Amazing Willcox & Gibbs Sewing Machine Joins the Family!

Friends, something wonderful happened to me last week: I purchased a vintage sewing machine that has stolen my heart.

First, the back story.  Remember the actress who sold me her mother's Pfaff 30 about nine years ago, and who in the last year gifted me her friend's Bernina 830 Record and Bernina 334DS serger?

Well two weeks ago she emailed me again.  She had a small vintage sewing machine that had been gifted to her many years ago but which she knew nothing about but thought might be valuable.  Would I help her sell it and I could keep half of whatever I got for it?  She told me it was a Willcox & Gibbs machine but that was it.  She really doesn't know anything about sewing machines.

I said I'd be happy to help her but I needed to get an idea of what condition it was in, and also, that I'd only be willing to sell it locally as eBay was too much of a hassle with the packing and the shipping.  She was fine with that and we set a time when I could swing by.

Readers, as soon as she opened the carrying case it was love at first sight.  This little machine is truly a marvel.  You may not be familiar with Willcox & Gibbs (I knew nothing about them) but they made a beautifully designed chainstitch sewing machine that was in production from the civil war era through the 1940's with very few changes.

The machines were manufactured by a company in Providence, Rhode Island, Brown & Sharpe, and their ease of use made them very popular.  Willcox & Gibbs later entered the industrial machine market and remained in business until that 1970's. Although the domestic machines were chainstitch only, they came with a host of accessories you'd associate with a lockstitch machine: hemmers, rufflers, gathering feet, etc.

I knew I wanted this machine for myself.  I made my friend an offer (less than a Bernina but more than a Singer) which she happily accepted and the rest is, as they say, history.  I knew the machine ran when I tested it at the apartment, but it wasn't until I brought it home and threaded it correctly that I realized she also sewed perfectly.  She's incredibly quiet.  You can view and hear an early test here (this was before the oiling but you can see how smooth she sews).

This particular machine had been motorized (with a belt and a floor pedal) and mounted in a case.  I suspect this was a service that Willcox & Gibbs offered to owners of treadle models who wanted something more portable.  The motor and carrying case probably date back to the 1940s or early 50's, but based on the serial number on the machine itself (A557815) I believe she dates back to around 1907.

Here is what the chainstitch looks like from the underside (from the top it looks like an ordinary lockstitch).  A little experimenting revealed that Mara 30 thread yields the most attractive stitch, at least with the needle she has now (additional needles can be found on Etsy and eBay--she also came with a few originals).

The manual is available for free from the Smithsonian Library's digital collection and there is some other promotional material available as well, including this lovely brochure from 1924.

I love how they call the seams "correctable" -- i.e., you can pull them right out, but they also talk about how sturdy they are.  I mean, there's a reason why the lockstitch machine ended up dominating the domestic sewing machine market even if it did require winding a bobbin.

This was the first motorized model.

I purchased a self-published book on the Willcox & Gibbs sewing machine on Amazon but there's very little in the book (more of a pamphlet actually) I hadn't already discovered elsewhere on the internet.  A disappointment.

Here are a few more glamour shots.

I would like to use this machine for regular sewing.  If you remove the fabric correctly, the thread on top automatically pulls to the underside and there is very little risk of the seam pulling out.  Again, these machines were meant for regular garment sewing, not just for making pretty decorative stitches.  I'm going to give it a try at some point and see how it goes.

Anybody else ever sew with one of these?  How did you like it and what (if anything) did you make?

Have a great day, everybody!