Antique Sewing Machines ~ Granny's

Sunday, June 22, 2014




Chances are,

if your grandmother liked to sew,

she had a Singer or White sewing machine.

My Granny's was a White and looks like this one...



She loved to sew, so Granny's machine is showing a little wear.

Some of the veneer is missing on the top and in a few areas on the drawers.




I've been thinking about the best way to use Granny's old sewing machine,
and have wondered if I should refinish it or not?


In looking for ideas I found some interesting ways to use these antique sewing machines,
like this one that was transformed into a lamp...




Some folks remove the cabinet and use the base for:

A sink base in the bathroom...







A kitchen island...




As display tables...

















A dressing vanity...





Some leave everything as it was originally,

and use the top for display...





Maybe refinish the wood cabinet...




And I believe this is my favorite
because I don't think I could dismantle Granny's sewing machine.

Leave the cabinet as is,

open it up so the sewing machine can be seen,

and add a few pretty things for displaying...



I love that lamp!

What would you do with your Granny's antique sewing machine?

Hop back over this afternoon for AMAZE ME MONDAY...


Let's Stay Connected...

12 comments:

  1. That's a tough one. I love the ideas you have shown but I am not sure I could ever tear it up just to use the base. Wish I had one, they are beautiful!

    Gigi @ Old World Patina

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  2. I have several of those wonderful old machines. A couple of them belonged to my grandmother and I have topped them with glass and another with a slab of Corian. Another that was purchased at a garage sale and I refinished it and it's a bedside table in our guest room. My daughter has one that she uses as a makeup table and in the past we actually put large tops on them and used them for our sewing machines. I can't bear to see an old machine be tossed so I salvage everyone one I can get. Sometimes they are in pieces but I find ways to reuse them. The drawers make for wonderful storage of odds and ends, some of the machine parts are framed in a shadow box frame, the drawer frames have glass shelves cut for them and I can display things on them. There's a use for everything if you think long enough. I recently bought an old Singer at a garage sale that didn't have the cabinet so I'll be making a lamp of it. I dearly love these old tables and the memories that they give me.

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  3. Guess what? The kitchen island one is mine I had in Texas! It is now being used as a sofa side table, and as I type, it's right next to me with my lamp on it. Used as tables, they are ultra versatile.
    Brenda

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  4. Do you know that Lehmans catalog has parts for the old machines?

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  5. I'm so glad that you left it as your Granny had it. What a wonderful tribute to her. I bet she spent many a happy hour sewing clothes on it for her family. I was fortunate to buy one that a local, mountain carpenter had put a beautiful piece of wood on the top and made a desk out of it. He stained the wood to match the existing drawers and base. Let's preserve the old wood whenever we can. Elizabeth

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  6. Those are really neat Cindy! Never would have thought to use them in these clever ways.

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  7. I have one almost exactly like this in my foyer.I can NOT bring myself to dismantle it. in any way!! I think I would rather open it up and put things on top of it and continue to display it as my grandmother's sewing machine. I want to keep some of the past intact!!! THank you so much for sharing this with us!!

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  8. I would maintain the original look as in the last idea. The other ones are clever but if it was an inheritance I'd keep it as the antique that it is ...lovely :)

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  9. I have the base of a sewing machine that I put a piece of butcher block (from IKEA) on top and used in the kitchen until I found a beautiful, big butcher block island. My son's friend just gave me an old one like the first one you showed and I am going to put that in my craft room and keep it just as it is.

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  10. Why would you display only part of any other piece of furniture? I personally don't like just the base being used for any thing other than how it was intended because I think the history is important especially if it belonged to a family member. However, this is only my opinion and I am a bit envious!!

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  11. My sister has my Great Grandma's old machine and stand. I purchased a small black sewing machine for display in my sewing room because I love them. In Chicago there is a store (can't remember the name) on Michigan Ave. that has black old sewing machines in the window places like on bookshelves that cover the whole window. It's amazing to see and you could google it because it's awesome. My first apartment I used a sewing machine base with a butcherblock table top as my kitchen table along with a wooden folding chair. I was poor and the base and chair were in someone's trash! But if your Granny's machine were mine, I would paint it with chalk paint and display it someplace in my home. It's beautiful in it's details and rare to find one that detailed.

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  12. I have one of the old Singer sewing machines in the cabinet, and it's been multi-functional over the years. I don't think I could ever lay a paint brush to it, but to give a bit of a change (actually a big change), hubby cut a top for it and I made a ruffled skirt. It has been the best foyer table for a couple of years now. They truly are "things of beauty," and hold so many stories of those early seamstresses!

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