Addicted to sewing
24 November 2008, 12:02This weekend James and I took a trip out to Oxford to celebrate our friend Dori’s birthday. While we were there, she showed me her newest pride a joy, a “Jones” vintage sewing machine that she’d just bought from a charity shop for £4!
It’s a real beauty, with a sturdy wooden case with folding arm and attached wooden base, nice solid steel construction, and a compartment full of random accessories. She was a bit disappointed to learn that it only does straight stitches (no zigzag), but I assured her that straight stitch machines usually do that one thing really, really well and that she still got a bargain.
Included with the machine was a variety of machine feet which I was able to identify, but the true mystery was this tool, which to my eyes really looks like its purpose must be to inject thread straight into a vein!!
A bobbin fits into the round part, is somehow threaded through the pen-like body, and out through the hollow needle (zoom in on the second photo to see the needle). The tip doesn’t have a hole going through it like normal needles, but instead is hollowed out lengthwise with the thread emerging from the tip (it came with a spare tip and needle, too). I’ve never seen anything like this before, and I honestly can’t fathom how one would even thread it, let alone what it is used for.
Does anyone know what this strange “thread injection” tool is?
UPDATE: Boy, that didn’t take long, you’re awesome! See Zoe’s comment below – it’s for making tailor’s tacks! And also thanks to her, you can now download pdf instructions for using the Tailor Marker!
tags: machine, vintage
Yep. I got one of those with my Nan’s old machine. It’s a tailor marker. You use it to thread trace seamlines etc. by pushing the needle right through all layers of fabric about every half inch. You can then theoretically cut through the threads between the layers of fabric and you have two pieces thread traced. However I’ve tried it a couple of times and never got it to work. I just stick with copy paper and a tracing wheel.
— Zoe Nov 24, 12:26 PM #
ah HA!!
Thanks very much! I knew it had to be for poking through the fabric somehow but couldn’t quite see how it’d be easier than using a regular needle… Now I can see it’s because it’s just as easy to “reverse” with this as it it to poke…
Thank you!
— melissa Nov 24, 12:29 PM #
That’s a beautiful machine and what a cool tool.
— cidell Nov 24, 01:00 PM #
A tailor tack maker! how cool is that! I could have used one when I was making my coat.
— Lindsay T Nov 24, 06:07 PM #
That reminds me I have a modern version of a tailor tack marker somewhere – I have a feeling it’s broken, must check it out. I found it easy to use by putting a piece of foam backing under the fabric.
— allisonC Nov 25, 12:18 AM #