It was disappointing to learn that my old treadle sewing machine, stored in my garage for 25 years, isn’t going to be sold to reap a retirement windfall.
It’s not worth a lick.
Mr. Sew Dandy, Jan Sabin, said it might be good for parts, but that’s about it. He should know. He collects antique sewing machines with a special eye for children’s models.
Sabin lives on Camano Island. He keeps busy about three days a week as Mr. Sew Dandy, repairing noncomputerized machines all around our area.
Do you think you have treasure in the form of an old sewing machine?
Think again.
As Sabin said, between about 1851 and 1900, the well-known Singer company sold more than 16 million sewing machines. During that period, there were more than 150 sewing machine factories worldwide.
Old does not make it valuable. Collectors in England, Australia, France and the United States are on the hunt for precious antique models, but they need to keep an educated eye, Sabin said.
Sabin, 63, was born in Seattle, and his family traveled with his father in the Army. When he was a young boy, the family lived in Germany. He attended Seattle University and the University of Washington as a political science and business major.
He worked at a cold storage plant in Seattle. Sabin moved to Camano Island when he found a perfect home for his wife and mother-in-law. His wife, Stephanie Metzger, works at Skagit Valley Community College and loves to quilt.
Sabin started his interest in collectibles almost 20 years ago. His mother had a beautiful porcelain piece she had picked up during her travels around the world as an officer’s wife. He went into appraising and became an antique dealer.
In the beginning, he got a featherweight Singer, took it apart and got it running again.
“I could fix them,” Sabin said. “I got a fascination with sewing machines.”
Collecting helped him secure parts for repairs. He said that finding smaller children’s machines was fun because he could store more on a shelf.
Though he has purchased machines through eBay, he said buyers need to beware. Machines can look better in the sales picture, and often sellers don’t know how to pack merchandise before shipping.
He’s been on buying trips to England and Canada and attends conventions.
His greatest find, besides his wife, Sabin said, is a beautifully designed Elna from the 1970s. It was in a thrift store. He paid $27 for it and they typically sell for $500. He would love to find a Tourist machine from the 1890s.
If folks have machines in their original cases, that helps the value. It is really neat if the manufacturer’s directions are in the case. Some folks collect sewing machine bobbins, and rare needles can fetch $30.
Most of his inventory is on loan to museums or in storage, Sabin said. His grandchildren would rather play video games than look at the machines he displays in a few cases at home.
He will happily talk to a group or club. For more information, e-mail mrsewdandy@camano.net.
If someone is looking for a good, reliable machine today to mend and hem, he said to look for models manufactured in Japan in the 1950s.
“They are called Class 15,” he said. “Bulletproof.”
They can be found in thrift stores for about $50. Sabin compared my old treadle machine to a 1975 Chevy.
It’s worth more for the parts than the machine, he said.
That’s sew wrong.
Columnist Kristi O’Harran: 425-339-3451 or oharran@heraldnet.com.
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