The machines that were made seemed to have been made from all metal parts, were very durable and some older models could work like a charm after a little oiling and cleaning. What can be uncovered about the American Universal sewing machine is that it was never an independent company, it was made under the ownership and supervision of White and the machines were a product of the Japanese sewing machine manufacturing boom that took place in the late 40s to early 60s. Their machines seem to be copies of the Taylor-Bird machine as it used the same parts. There is also no connection between that company and the Universal sewing machines made in America after the war. Their claim to fame was the aluminum sewing machine body but there is no word of the popularity of that model It was formed in 1954 and by 1957 it was making 35,000 machines a year. There was a Universal Sewing Machines LTD company in the United Kingdom after the war. It is most likely that White just used the name to make more money from people who thought they were buying a competitor’s superior machine. Also, the Standard company was first bought by Osaan of Japan in the year of the stock market crash, who sold it to Singer in the 30s who then sold it to white after the war.īut there is nothing definite as records have not been kept up since White disappeared in the late 20th century. The name Universal may have been used by a variety of different sewing machine companies as it is a very attractive name that gets people’s attention. White owned a lot of different brand names as it was one of the few original American sewing machine companies to make it out of the 19th century and survive long after the war. From all the research we could do and fin on this model name, the former company never existed and was only a faux competitor so they could have more dealers in the same area. This is one of holy grail machines for darning and repair and on average sell on eBay for $500 – $1000.To understand the Universal Sewing Machine company you would have to read the history of the White Sewing Machine Company. Vintage darning machine for repairing and “reweaving” denim. These are super rare and I’ve only seen two working models: at Rising Sun and Samurai Jeans in Japan. Fun Fact 2 – Before the 43200G, there was another machine called Union Special 11500G – dating from well before 1921.Fun Fact 1 – Most denim shops and designers use a cheaper Union Special 43200F (which was originally used for side seams) and add the folder on this machine to claim it’s a 43200G.Most chain stitched hems unraveled quickly when broken, so most garment manufactures switched to lockstitch machines like the Union Special 63900 instead, and did not reorder chain stitched hemming machines. Since most denim was now open end, the trend leaned towards fast, cheap, and lower quality denim. Moving with consumer trends, many companies modernized their machines in the 1980’s so most of the 43200G’s ended up again in China, Japan, and Pakistan etc. It’s something that goes hand in hand with learning about vintage garments – you need to understand the machines that made them if you want your own garments to look as good.
UNIVERSAL SEWING MACHINE JAPAN FULL
That said, if I had a studio full of modern machines I would most likely not get the same type of attention, so it certainly helps collecting older machines. Yes, they are difficult to maintain and some parts no longer exist but generally they are better as they are products of a time when everything was generally made better. There is always a nice story with old machines, and they look way better than their modern counter parts. This is mainly because they make beautiful stitches or imperfections when they sew. Most denim heads like me, tend to hunt down the older machines.
We list the sewing machines used on pocket bags of every Endrime jean, something we were the first to do with 100% transparency. After ten years working as a designer for some of the world’s best denim companies, I decided when it came to my own brand, Endrime, I would buy the best machines I could (after doing some research), and take my time hunting them down slowly. Most trained designers can sew, we are taught pattern cutting, draping and tailoring.