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.

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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

Needed Parts For Necchi Supernova Free Arm

If anyone can help out with finding these parts, I'd sure appreciate it.

Thanks,

Michael

Vintage Kenmore 158.10402 - Restored

Downloadable Manual

••• SOLD •••

Vintage Kenmore 158.1040 (VERY RARE 158.10402) Sewing Machine

MINT - Serviced

Circa 1974

Made In Japan

$550.00

I've been collecting these incredible little machines for several years now.  The 158 series machines were made for Sears by Jaguar/Maruzen out of Japan.  I consider them to be the Singer 221 Featherweight on steroids.  I suppose, if you are a quilter, the 221 is the holy grail for quality of straight stitch and portability.  However, if you are a typical sewer needing more than a straight stitch, portability, and a compact footprint, this little Kenmore 1040 is a must have.  There were three in the 1040 series: 158.10400, 158.10401, and 158.10402.  The 10400 and the 10401 are nearly indistinguishable, but the 10402 had some differences in the indicator markings.

Features:

• 3/4 Machine w/rose embossed clamshell case
• 18 lbs.
• Cast aluminum housing
• All metal gears
• Case measures 17" long  x 5.5" wide x 11.5" tall
• Oscillating vertical 15 series hook/bobbin
• Straight stitch
• Zig-zag stitch
• Blind hem stitch
• Mending stitch
• Straight stretch stitch
• Zig-zag stretch stitch
• Built-in 4 step buttonholer w/five guides: 3/8", 1/2", 5/8", 13/16", 1 1/16"
• Light
• Foot controller w/case
• Automatic bobbin winder w/five bobbins
• Feet include: zig-zag, straight, zipper, blindstitch guide with shank 
• Straight and zig-zag needle plates
• Needle threader
• Large and small screwdriver
• Five needles
• Two double needles
• Adjustable presser foot pressure
• Droppable feed dogs
• Oiler/lint brush
• Seam Ripper

Over the past few years I've acquired seven of these machines. From them I have restored three and gave one to each of my daughters as Christmas presents a couple of years ago.  I have a couple left to restore and sell, and then I found this very unusual 158.10402 in virtually mint condition.  I did go through and perform a full restoration; cleaning, polishing, and waxing, along with grease and lubrication.  All functions were checked and it performs flawlessly.

What I didn't expect, nor have I ever seen, was the styrofoam packing.  It was obviously used to secure the machine inside its rose embossed clamshell case during shipping.  This is the most complete, most perfect 1040 I've run across and it has found its way into my little private collection.

The inspection label is still on the side of the case and the original hang tag is on the handle.  It even came with an actual page from the 1974 Sears catalogue from which, I assume, it was ordered.

The following few pictures show the machine from all sides.

 Inside the machine is clean and untarnished.  It received a full oiling and greasing.

 Here are the markings that are changed on the 10402.  The indicator lines are black instead of orange and there is the descriptive text, SPECIAL STITCHES, instead of dots.

No markings on the manual and the binding is perfect.

The page from the 1974 Sears catalogue featuring the machine and the price.  $160 in 1974 is equal to $800 in 2015.

The electronic foot pedal is pristine and the green vinyl case is perfect.  I've only seen two that weren't torn at the seams.

 This machine came with all of its original accessories including the oiler/brush, the needle threader (in the original box and still sealed in plastic, and the two screwdrivers which are still in their plastic bag.

 Feed dogs work and drop perfectly.  Bobbin case present and accounted for.

 I love the way the end of the machine flips up and the accessory case flips forward for added material support.  The engineering on this machine is amazing.

 The manufacturer's tag on the bottom of the machine.

 A perfect case with hang tag and inspection sticker.

 Here are the oiler/brush (with original oil) and the seam ripper.

 All five buttonhole guides.

 The original double needles and single needles in their plastic cases.  This machine also comes with a straight stitch needle plate and foot.

 Screwdrivers still in the bag.

 Its hard to believe that all of the accessories fit in the tilt out tray.

 The original shipping styrofoam.

 The hinge knuckles are perfect; usually one or more are cracked or broken.

Everything fits into the case except the manual, which is why so often it goes missing.  Of all the machines I've collected, this is the hardest manual to find.

I hope you enjoyed taking a look at the Kenmore 158.10402.  If you have any questions, let me know. The items that are problematic on these machines is that the double belt pulley and the drop feed dogs tend to freeze up after years of nonuse.  I'll be doing a tutorial on easily dealing with both.

Thanks for looking,
Michael