Spring in Chicago, and all the joys I mean, thunderstorms, it brings.


While the weather yo-yos up and down and the barometric pressure follows, I sit patiently waiting with my Singer 185k parts in a state of readiness - waiting to be primed and painted...


I spent last weekend while the kids played in the yard cleaning up the deck, moving all of our patio furniture out of our unheated garage and setting up a make-shift painting station for myself in said garage so that I can at least be ready for painting when and if I can ever get 3 or 4 days here in Chi-town where the humidity is optimal and the temperature stays above 55F.

I have about an hour or so more of sanding to do on the main machine and a good scrub and I'm ready to tape and prime.

>>drums fingers<<

My goal is to finish sanding tonight and tomorrow night after the kids go to bed and have it ready for paint for Saturday, if the weather holds.

I'll update when I can finally start painting...

…of sewing machines.

(you dirty birdies! Get yer minds outta the gutters. What did you think I meant? *chuckles*)

If you’ve been following along at all, I fixed my Singer 185k3 Christmas present that arrived smashed up. The only thing I didn’t/don’t have for it was/is a case or base. I’m working on that.

Then I dismantled it again. Like, really dismantled it. Like my zipper bags? (are you freaking out yet??)


Okay, so admittedly, I was totally okay until it was time to disassemble the tension assembly. I have never done this before. And even looking at this photo again today to crop and watermark it I was having literal palpitations. I’m not kidding. Gaaaaah. Keep on chugging, Erin. You’ve committed, now -



(time for a glass of wine here)

Set it in some Dollar Store baking trays…then…

Bathed it in stripper using Dollar Store paint brushes, let it sit for 24 hours at a time –



scraped, sanded, cleaned, bathed in stripper again -



lather, rinse, repeat (please note by this point I have stopped putting pictures on social media as I am starting to get flamed over email for my decision to customize my little machine – true story – but meh – I have tough skin – I just don’t have the time nor energy to reply to all of the naysayers…plus, my thoughts are – this machine didn’t end up in a dump somewhere OR salvaged for scrap metal $$$, I am actually going to use it and it’s my prerogative on how or what I do to it. So there.)

At this point I’m going to tell you: THIS SUCKS. If you can ship your machine off to have someone do it all for you, and it costs like $500 to do it? PAY IT. This is hard on your body. It takes a long time, and a lot of patience (both of which, notably, I’m lacking in. I’ll admit it.)

I did a lot of research on the products to use in this project. A LOT. Like, for months. I listed them below with links to Amazon. Most people out there are using Citristrip (aff link) BUT everyone I came across doing this were stripping older machines – with no doubt older paint technology. This paint did NOT want to come off. I stuck with the Citristrip (aff link), but I’d recommend if you’re going to strip a 185 yourself? try something a little more, well, toxic. Something that’ll melt the paint off the first time. All of the other bloggers I researched were stripping 80 and 100 year old black Singers with the Citristrip and the paint came off like butter. Not so here. I had to really fight with it.



There’s quite a bit of pitting on this machine now that the layers and layers of varnish are off; I’m seeing quite a bit of Bondo in my OCD Type A future. Oh well. Good thing I’m not in a rush.

The nooks and crannies are the toughest part to get at. They take the longest and are the hardest on my poor fingers -



After all of the paint was scraped off, I hit the machine with a lot of elbow and shoulder grease with #150 dry sand paper then steel wool (#1, #0, then #00). Again, as a reference, see the Amazon affiliate links below the post for the products I used if need be.

A really important part of prepping the machine for paint is removing all of the oil and grease that it’s come into contact with over the years AND from my fingers and the stripper.

So, the final step before the Self-etching Primer (see below) is to wash it down according to the instructions on the bottle with Grease Remover until your cloth comes out nice and clean.

I am tired. This is the toughest part, I know. And it’s the part that takes the longest. I have worked on this machine every night for almost 2 weeks, cleaning it, dismantling, stripping, rewiring.

