Welcome to Vintage Sewing Society
What is the
Vintage Sewing Society?
The Vintage Sewing Society is a fun, modern take on old-fashioned sewing bees and home ec classes!
We connect and educate vintage and antique sewing machine owners from all over the world.
With educational materials published when these machines were new, we learn (or re-learn) how to sew or improve our sewing skills. We learn to bring frozen machines back to life, to troubleshoot issues, to do our own servicing. Finally, we learn to have fun with them. All within a special, friendly, safe community.
It’s here you’ll find great tools, experienced assistance, and a serious passion to help. Share your photos. Show your issues. Swap stories. Meet new friends. Ask questions. Learn those attachments. Attend a workshop. Enjoy a virtual retreat. Hang out on Friday nights. It’s all part of this community, devoted to the history, use, and restoration of vintage and antique sewing machines.
These machines will outlive us.
The Vintage Sewing Society ensures the knowledge to use them isn't lost, but passes along with the machines, as they stitch their past into our future! Come join us!
As a Vintage Sewing Society member, you’ll enjoy:
Weekly classes via Zoom
Self-guided studies with easy to follow lesson plans and all lesson materials in one place
Instructional videos that include ongoing comments, questions and answers
PDF downloads of vintage sewing books, & other sewing helps
Live practice of all lessons
Sew-alongs
Reviews & vendor recommendations for parts, repairs and supplies
Professional Refurbish & Repair workshops, resources, and 1:1 help *additional fee required
Lively discussions
Retreats
Local, in-person meet-ups
Mystery Monday quick sewing projects to finish in one evening
An active, happy community
A much treasured, Friday night Hangout (via Zoom) where we enjoy each other’s company and stitch to our heart’s delight—an old fashioned sewing bee, but in the privacy of our own homes! A surprisingly productive time shared with kindred spirits!
Members also enjoy our annual Camp Sew n'Sew, 4 days of virtual workshops, projects, challenges, giveaways, free sews,
and more, held every year via Zoom!
All of this is accessible through web browsers and devices, and through free apps for both Android and Apple
We think you’ll like it here!
Welcome to the first class of Demystifying Your Serger! Whether your serger has been sitting quietly in its box, feels intimidating to thread, or you simply want to understand what all those knobs and loopers actually do, you are in the right place. In this class, we’ll take the mystery out of your machine step-by-step as you learn threading, tension adjustments, troubleshooting, and the techniques that create those beautiful professional finishes seen in ready-to-wear garments. Most importantly, this is a relaxed, encouraging space to experiment, ask questions, and build confidence with your serger so it becomes one of the most useful and enjoyable tools in your sewing room. Soon you'll find your serger goes from intimidating to indispensable!
There are 31 lessons in this class. They follow a loose outline designed to help you become comfortable and confident with your serger step-by-step. Because every serger model is a little different, you will need to work alongside your machine’s manual throughout the class. Always check your manual before making adjustments or following machine-specific recommendations, as threading paths, tension settings, stitch options, and controls may vary from what is demonstrated here. Think of these lessons as a guide to understanding the principles of serging, while your manual serves as the roadmap for your particular machine.
These classes are held every other weekend from June 13th through September, 1-7pm EST. Class time covers materials on Saturdays, with additional hands-on free time for anyone needing extra assistance on Sundays. You will make napkins, an infinity scarf, t-shirt and pajama bottoms during this workshop.
This workshop is free for VSS members (see membership plans below). Or you can pay a one-time class fee, for just the class. I will email you the class materials and Zoom links as we go throughout the workshop.
