Uneven stitching on Singer 66K – mystery solved

Here is the problem: uneven tension on my 1906 Singer 66K. Why? It goes up and down every 30 stitches or so. Weird. Annoying. Bah! 😤 But never fear - the mystery is finally solved, see updated original post. 😃

The secret of Singer needles

No, it isn't top quality - that's no secret. 😁 Singer domestic sewing machine needles of type 15x1 (a.k.a. HAx1 or 130/705H) are actually different from needles of the same type made by other manufacturers, both needles of top quality and needles of "great value". Here they are - a Singer needle and a different…

Zig-zag hooks and their strengths and weaknesses

All zig-zag machines that I've got, are round bobbin. I know of one transverse shuttle zig-zag machine: it is by Seidel & Neumann, see http://www.naehmaschine-antik.de. Round bobbin hooks can be classified like this: rotary versus oscillating, vertical versus horizontal, side-facing versus front-facing. Rotary and oscillating hooks have very similar performance characteristics when the other two…

Singer 66K – another homecoming

I've already had one of these - a Singer 66K with Lotus decals (although I think they are thistles really). But I sold it in a misguided attempt to reduce the number of machines in my sewing corner. Have been missing it ever since, so had to get a replacement. 🙂 But I promise to…

Singer drop-in bobbin – the two horizontal hooks

After the "standard domestic" vertical oscillator from Singer 15, the drop-in bobbin horizontal hook is perhaps the next most common concept in domestic sewing machines. Originally introduced in Singer 66 in 1902 as an oscillating hook, it evolved into a rotary version in model 201 that appeared in 1935. Both hooks are found in many…