I found this Aldens sewing machine a while ago. A loooong while ago, at a local thrift store. I plugged it in, it worked, the price was right, so I took it home. I didn't have a green sewing machine, and it looked pretty cool. So, that was that.
The day after I got it, a friend gave me this sparkling clean, mint (in color and in condition) New Home machine, and so this poor Aldens just sat on a shelf until this week. Since I really didn't need two green machines, I was going to clean him up and either sell or give it away.
My research resulted that "Aldens" was a department store in Chicago area. Many of you recognize this sewing machine as one of the badged Japanese sewing machines from the 50's~60's. Yes, it's made in Japan. Does not say who made it, however. My other green machine was made by Janome.
Cool looking. I know. It has three feed dogs settings, "Normal", "Silk", and "EMBR" which I take it to be free motino embroidery - just drops the feed dogs.
There is a few minor scratches, but the machine is in great condition.
The actual color is brighter than it shows here in these photos, and more green than blue.
The belt fit perfectly! Now he has a bright orange belt. And, Wow. This motor is 1.5 amp. I think I previously said that my Pfaff 30, at 1.3 amp, is probably the most powerful sewing machine I have. I was wrong. My neglected Aldens had this 1.5 amp Westinghouse motor.
After adjusting the tension a bit, he sews beautifully and quietly.
He is very responsive, too.
Ha! I'm very proud of him. Pretty impressive. Hmmmmm. I was going to sell or give him away. Now I have a second thought. I think I will keep him for the time being. He is a much stronger and smoother machine than I'd thought. I'll definitely take him out when I need lots of power.
When I began collecting vintage sewing machines, I wasn't very much interested in Singer 15 clones or badged Japanese machines. I was more interested in 'stylish' or truly classic looking (like the old black Singer) that are also true workhorse as far as practicality was concerned. So, I went straight to old Singers and European made machines such as old Necchi, Elna, and Bernina.
I somehow ended up with a couple of these Japanese badged machines, and they both surprised me. Totally exceeded my expectations.
These are abundant, inexpensive (unless it's pink!) vintage sewing machines that I highly recommend to any sewers who don't feel the need for a free-arm. Especially to newbie sewists who have a limited budget for their first sewing machine. Rather than buying a new cheapie plastic machine for $100, why not spend $30~$50 and get a very solid, reliable, straight forward, easy-to-operate, zigzag machine that will love you and encourage you to sew? Nothing fancy. No decorative stitches or automatic embroidery function - but who needs them, really. 99% of my sewing is straight stitch and a variation of zigzag stitches. Other garment sewers out there, won't you agree? (yeah, yeah, yeah, I love my Bernina 1230, basting stitch is nice, auto buttonhole is nice, so is needle up/down, blah, blah, blah. But you can't get one for $50 and this wasn't my first machine.)
Speaking from experience -- my first machine of my own (I grew up with my mother's machines which were just great) was one of those cheapie plastic $100 machine. It rattled (lightweight plastic will do that), it was fussy and I didn't even know it. I ended up stop sewing for a looooong time, thinking it was me. I thought was a bad sewer. Took a good 20 years to figure out that it WASN'T ME. But it's true. It did cause me to stop sewing, except for occasional Halloween costumes for my kids, for a good 20 years. (OMG, 20 years, really....?!)
Anyway, I'm back, and I'm happy to have discovered the power of vintage sewing machines, and good quality sewing machines. I also learned how to take care of them. You own something nice, you take care of them. It loves you back.
I also made him a foot control cover, and gave him a red spool pin
cushion. Now he's well color coordinated. Ohhhhh, I forgot to
photograph it, but the foot control is also green. Love ya, Alden!
Alden's was also a mail order business that sent out catalogs. When I was a kid and growing up, we lived in a very small town, with only a grocery store, so everything mom needed was ordered from Alden's, including Christmas gifts. They had clothes, toys, record players, you name it, they had it.
ReplyDeleteI believe that before Janome made the Japanese machines, White, was the manufacturer. Whichever or whomever, the quality cannot be beat!
Your mom didn't happen to order a sewing machine from them, did she?!
DeleteGreat machine and very good looking! Smart to keep it.
ReplyDeleteI stumbled upon this post looking for some info on an Aldens sewing machine that I snatched on a whim from my local thrift store. It has a knee pedal, is in a cabinet, and looks like the old school black Singers. Soooooo gorgeous! I would love any and all info that you have on the manufacture and maybe where I can get a manual.