Probably a good thing it’s taking me so long to sand it down – I’m having some trouble deciding on the custom bed waterslide decal I want to put on it and I feel like I need to be really sure about the color I chose. Or maybe - the colors. Heheh. And that part is a surprise.

So. Stay tuned for the next step – primer and filler. Maybe some color. Hang in there.

a pretty little jadeite Singer 185k-3, and it arrived in the mail smashed to bits -


For the longest time I have wanted a Singer 221 – better known as a ‘Featherweight’ – it’s a vintage machine, made from 1933 – 1966 by Singer Manufacturing Co., and it was their answer to the age old problem of portability (or lack thereof):

courtesy of ismacs

Singer’s Featherweight machine allowed ‘little ladies’ to tote their machines around with ease as it weighed in at only 11lbs – something I found particularly appealing for my late night kitchen table sewing and retreats and Guild sew-in events. Something that I could tote more easily, something with a gorgeous straight stitch for piecing, and something that wouldn’t break the bank if I dropped it/broke it, etc. – something I was very concerned about doing dragging my big Janome 6500 (aff link) along with me everywhere (especially since that’s the machine I use for my little Etsy business).

The problem with the Featherweight is that they are very sought after and have become quite popular in recent years. Which has driven the price up. And I just couldn’t justify spending $3-400 on a little machine like that for just retreats and sew-ins, as much as I really want one.

Enter what I like to call “the poor man’s Featherweight”. Or I should say: “the poor WOMAN’S Featherweight”.

Just as cute. With a stitch just as nice. Not as lightweight. (Ha!) - the Singer 185 - a 3/4 size portable, low shank, oscillating hook machine that takes class 66 bobbins - and rings in at about $50.

...my little machine after weeks of cleaning and fixing and replacing parts - isn't she pretty?

I researched this machine for several months; watched for one for months at garage sales and estate sales and the like with no luck, and eventually gave in and asked at Christmas for hubs to buy one off eBay – play the online-auction-sewing-machine-buying-Russian-roulette-game. Ugh. We lost.

They had no idea what they were doing with respect to packaging a sewing machine – one piece of bubble wrap (literally) and a few sheets of newsprint in a box that was miles too big, and the machine arrived with the bakelite case smashed to bits, the bobbin winding mechanism destroyed – it had been punched through from the inside to the outside of the case, the original green tire visible when I opened the box from the outside of the case (not a good sign); the spool pin had snapped off flush with the body; the light broke; and the list went on.

Luckily eBay’s return policy is fantastic and the seller was good to deal with and I received a full refund as the machine was just not useable in the condition I received it in.

A few weeks of dismantling the machine, tinkering, replacing parts, cleaning, and more,

top L: the handwheel, bobbin winding mechanism dismantled for cleaning; top R after cleaning bottom L: bobbin case before clean, bottom R: after cleaning

and I managed to get it turning-



and then stitching its first few stitches -



Next up to rewire it, which is always fun. I’ve done a few machine motors, pedals and lights now, and I’m excited to do it. It’s just a matter of trying to find the time. The other pretty major problem is that I have neither a box/base or a table to put it in. Which means that for the time being, any tinkering is just that. Tinkering.

I can’t use it until I save up even more pennies to buy a base or case for it. Here I have one of two options - buy vintage (which means I run the risk yet again of receiving something smashed in the mail from an online auction site, or something old, smelly, and not worth the money) or buy new (which means I'm buying something custom and handmade (no doubt gorgeous but costly, and the ideal option) or plastic and ugly).

 My friends say I should just make a case – why not? Oy. TIME. I NEED MORE TIME. Plus, who are we kidding - anything I make just isn't going to be as nice as what I can buy from a professional woodworker.

Sharing my pretty green machine today with Molli Sparkle’s Sunday Stash Share. I’m so proud of my little machine!!!

Make sure to pop over to see what he and the others are sharing from their stash acquisitions this week, there's always lots going on over there. Lots of juicy eye candy :)



Oh! And, don’t forget to enter my giveaway if you’re visiting here today from Stash share and you haven’t yet entered

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