The Vintage Alfa Sewing Machine (History, Price, Review)
Digging into history can be fun as you find out so many fun facts about a company. Take for example Alfa sewing machine company. It was the manufacturer of Smith & Wesson prior to entering the sewing machine market.
It seems that Alfa does not want anyone to know their history. We can barely find any word on what they did, who founded the company, or where they are located. Even the company’s website does not have any information about itself except for 4 models of sewing machines it still produces.
To learn more about this company just continue to read our article. We will do our best to dig up as much information as possible about it and their sewing machines. Here is a link to their website so you can see what we are dealing with.
Alfa Sewing Machines 101
Alfa Sewing Machine History
Here is what we have been able to find out about this company and its sewing machines. There is a company called the Alfa group but when it was established and when it was founded is anyone’s guess. What is known is that Alfa Hogar is part of that group which was started to produce the Alfa sewing machine.
This was back in 1920 and the first sewing machine was sold in 1925. The country of origin for Alfa is Spain and it was the first Spanish company to produce sewing machines in that country.
If you can read Spanish here is the link to Alfahogar’s website. We have checked our regular resources for information on this company but no one seems to be talking about or have talked about this company save for the mention that it made Smith & Wesson guns.
Also, the company is supposed to have and continues to generate innovative demands on its products to help its customers have an easier time doing their daily activities.
The company is on Instagram as well as Facebook if you need more information. Their Facebook pages, if we got the right company, are all in Spanish and we could not find anything for sewing machines except a private listing for a vintage Alfa machine.
Who Makes Alfa Sewing Machines
As near as we can figure, Alfa sewing machines are made by Alfa Hogar which is part of the Alfa Group. It is a solely Spanish company that makes other products than just sewing machines. There is an Alfa Hagor furniture outlet but if it is related to this group is unknown.
From what we are given on their British website is that the company makes about 4 current models of sewing machines. They are for sale throughout the world and presumably, they are of good quality.
The photos we saw had the machines looking unique, innovative as the handwheel and the inner wheel are located in two different places on one model. This link takes you to more styles of sewing machines so there may be more than 4 models available.
As far as we can tell the company makes all of their sewing machines in Spain but that information may change as we work on getting you the best data possible. The company is not listed on Alibaba’s website so the company may not have any factories outside of Spain.
Alfa Sewing Machine Company
This company is not solely a sewing machine manufacturer. Like Brother, it has diversified over the years and produces a variety of products for the home. Not only does it produce irons for the homemaker, but there's also seems to be a touch screen waffle or food maker, a bag sealer, and a lot more.
Their reputation is one that reflects the quality of workmanship that goes into their products. Plus, the company has placed a web page dedicated to assisting you if you have a problem with their sewing machine, etc., You can click here.
It may be a good idea to have Google translator on hand to help you as we have found no button that converts those web pages to English or any other language. This link takes you to their tutorial page if you need help in operating your Alfa sewing machine.
Also, if you have questions there is a contact button on the top and the bottom of each page so you can ask your questions and get your answers in your language, hopefully. Then finally, the company does have a shopping cart so you can purchase their products directly from them.
Where are Alfa Sewing Machines Made
That is a very good question but from what we have been able to ascertain, these sewing machines are made in Spain only. W found nothing that indicates the company has factories in any other country in the world.
Nor is there any word of any partnership with the big name companies like Brother, Janome, or Juki who do make sewing machines for their competitors. The good news is that this company has a great accessory page so you can get spare parts and other items very easily.
All you have to do is click on this link to see what they offer. There is a wide selection of items so you can repair your machine if it does break down on you. There is n mention of parts for vintage machines so you may have to use the usual sources to see if anyone owns those old machines.
This company also has Alfa spare parts for sale if you need your information in English. They may be a great company and produce great sewing machines but the lack of information outside of Spanish is not heartwarming, to say the least.
Alfa Sewing Machine Models
There may be more vintage Alfa sewing machine models on the market but so far we have found the 50 and the 472 up for sale on one website. Some come with cabinets and others just have a simple carrying case. At least according to the images, we have been able to locate.
