Vintage Good Housekeeper Sewing Machine: Review and History
Throughout the many years, different sewing machine manufacturers often made a variety of sewing machines under different brand names. The sad thing is you may miss out on a good machine because you have never heard of it.
It seems that the Good Housekeeper sewing machine was made by White before it was bought out by Husqvarna. If you lose the manual you may be able to get a copy form Husqvarna for roughly $20 or so.
To learn about this Good Housekeeper sewing machine all you have to do is continue to read our article. This is one of those machines that may still serve you well once you learn about it.
Good Housekeeper Sewing Machine History
Tracking down the history of the Good Housekeeper sewing machine is as hard as it is to track down the secrets to Fort Knox. This difficulty is not because the sewing machine is a state secret is that it is a generic badge sewing machine whose history is lost to time.
Some people think brother made it back in the 60s while others state that White was responsible when the company was still known as White Sewing machines. A third party has stated that the Model 73 was made in Japan but there is no real company name attached to its manufacturing or history.
What can be said about this brand of sewing machines is that if they are like the model 492, then they are workhorse sewing machines. The trouble with tracing sewing machines made in Japan is that over 5,000 different models were produced and there are no records.
On top of that, there were about 15 Japanese companies that were cloning the Singer models 15 and 99 giving them American sounding names to make them sell better. The other problem is that American department stores would purchase large quantities of these machines and have their own name placed on each one.
Finding Good Housekeeper Sewing Machine Parts
While not much of a mystery as the history f the Good Housekeeper sewing machine, it may be a little difficult to find parts for them. Do not expect to walk into any sewing machine retail store and expect them to have the parts sitting on the shelves waiting for you to come in.
The internet turned up one British parts store that stocks Good Housekeeper parts. You will have to pay in British Pounds and add 5 for shipping charges but you may find what you need through them. Here is their link.
Probably the best place to look for parts for this old sewing machine would be those vintage sewing machine shops that sell and repair old sewing machines. A local search may turn up some positive results for you.
Finally, auctions and estate/garage/rummage sales may be your best bet. This old machine usually goes for under $10 at these sales. Buying one may get you a lot of spare parts for your machine.
Good Housekeeper Sewing Machine for Sale
If you do not want to do a traditional search around your city, the best place to find an old Good Housekeeper sewing machine is on eBay. The current one we found for sale there is running at $149 and it is said to be in top mechanical shape and performs well.
Other places may mean getting away from your computer and touring the different vintage sewing machine shops in your city. It is highly likely that they will have a model or two for sale or know where you can get one.
Many people have been fortunate enough to find an old Good Housekeeper sewing machine when they visit different yard sales. The main drawback to your search will be is the fact no one knows how many were made and where the majority of them sold.
How to Use a Good Housekeeper Sewing Machine
These old machines were usually made of tough metal. That means that they were and are solid machines that knew how to work hard and get the job done. In fact, one owner has kept theirs in good shape and it sews through up to 8 layers of leather or denim with ease.
To use one you may have to do the old trial and error combined with the process of elimination method to learn how it works and what it can do. We thought we had one web site that had a PDF version of the owner’s manual but the tricky part in finding it is in the name. Good Housekeeper is too close to housekeeper, housekeeping and Good Housekeeping magazine to narrow the search down.
How to Thread a Good Housekeeper Sewing Machine
Threading this machine may be a bit difficult. It is side-mounted and may not thread as most modern sewing machines do. Since Japan cloned at least 2 models of Singer sewing machines, the best method to use is to copy the Singer’s threading process.
Some sewers do have manuals with their models but they have said that threading the machine is not easier when looking at it. Manuals may not be of any decent help if you can find one.
Like the Singer technique, some people are using their Kenmore’s and Whites to give them a helping hand when it comes to threading their old Good Housekeeper.
Some Final Words
This is one of the issues when it comes to old sewing machines like the Good Housekeeper. They may not have a history that you can track and because they were mass-produced in Japan and given weird names, you can’t find any information on them.
The one thing you need to be careful of is that there are sellers out there taking advantage of those weird names and trying to boost the price of their sewing machine models. Good Housekeeper has nothing to do with Good Housekeeping magazine.
Advertised rare Mitsubishi, and other names Americans are familiar with are just common Japanese clones. They are not worth more than about $20.
