Family heirlooms are hard to part with, especially if they've been passed down for generations. On the other hand, some heirlooms are difficult to maintain and may be worth letting go — particularly ...

If you remember your grandmother using a Singer sewing machine, you're not alone. This iconic brand has been part of the foundation of home sewing for more than a century and a half. Although these ...

Dick O’Neal stands next to a old Standard sewing machine that he is going to refurbish. The oldest machine he has refurbished was an 1854 Singer. Dick O’Neal checks the components of a 1920 vintage ...

I recently acquired this Singer treadle sewing machine for $70. Would you mind telling me if it has any real value? According to the serial number you included in your letter, this sewer, in a Number ...

Q. Enclosed is a photo of a Singer treadle sewing machine with cabinet that belonged to my grandmother. It is their model 66 and was manufactured Aug. 25, 1920. She spent many hours sewing for herself ...

This media is in the public domain (free of copyright restrictions). You can copy, modify, and distribute this work without contacting the Smithsonian. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's ...

I haven’t been looking for a sewing machine because I can’t sew. Well, to be technical about it, I can sew but I’m not very good at it and I don’t enjoy it. When my daughters wanted to learn to sew, I ...

IF your parents didn’t use one, theirs probably did. Some people may still be using them — these sewing machines sold so well their inventor built one of the first skyscrapers in New York. He called ...

When we brought home an antique White Family Rotary treadle sewing machine from a thrift store last year, I thought it would be just like great-granny’s old Singer I’d used as a child. After we ...

This media is in the public domain (free of copyright restrictions). You can copy, modify, and distribute this work without contacting the Smithsonian. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's ...

Treadle sewing machines work as well as electric models, if not better …. without electricity. They’re also inexpensive, $10.00 to $40.00 (I bought mine for $25.00, in good shape). With proper care ...