Over at eBay there is a vintage electric model and it is a zig-zag stitch machine but no model number is listed for it. The same holds true for the one listed with its cabinet. So older Alfa sewing machines can still be found in good working order. The good news is that they are very economically priced.
If you want newer models we suggest you look at their sewing machine page at this link as there is a 20, 30, and 40 model for sale. One more button takes you to the 500E but those are not all the models this company has for sale.
They also have sergers and other computerized models on another page. It just takes a lot of navigation to get to those pages as the main page only has links to those 4 models.
Alfa Sewing Machine Instructions Manual
This is the easiest part of this look at Alfa sewing machines and the company that makes them. eBay has one manual that we found for sale on it but that is just the beginning.
There are several internet sites that have manuals listed for the Alfa sewing machine but unfortunately, they may not all be free to you. One site is this one which seems to have manuals for about 20 sewing machines.
The next site is probably the best as their list is long and they provide a photo of the machine the manual goes to. Just click here to see what they have in stock. Their inventory seems to cover some of the vintage machines that are still in use today.
The price for those manuals is 4.95 British pounds or about $7.50.
The company may not provide a lot of information about itself but at least they provide a lot of manuals for their sewing machines and those can be found quite simply.
Price of Alfa Sewing Machines
Used you can find an Alfa sewing machine between $30 and over $350 depending on the condition, the seller, and if it works or not. One used one from the 60s in mint condition is being offered at $90.
The one with the cabinet at eBay is or was selling at $149. For new costs, you may have to contact the company directly. No one outside of Europe seems to be offering these sewing machines for sale new.
We went through their catalog and we could not find a price list. Our secure connection kept failing and the catalog is 72 pages long so we were not able to search it very thoroughly.
To give you an idea their Alfa Remalladora 8704 is priced at 399 Euros Which would put it in the $500 range approx. That was a serger or overlock machine. To get a new price on all their models you would have to spend a lot of time clicking on each sewing machine they sell at their website.
Where to Buy an Alfa Sewing Machine
The best place to buy their new sewing machines would be on their Alfa Hagor website. It has a shopping cart, a list of accessories as well as many different sewing machines to choose from.
The only drawback is that you would need to understand Spanish or be able to figure out the words so that you know what features the machine has. Next for used, your go-to spot would be eBay.it has a few used Alfa sewing machines available at its American site.
The eBay UK site has quite a few more Alfa machines available but you would have to click another button to see the price. Then there is this web page that has about 5 machines for sale.
Or you can check with this website and see if their Alfa 50 is still on sale or if they have other Alfa sewing machines for sale. Then you can try the antique stores, the auction houses, or even those repair shops that specialize in fixing and restoring old sewing machines.
If they do not have any they may know where you can find one or two. These machines are not as rare as an Atlas or other early models of antique sewing machines.
How to Thread An Old Alfa Sewing Machine
The best place to learn how to thread a newer Alfa sewing machine is to go their tutorial page on the Alfa Hogar website and watch them how to do it. The place where we found some printed instructions is 6 years old and did not load up properly on our computer.
The next best place to look to thread your Alfa sewing machine would be in the owner’s manual. If you do not have one, they seem to be very easy to get. Just follow their diagram and step by step instructions to make sure you put the thread where you need it to be.
Part of the problem in obtaining good instructions on the internet is that very few if any, western stores sell that sewing machine. Except for eBay, we did not find a non-European retailer or wholesaler advertising Alfas for sale.
That would explain the lack of information about the company as well as tutorials to handle your machine correctly.
Some Final Words
As far as we can tell, these sewing machines are produced by a reputable firm. They do not seem to acknowledge an English speaking audience as even their British website is completely in Spanish.
From what we have been able to find out the machines look good, come with an interesting design as well as quite a few nice features. If you want to take the plunge and brush up on your high school Spanish, you may want to try one of these machines out. The company keeps updated spare parts accessible.
