Singer Art Deco Sewing Machine Cabinet Completely Refinished

Refinishing this Singer Art Deco Sewing Machine Cabinet was a labor of love for my husband, Dave. Hours and hours went into disassembling, sanding, reassembling and refinishing to bring her back to her former glory.

Before I show you how she looks now that he’s finished working his magic, let me show you what it looked like when we brought it home from the yard sale.

As you can see, she had gone unloved for quite some time. I shared more photos in my original Art Deco cabinet post about where we found the cabinet and how much it cost.

Dave did an amazing refinishing job and the cabinet is absolutely stunning when seen in person. The photos I’m about to share don’t do it justice.I couldn’t be more pleased with how it came out!

There remain a few “imperfections” where the years had taken it’s toll on the cabinet; a chip in the veneer under the left hand drawer, a dent in the wood of the left hand extending leaf where someone had tried to close it while the machine was still in the upright position… small imperfections that Dave decided to leave untouched because to attempt to repair them might have caused irreparable damage to the cabinet itself.

And in their own way, they are a testament to her many, many years of service and only enhance her charm in my eyes.

The refinishing was done in the garage so before we took the cabinet into the house, I took some pictures of it out on the driveway to try to catch the early morning sun.

In the photo below, you can see how even the brass hinges have been cleaned and returned to their original beauty.

All the felt pads were replaced with new ones as the originals had gotten hard and worn with time and weren’t providing any cushioning when the leafs were open.

I’ve been using the machine in it’s new cabinet for a week now but we couldn’t get good photos as it was positioned in the room, so Dave moved it temporarily so that we could have the light from the one window in that room.

One thing is for sure, we don’t want to have to move this cabinet too often because with the machine in it, it is really heavy!

Here’s another shot of the front of this lovely old Art Deco sewing machine cabinet.

And here is my Singer 15-91 installed in her new home.

If you’ve ever wondered how to remove and reinstall one of these vintage sewing machines in their cabinets, Dave and I have created a step-by-step photo tutorial as well as a video tutorial.

Isn’t this 15-91 Singer sewing machine a beauty!

She is a dream to sew with and has given me back my joy when sewing after struggling for years with a more modern Singer.

Excuse the blue low tack painters tape you see on the needle plate. It’s being used as a temporary seam guide until the new Adhesive Needle Throat Plate markings arrive from Sew Classic.

I can’t leave out the fact that Dave also refinished the bench seat that came with the cabinet.

He even reupholstered the cushion with fabric from my stash.

If you look closely you’ll see the ebony strip that Dave added along the bottom edge of both the cabinet and the stool.

Another unique touch that was added, at my request, are the spool holders he inserted into the middle drawer on the right hand side of the cabinet. Each spool rod holds a tall spool with room for its matching bobbin on top.

Before someone notices and mentions it, yes, I know that two of the bobbins are plastic bobbins. Those are for my modern Singer sewing machine and won’t be used in the 15-91.

The Simplicity Sidewinder Bobbin Winder that our son gave me for Christmas is going to come in handy for rewinding bobbins as I change thread back and forth between my two machines.

One final picture of the cabinet where it now sits ready for me to finish sewing the lawn chair cushions and countless other projects I have planned for the future.

Before pictures of the cabinet can be seen in my post Art Deco Cabinet for My Singer 15-91. 

For an in-progress picture check out Art Deco Cabinet – Some Dis-Assembly Required.

Update: This Art Deco Sewing Machine Cabinet, home to my Singer 15-91 continue to hold pride of place in my sewing room. I sew with her almost exclusive. These old ladies were built to last and well cared for, she will outlast me and probably our children.

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