Sack Dress

I bought a sack dress for Mary 25 years ago and she still has it, but it is showing signs of age... so, I decided to make a pattern from it and build her a new one.

It was much harder than imagined, but finally, here she is modeling it with Cooper, the english bull terrier.

Vintage Bernina 830 Record Sewing Machine - Restored

Downloadable Manual

 ••• SOLD •••

Vintage Bernina 830 Record Sewing Machine

Very Clean - Serviced

Circa 1970's

Made In Switzerland

$849.00

Treat yourself to one of the most sought after vintage, all metal, sewing machines ever made... or surprise a loved one with a truly special gift.

This machine is in especially nice condition with very little yellowing.  This model is notorious for yellowing on the side and back panel and the motor shroud.  This was caused by being left in the window for years on end.  A good indicator that this machine was kept in the case when not being used.  The case even has the original inspection sticker on the side and the styrofoam shipping inserts (quite rare).

The case handle and latches are near perfect.  The case is near mint.

This machine has been thoroughly cleaned, serviced, oiled, lubed, polished and waxed.  The case has been treated with a UV inhibiting plastic preservant.

Look at the pictures of the inside of the machine as well as the outside of the machine and it is clear that the previous owner babied it.  I purchased this machine from the original owner.  It is in very good condition and comes with a full complement of accessories to include:

---- Sewing Machine Case w/Styrofoam Inserts (Very Rare)

---- Knee Bar

---- Extension Table

---- Foot Controller

---- Foot Controller Cord

---- Foot Controller/Cord Caddy

---- Original Manual (some markings inside)

---- Accessory Case & Accessories (listed below)

Presser Feet:

---- 000 - Zigzag Multi-Purpose Foot (On Machine)

---- 007 - Zipper Foot

---- 016 - Blind Stitch Foot

---- 028 - 7 Groove Pintuck Foot

---- 030 - Embroidery Foot

---- 168 - 2MM Roll & Shell Hemmer Foot

---- 174 - Lap Hemmer Foot

---- 419 - Tailor Tacking Foot

---- 452 - Buttonhole Foot

---- 470 - Overlock Foot

---- Edge Guide

Additonal Accessories:

---- Original Bernina Bobbin Case

---- Original Bernina Oil Tube

---- Original Bernina Embroidery Hoop

---- Bernina Screwdriver

---- Bernina Needle Screwdriver

---- Lint Brush

---- Metal Bobbin (5)

---- Wing Bolt & Nut for attaching machine to table

---- New Schmetz needles - 5 pack (1 in machine)

----New Spool Felt (black)

General:

The machine is in extremely good condition.  There is a tiny chip in the paint by the ruler decal.  The ruler decal on the base of the machine is not perfect and there is a small dimple in the handwheel release knob. (please see photographs).  Not bad for a 40+ year old machine.  I've not come across an 830 in such good shape.

Service:

I performed a visual inspection of the machine and found the electrical to be in good condition and did not replace it. The cord is pliable and has been meticulously cleaned and UV protected.

Light switch and lightbulb are in working order.

All moving joints, including motor, has been oiled with Tri-Flow.  All gears have been greased with Tri-Flow grease.  The unit runs smooth and quiet from low to high speed.  When the low-speed switch is engaged, the machine hums normally due to the diode technology Bernina used at the time of manufacture.  This is normal.

Old capacitors have been removed.  These are now considered obsolete and can become problematic and costly to remove.  They were originally installed to reduce radio interference which may not be necessary in today's electronics.  According to one source, some interference may still occur.  If it does, 0.1 microfarad, class X2 can be used.  The RFI capacitor across a universal motor or carbon-pile speed control also reduces sparking and slightly increases the working life of the carbon parts.

All presser feet have been cleaned and have been treated with dry lubricant.

The bobbin winder works and the auto-stop performs properly.  The unit sews properly, forward and reverse.  Handwheel releases the needle bar properly for bobbin winding. 

The thread tensioner works properly.

The belt and timing have been inspected are perfect.  The hook has been polished.  See the photo of the test stitching… perfect.

I am not a sewing machine technician.  I am a general contractor who has worked on tools for decades and, for some reason, like to play with vintage sewing machines.

• Ready to ship (I pack very well)

• I highly recommend not letting this one get away!

DIY - Do-Rag

Tore apart an old Do-Rag and made a pattern from it.

Hope you enjoyed this idea.

Michael

DIY Hair Clipper Pouch/Tote

Finally decided to try to make a zipper pouch for my Wahl hair clippers.  Mary has been cutting my hair for over 20 years and the butt pack the clipper has been in has finally bitten the dust.  It was never well organized anyway.

This thing was a geometry nightmare, but finally it all came together and everything fits like a glove.

Upcycle Purse From Suede Leather Pants

Found a pair of like new St. Johns Bay black suede leather pants at Salvation Army for $14.00.  Another purse for Mary.

*************************************************************************

Here are some photos of the process:

 No pockets or belt loops so I decided to salvage all the leather and design a purse from scratch.

I plan on making a new "waistband" for the purse using this technique from the original pants.

I had some leftover upholstery material from a purse that I had made for my daughter and decided to do a center panel on the front and back with pockets to hold pens, cell phone, flashlight, etc.  I interfaced the back of the fabric with Pellon SF101 fusible interfacing.  Here I'm adding a gray lining to the pockets.  The same material will be used for the purse lining.

I started using these wonder clips for assembly.  Its like woodworking.  Here the pockets are being arranged for the center panels.

A leather piece is sewn to the bottom of the center panels so that leather runs across the entire bottom of the bag.  All leather will be attached with a felled seam.

3/8" Seamstick 129 from Sailright.com will baste the center panels to the outer leather panels.

After stitching the first seam of the felled seam.

The leather seemed a little too "floppy" so I decided to interface it with some extremely ugly upholstery fabric from Habitat using Elmer's spray adhesive (love this stuff).

The leather now has a more structured feel to it.  I then used Seamstick 129 basting tape to hold down the felled seam for top stitching.  The seam has gotten too thick for my Bernina 1130 so I'll be using the Cowboy CB3200 compound walking foot sewing machine with Dabond V92 TEX90 polyester thread.

Top stitch complete... turned out nice and the Cowboy went through all of those layers like butter.

This is the pocket construction.  It will run the full width of the purse and be sewn into the side seams.

The basting tape helped secure the pocket panel in place.  No place to use the clips and the material was getting too thick for pins.

Added a sleeve in the bottom of the liner for a plywood stiffener.

Sewed up the side and bottom seams and boxed the bottom of both the outer shell and the liner.

Ended up with a real good fit.

Front view.

From the leg panels, 2 1/2" strips are joined end to end to fashion the straps.  Ultimately, they will be 1 1/4" wide with the center panel fabric on the under side.

Interfaced the leather with the ugly plaid fabric and used SF101 on the upholstery material.

Ran out of the ugly plaid fabric and found this even uglier floral fabric to interface the "waistband".

At some point I stopped taking pictures... just needed to get it done for Valentine's day... finished it at 2:00 AM, February 14th, 2016.

Hope you like it.

Michael