Saturday, January 29, 2011

Elna Supramatic




I must confess. I've been bitten by the vintage sewing machine bug. I posted a while ago about bringing home a 1904 Singer 27 treadle. Well, she, um, now has a sister.
I picked up an Elna Supramatic. Now, in my defence, I have been looking for one of these amazing machines for a while, ever since I first saw them. They are amazing little creatures.
The original one is nicknamed the "grasshopper." Mainly because of the green colour, and the way the knee control folds up looks like a grasshopper leg.
This is the second edition of that model. Built around 1956, so that makes her 'about' my age.
The most amazing part of this Swiss engineered model is just how well made it is. Every thing just hums, and you can hear how powerful the direct drive motor is.
And she packs up so neatly. Everything fits into the carrying case - which is steel - and it doubles as an extension bed for the machine. She's the original 'free arm' machine. I haven't named her yet, but I took her for a spin last night and she loves to sew.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I learned to sew on my mom's Elna - bought to sew baby clothes for me (1957). Only difference is the colour - mom's is a beigy colour! One Christmas I made hankies for the older ladies in the family (the ones who carried fabric hankies in their purses) and used all the decorative cams to stitch fancy hems. Love your Elna! Barb