Irish

 

Well it seems like all of us are baking in North America.  Everywhere seems to have a temperature of about 100 degrees Farenheit.

This week I was looking for one thing and then found another thing and it got me wondering what the temperature is like in Dublin, Ireland this week.  They are having temperatures in 70s during the day and at night, it goes down to the 50s.  It sounds divine.

What intrigued me this week was a sewing machine called an "Irish Sewing Machine".  I had never heard of this have you?  I found a few references in newspapers but less in the United States.  Most of what I could find was in the early 20th century.

1914 ad, Queensland, Australia:

So what is an Irish Sewing Machine?  According to this article from the U.K., it is a machine that can embroider better than a regular machine.  It had a zig-zag stitch that produced the effect of a satin stitch and the seamstress used a hoop on the machine to create the look she wanted.  It was apparently all the rage at the turn of the century for dressmakers who embellished dresses with this machine.

I probably can't find any machine ads in the U.S.  or Canada because different companies incorporated the technology into their own lines of machines.  Here is one from Ebay that is called a Singer Irish Machine.

Apparently some manufacturers still use the term "Irish Sewing Machine" in their modern machines.  Here's a Juki Irish Machine offered for sale in the U.K.

Although I knew embroidery machines were made at the end of the 19th and early 20th century, I had never heard this term before (being of Irish descent, I would have remembered it).

Some sewists still use this machine.  Here's a great video of a woman using an old machine to embroider.

Have you heard of this machine before?

Friday is coming so if you have any flower or gardening images you wish to share, email me at allentownquilter@gmail.com

Have a safe and happy day!