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International Sewing Machine Collectors' Society

The purpose of the International Sewing Machine Collectors' Society is to foster the collecting of, and research into, sewing machines.

ISMACS' Sewing Machine Book List

Books on Industrial Sewing

The Development, Construction and Characteristics of the Sewing Machine

Author:

J B Duncan

Publisher:

Singer

Date:

1980

Pages:

85

The book discusses the development of the sewing machine but is mainly concerned with the various types of stitch formation and design characteristics. Fairly advanced stuff for the serious student. Hundreds of line illustrations.

The fundamentals of machine sewing by Singer

Fundamentals of Industrial Sewing Machine Stitch Formation and Adjustment

Publisher:

Singer Sewing Machine Company, Manufacturing Trade Department, Form 3292MT(353)

Format:

11” x 8½”, Loose-leaf, B&W

Date:

1953

Pages:

Approx 60

Concise information on the general construction of the principal types of Singer industrials, with representative models dissected. Emphasis on lockstitch, but also chain-stitchers (1 & 2 thread); covering-, overedge-, pique and hem-stitch machines, etc. Intended for use in conjunction with shop practice work, lecture discussions and, it stresses, the appropriate machine manual and parts book.

Fundamentals of sewing machinery by Singer

Fundamentals of Machine Sewing

Publisher:

The Singer Company (IPD-454-71)

Format:

11” x 8½”, loose-leaf for ring binder.

Date:

1971

Pages:

93, plus an epic glossary

“The material in this study will impart basic knowledge concerning origin, design features, stitch types, application of needle types, seam strength and a glossary of terminology used in the stitching trade.” Many of the technical aspects of machine sewing are covered in Singer’s usual clear, concise style. Not machine specific, so the copious information is generic. More about how the various parts work rather than how to mend them. Excellent treatise on needles. Unusually, for Singer, it makes no attempt to sell their products.

Illustrated reference book for sewing equipment

Authors:

E.I.Voronin & A.I. Oblyezov

Publisher:

Light Industries, Leningrad (St. Petersburg)

Format:

10 1/2” x 8”, hardback.

Date:

1976

Pages:

190

ISBN:

Are you kidding?

You've got to love those catchy Soviet titles. A very clearly illustrated reference for a wide range of USSR-made industrials (Pesho, Relm, O.Z.L.M., P.M.E. Kalinin), a Minerva (former Czechoslovakia), Pannoniya (Hungary) and the Juki MO-367. Much is explained by the countless, excellent, exploded views of the machines and all their working parts, but the text is in Russian.

Needles

Author/
Publisher:

Singer Sewing Machine Company, Form 8531 (rev 153)

Format:

8” x 4½”, loose-leaf

Date:

1953 (updated periodically with extra loose pages).

Pages:

174

A cross-referenced list of every needle for (nearly) every industrial Singer up to the early fifties; by needle Class & Variety and by machine. No mention, however, is made of 4-figure needle system numbers (e.g. Cat. 2020 for the 15X1). Invaluable list of “needles for which substitutes may be made” and what they are.

The Sewing Machine Blue Book

Author:

Robert E, Ridderhoff

Publisher:

Bobette Industries, 167 Elizabeth St, N.E,, Atlanta, Georgia 30307, U.S.A. [email protected]

Format:

Paperback, 6½” x 3½", no illustrations.

Date:

1971-2004 (revised almost annually)

Pages:

133

Independently produced for the American sewing machine industry as a quick guide to (pretty much) every make & model likely to turn up – lockstitch & serger - though mainly domestics. A short description plus the retail and second-hand prices are listed for two thousand machines, to help salesmen ascertain an unbiased, realistic trade-in value. Prices are of historical value only but the lists of models are comprehensive.

Sewing Machine Guide & Directory

Author:

J.R. Guichard

Publisher:

T.E.F.A.C., 56 rue Cantagral, Paris 13e, France

Format:

9” x 12”, loose-leaf, no illustrations (OK, an advert)

Date:

1968

Pages:

536

An independent index of more than 1800 commercial machines by type. Technical data, descriptions observations and, most usefully, the needle systems of most industrial models around in the 60s. Designed to present the entire available range to manufacturers equipping factories. A bit like the book garages use to look up plug gaps and such data for automobiles.

Sewing Machinery (in the USSR)

Author:

S.I. Rusakov

Publisher:

Moscow

Format:

9” x 6”. Hardback. B&W line drawings. In Russian.

Date:

1938

Pages:

364

A dense instructional manual for sewing machine engineers. Diagrams and exhaustive text on numerous Soviet industrial machines – all of which look suspiciously like Singers, down to the identical class numbers. The Willcox & Gibbs High Speed Lockstitch and various blind-stitchers also appear. “Have you been paying attention?”-type questions after each chapter. Hundreds of chapters. Hours of fun with the Heroes of the Soviet Needle (The Order of Linen). According to the publication details – a statutory declaration – 8,000 were printed.

Sewing Machine Operator’s Training Handbook

Author:

Manuel Gaetan

Publisher:

Bobbin Publications Inc., Columbia, South Carolina

Format:

9” x 6”, hardback.

Date:

1972

Pages:

121

Library of Congress Catalog Card No. 79-180204

More accurately, an instructor’s handbook for training new and apprentice sewing machinists in industry. How to teach machining, with exercises and lesson plans for the pupil and teaching/employment advice for the master.

Not reviewed but we know they're out there somewhere...

Title:

How to Adjust & Repair Your Sewing Machine

Author:

Arthur W. Smith

Publisher:

Silver Dollar Press, Little Rock Arkansas, USA

Date:

1984

ISBN:

0-9615146-0-4


Title:

The Complete Sewing Machine Repair Book

Author:

Jack Miller & Bill Boltin

Publisher:

Arco Publishing Company, Inc. N.Y, N.Y.

Date:

1961


Title:

You Can Repair Your Own Sewing Machine

Author:

Grover J. Tharp

Publisher:

Quickee Offset, Inc., Balatimore, Maryland, USA

Date:

1977

ISBN:

0-9614713-0-1