STITCH LINES...... Ramblings on life as a quilter, stitcher, traveler, photographer, gardener and lover of books, cats and fine chocolate....

Friday, February 8, 2013

What a toy!

Do you own a toy sewing machine? I mentioned a few days ago, when I showed you my old Singer with the beautiful decals, that I have an antique hand-crank toy sewing machine. It's a Casige- pronounced Ka-see-ge. It is German made, but I do not know when as there is no date or serial number on it...
Casige was one of the great German toy makers of the 20th century, although  the original company had been founded 50 years earlier and specialized in locks.You can see the company trademark of a great German eagle grasping a key in its talons on this little machine.
The name Casige came from the name of its founder and his hometown- Carl Sieper of Gevelsberg (Westfalen) Germany. Ca-Si-Ge.
In 1901, Carl Sieper II, grandson of the original company founder, was asked if he could supply small cheap sewing machines for schools. He must have had a good head for business because he  realized that to expand his company, he would need contracts and a school contract would be a very good start. Casige produced toy machines from 1902 until 1975. They produced millions of machines in endless patterns and designs. The one I have is very plain compared to photos of some I have seen, with intricate decals and designs. To give you an idea of its size, the base measures 5.5" by 9.75" and the hand wheel is 3.25" in diameter.
I don't believe one could actually sew with it as there is no bobbin or shuttle for a lower thread. However the upper part of the machine looks very authentic as there is a spool pin, a simple tension disc and thread guides for the thread to follow a path to the needle. The presser foot does raise and lower and there are feed dogs to move the fabric through, as you turn the wheel.






There was no needle in place when I got it years ago, and one of "today's needles" does not fit - I have tried! So I guess it is destined to be admired as a "decor" item in my studio... it won't be replacing my hard-working Bernina any time soon...
So - do you own a toy machine? If so, I'd love to hear from you.

Piece!
Linda

"Adults are obsolete children." ~ Dr. Seuss




2 comments:

Pamela Gordon said...

Linda, that could very well have been our old toy sewing machine. It looks a lot like it. I think it's really cute and I'm glad you, as a sewer, own it. I think we used to sew with the one we had some how though not sure if it had a bobbin or not. It's in great shape. Thanks for sharing this with us. How's the storm there? Has it started yet?

Karen said...

Fabulous post. I appreciate how thorough you always are, I learn so much. In particular, I liked that you included the pronounciation because I have one and always stumble over how to say it. Now I know!

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