


- Jane  x