Paul’s sewing machines powered by a hand crank

This page is ordered by age, and only includes machines powered by a hand crank. A separate pictorial index includes all the machines I've ever owned.

Hand cranks and treadles were the earliest means of powering sewing machines. While treadles seem to have been favored in North America, hand cranks are more common in Europe and the British Isles. They can be a little tricky to use, but it gets easier with practice. They also stop instantly, unlike an electric, or even a treadle, which helps!

Click any image here to see its blog entry, and more pictures.

The main blog page is kept in the order the machines joined my collection (and also has other sewing machine related entries).

c.1860 Charles Raymond (no.1)

c.1860 Charles Raymond (no.3)

c.1861 Charles Raymond (no.2)

c.1870 Gold Medal "Common Sense" Sewing Machine

c.1870 Little Wanzer

c.1874 Johnson, Clark & Co. Home Shuttle

c.1882 Heberling Running Stitch Machine

c.1886 Jones Hand Machine

1886 Singer Model 12

1888 Singer VS3

c.1893 Atlas model 'A' / Bremer and Bruckmann "Brunonia"

c.1895 Hengstenberg "Robina"

c.1900 Biesolt & Locke "Wettina" (re-homed)

1902 Frister & Rossmann (re-homed)

1906 New Home "New National"

1914 New Home hand crank with floral decals

1914 Willcox & Gibbs Automatic Silent Sewing Machine

1916 New White Peerless "Excelsior"

1918 New Home "New Avon"

c.1919 Gritzner "R" (re-homed)

1920-1940 Müller Model 12C Toy Chain Stitch (re-homed)

c.1920 New Home "Midget" (re-homed)

c.1922 Salter's Ideal Sewing Machine

1926-1950 Singer Model 20 Toy Chain Stitcher

1926-1950 Singer Model 20 Toy Chain Stitcher (no.2) (re-homed)

1941 Singer Model 99K Hand Crank (re-homed)