ReplyDeleteI'm a complete noobie sewer, so it's encouraging to know that it might be better to learn on an older machine.
Thanks!
If it looks like the old black Singer, it is probably a class 15 clone. (Another version of Singer 15 series, like 15-91 sewing machine. Look on the "How It All Began", my very first blog post. -- does it look like it?) It is probably just a straight stitch machine. I find that straight stitch only machines make the most beautiful straight stitch! If you are interested in making clothes, you'll need zigzag stitch. So, you may later venture out to buy a machine (like my Alden or something like it) that gives you a zigzag stitch option. You could get fancier and fancier with machines that have all kinds of other stitches, but really, you only need straight and zigzag - honest truth. As to your machine - be sure to clean and oil. Clean all the fuzz out the machine by using a dry paint brush (dollar store is a good resource for that!). Good sewing machine oil is a must (don't use anything else, Tri-Flow is best but Singer sewing machine oil will do). You apply just a tiny amount of oil on any metal-on-metal moving parts. I get mine at Sew Classic:
Deletehttp://www.shop.sew-classic.com/Tri-Flow-Sewing-Machine-Oil-TF21010.htm
You can search the internet to learn how to clean and oil vintage sewing machines, but it's fairly simple. As long as your machine's inside doesn't have any rust, you are good to go.
http://wesewretro.com/2012/02/cleaning-an-old-singer-sewing-machine/
Look for a similar looking machine for threading instructions. If your machine looks like Singer 15-91, it's pretty straight forward and universal. Lots of resources on the internet/youtube! Yes, the older vintage sewing machines are far better than a contemporary "cheap" plastic machines. I couldn't send you an email as your profile was "no-reply" commenter. I hope you get to see this! Happy sewing!
My daughter just bought an Aldens sewing machine from a thrift shop. It came in/with a sewing cabinet; her friend wanted the table, so my daughter took the sewing machine. It didn't come with a needle, and "Singer" needles she bought don't seem compatible. Any suggestions? Her machine is two-tone beige/ivory and has a silver colored plate on the bottom front stamped "4245".
ReplyDeleteSorry, only 4 years later, I just noticed your comment! I hope your daughter has figured out already. I would think any standard sewing machine needles would do. Perhaps the orientation of the eye of the needle was incorrect? Front facing vs. side facing.
DeleteInteresting comments. I just bought an old Aldens sewing machine today from a pond shop. I am a collector of old machines, totally fascinated with the old school engineering. It is a shuttle machine and is missing the bobbin and shuttle carrier. I found a source for them but I do not know if they are all interchangeable or are they different between brands? Do you know of a source for a supplier of parts for these shuttle machines? All of my others antiques are rotating or oscillating bobbins. I just converted one of my 401 Singers to treadle, as that is my main interest, especially in interest of emergency preparedness.
DeleteWayne B.
A few weeks back, I picked up an Alden's machine identical to this one, except for the color. It's a pinkish-tan with brown top and a 1.3A motor, in a Stradivario small cabinet, with foot and knee pedals.
ReplyDeleteIt had been stored in a climate-controlled garage for at least a couple of decades, and the back was quite grody with accumulated gunk. However, it cleaned up very nicely, and runs smooth and sweet. Still haven't found a manual online for it, but a listing for the same machine had a manual, and one page that was a little blurry was posted. Wish they'd copied that whole manual for those of us finding these classic machines. They are beauties.
Hi, I'm thrilled that you picked up an Alden's machine. These machines from this era were pretty much a standard class 15 clones, in terms of threading and how to use the machines. So, if you come across any Singer Class 15 clones (a lot of them were made in Japan back then)which look likes your Alden's, more than likely its manual can be a good reference for your Alden's machine. Good luck! https://www.google.com/search?q=1950s+Japanese+made+sewing+machines&tbm=isch&ved=2ahUKEwiuuOnr3vjzAhVElJ4KHRqZDKUQ2-cCegQIABAA&oq=1950s+Japanese+made+sewing+machines&gs_lcp=CgNpbWcQAzoHCCMQ7wMQJ1CaDlj3EGDJFWgAcAB4AIABS4gBlQKSAQE0mAEAoAEBqgELZ3dzLXdpei1pbWfAAQE&sclient=img&ei=C7GAYe6GEcSo-gSasrKoCg&bih=955&biw=1752&client=firefox-b-1-d
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