I picked this little gem up online at what I consider to be a HUGE bargain at just £20.00, I was slightly worried having bought it totally on impulse without even having a chance to test it out or even find out what model it was! With only one photo and no description other than the fact that it's a Singer and the bobbin was bunching I took a punt (but a justified punt at £20) and it appears to have paid off as she works wonderfully!
I have a bit of a habit of buying on impulse, and it usually means I'm about to embark on a journey of total money-wasting nightmarish-ness. When I picked this up from the previous owner she told me there was some bunching going on with the bobbin thread but she never got around to fixing it. I didn't test it out before I cleaned her up and oiled her but I'm pleased to say that she appears to be working perfectly and as so many others have said before, the 185K sews the most beautiful straight stitch I've ever seen! She came complete with table and what appears to be most if not all of the original accessories. The only issue I'm having is getting the bobbin to wind but I think it's just a case of buying a new tyre but I can use the winder on my other machine so it's all good.
The table does need a little bit of work but I'm hoping M will do something for me since he's a woodworker n'all but it's still totally useable! In the meantime, here are some photos. I'm a little envious of my fellow 185 owners in Canada or the US, as their versions (the 185J and 185) are a lovely green colour - I'm not too keen on the tan/brown of the British version but I suppose I can learn to live with it!
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| Check out the stitch to the right of the foot - beautiful! |
Well, I'm off to find some fabrics and start making another dress like the Secret Garden Dress and Ragdoll Dress ♥
I saw one in a thrift shop just the other day for CAN$35, which I also thought was a good price. A tabletop model, though, so no cabinet. But it had two boxes of accessories. (Those are so often intact - you'd think they'd get lost over the years.) I didn't know the green was only North America, though - it is a much better colour than the British tan.
ReplyDeleteHey Wulf, great to hear from you, HUGE apologies for the hugely late response! I fear if I ever find another one of these, as heavy as they are I'll just end up buying it because it's such a great little machine..
DeleteI started another dress just like the one I made for the craftster swap back in 2010 and so far I've had no blips whatsoever regardless of the amount of layers I ut through it - my newer machine would have broken by now (as it has done in the past making dresses with it.. that was an expensive mistake to make, twice.. oops!)
That's a true beauty! such a lovely color, and very sleek looking. My Granny had one of the really old Singers, the black and gold kind with the foot treadle.
ReplyDeleteThanks Rhonda! I picked up an antique black and gold Pfaff sewing machine at a car boot sale once a few years ago for something silly like £4 and stupidly sold it on a couple of months later without even trying it out. At the time I thought it was useless as my 'current' machine could do so much more, I wish I kept it now.
DeleteI found you as you are a fellow Chichester blogger, but I see you are having a (temporary I hope) hiatus - hope you'll be back!
ReplyDeleteHi Clare! Thank you so much for your comment, I've responded on one of your blog posts as I'm not sure if you get notifications on replies to this one.. :)
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