Tag-Saleing for the Sewer

So, it's a beautiful early fall weekend and you and your hubby are going to make the rounds of garage and yard sales, maybe a junk shop or two. What should you look for?

~Sewing machines - Most anything 40 years or more old. Especially featherweights (Singer 221), Singer 201, Necchi Supernova, Kenmore 1040, Kenmore Mini-Ultra, Pfaff 1222, or anything else that strikes your fancy. (If I don' t know about a machine I'll only buy a well known brand name or a lesser known name made before the 70s or after the 80s!)

~Sewing machine feet. Know your machine...especially if you have a low-shank machine, you can find many older feet, such as binding feet and rufflers, that will fit your modern machine.

~A Dritz bound buttonhole maker. For these you have to dig in those shoeboxes full of old rickrack and bra extenders. The seller will have no idea what it is and you can get it for nothing.

~Cotton laces suitable for heirloom sewing.

~Old threads? No, these are often rotting and not worth risking your project for. Although, sometimes the silk threads are nice for basting.

~leather for purse handles, collars, welts

~Garments that can be re-styled or used for fabric (i.e. real sequined fabric)

~Vintage patterns or fashion magazines that you might want to frame for your studio.

~Thread racks

~Print drawers, which are NOT good for storing threads (the pockets are not deep enough) but might look nice hanging in your sewing space with thimbles here and there.

~apothecary chests for notions

~wine racks for rolled fabrics, stabilizers

~dress forms

~sergers (many people buy them and never use them)

~ironing boards (the older ones are sturdier)

~sleeve boards

~textiles - be careful of quality, especially with anything silk or wool. If you see holes or tears, the piece will probably be very fragile and you wont' want to use it.

Any other ideas?

We went to a huge flea market this weekend. I didn't find any Dritz buttonholers (I have one but I'd like to find some to give away). We also missed a nice modern Kenmore sewing machine b/c it was on the first table as we walked in and decided to leave it until we left. It was brand new and marked $55. (In general, I like Kenmore sewing machines.) Husband did get a child sized chain stitch machine that is fairly rusty. But for $15 he will have some fun trying to get it to work. And my daughter got a beautiful wool coat with mink collar. (I didn't find any sewing stuff...but I did get a metal bucket jack-o-lantern so I can quit carving pumpkins at the last minute every Halloween.)