Estate Sale Find - Singer #42 Bench Full of Goodies!

I still love Estate Sales!

My all time favorite Singer cabinet has always been the #42, with it's cool Art Deco styling and its beautiful finish and sturdy build.  It is a nice piece of furniture in its own right.  I found one several years ago, and it is a beauty, but I never had the matching stool and always hoped to find one.

I'm good at biding my time, because eventually one will show up.  It took five years but I found it! 

Singer #42 cabinet and stool

It was only $15 and as a bonus, it was packed with goodies!  The coolest thing was the packet for the Singer Sewing course which was offered for free when you bought a Singer machine in the 1940s-50s.

Singer Sewing Course - Six Lessons

Lesson One:  Seams in different fabrics, matching plaids, sewing curves.  Paper template included to practice sewing straight lines and circles

Lesson Two:  Sewing darts and gathers

Lesson Three:  Sewing trims and pipings using the edgestitch foot.  Our seamstress didn't do so well here.

This is Lesson Three in the Sewing Skills booklet

Lesson Four:  Doing free-motion embroidery following stamped design.  Our seamstress did such a bad job at this that I picked most of it out!

Lessons Five & Six:  Our seamstress never completed these lessons but according to the booklet, Lesson Five was installing zippers and Lesson Six was doing hem finishes.

I know I'm kind of weird, but I really enjoyed going through these lessons and imagining our seamstress taking time from her household chores back in 1955 to sit down at her Singer 99K and practice these skills. 

Singer Cabinet Addiction (Is There a 12 Step Program?)

Well, I bought another cabinet.  Every time I buy another cabinet or another machine, I am convinced that THIS is "the one."  But really and truly, this is the one.  I promise.  

Three or four years ago I sold a Singer #42 cabinet that I had bought at an estate sale and I regretted it ever since.  It was so beautiful!  Now there are two different versions of this cabinet.  The one I sold is the earlier model which looks just like this except it has three separate drawers on the right rather than the curved panel that swings out.  And in the top left drawer it has a built-in ink well and pencil tray which is just the coolest thing ever. 

This one has a spool rack in the left hand drawer rather than the ink well.  

Swinging panel opens to reveal two drawers and a shelf for storing patterns.  

Like all mid-century Singer cabinets, this is actually a fine piece of furniture.  Look at the back!  This isn't cheap particle board facing the wall, it is all solid wood.

But the best part is that this version of the #42 cabinet can take my Singer 301 - my favorite machine.  They look great together because they both have similar Art Deco styling. 

(The earlier version of this cabinet cannot accept the 301)

(PS...after taking this photo, I installed the controller in the cabinet to use with the knee lever)

So I have a new card table for my Featherweight.  I have the "ultimate" cabinet for my 301.  I put my Rocketeer in the cabinet previously occupied by the 301.  All is well in my Vintage Singer Sewing World.  :)

Featherweight Card Table - my newest acquisition!

Well there is very little left that I covet for my sewing room but this was something I was always on the lookout for.  I never actively searched for it, but I knew if I found one at the right price I'd get it.

In five years of keeping an eye out for a Featherweight card table this is only the second one I've ever seen.  I decided I might as well get it because it just doesn't seem like there are that many of them around.  Even on eBay, there may be one or two for sale at any given time and that is it.  My theory is that they were just absorbed into households as an every day table because unlike a regular sewing cabinet they were a useful piece of furniture with or without the machine.

The nice thing is that like all Singer products made before about 1965 or so, it is very high quality.  This thing weighs a ton!  It is solid wood, not cheap particle board. The hardware is high quality and heavy duty - nothing flimsy here.  This is a very nice table by any standard and it is the perfect complement to a lovely little Featherweight.

If I have to justify this further (I don't, do I?) I can tell myself that this is a great extra table for the kids for big family meals or even for a party.  It is pretty enough to use for any occasion.

Also, DH and I are looking to downsize sometime in the next couple of years and this will be a great all purpose table for when we need to save space.  We can do jigsaw puzzles on it or play cards on it in addition to using it for an extra dining table.

Score!  I love it!

Singer Cabinet for 301 - I Found One!

So having been lucky enough to find this black 301 shortbed at a yard sale for $10 - with another $20 to replace foot controller - I needed only to install it in a Singer cabinet to have the perfect sewing experience. 

Cradle Adapter for installing 301 shortbed

The 301 shortbed is unique in that it can be installed in a cabinet like any other full sized vintage Singer but then this machine just pops out of its cabinet and goes along to wherever you need to take it, carried by the clever handle right on top the machine (a stand alone feature, not seen on any other vintage Singer, not even the Featherweight.)  The thing that makes this possible is the "cradle adapter" into which the machine fits in place in the cabinet.  The lever on the left releases the machine when you want to remove it.  VERY, VERY COOL!

But all Singer cabinets are not exactly alike. There is one crucial element that determines which type of machine can be installed in the cabinet.  Most of the mid-century cabinets are configured to hold machines like the 15-91, 201, 66, etc.  When the machine is in place, it rests on a lip protruding on a hinged panel that folds down.  Like this:

Installing the 301 requires brackets to hold the cradle adapter on this panel and it must be flush in order for the machine to fit.  Like this:

I was frustrated to realize that my 301 could not fit into either of the two cabinets I already have, but I later picked one up at another estate sale - once I knew what to look for.  

UPDATE:  I later upgraded to the beautiful Singer #42 cabinet which I like even better.  (This style cabinet comes in BOTH configurations as shown above, so you have to look closely to see which machines it will take.)

I Hit The Mother Lode

Now this is the score every vintage Singer lover lives for:

Gorgeous 201-2 in the fantastic #42 cabinet.  Came with the Pinking attachment, hemstitcher, buttonholer, Singer fabric gripper and blind stitch attachment plus all the regular attachments and a stool full of various goodies.  

I sold the machine and the cabinet, but these attachments are a vintage Singer Dream-Come-True. (I wish I had kept that amazing cabinet, but it had a stale cigarette odor which I just couldn't get rid of , and I simply couldn't live with.  It didn't seem to bother the new owner, though.)