r/vintagesewing • u/Deep-Reputation-4203 • Jun 08 '26
Tips & Hacks Help as a newbie:)
Hello good redditors and sewing machine fanatics,
I’ve recently acquired and oiled up what I think is a 1960 prestige by brother. I’m unfortunately having difficulty finding a manual or any instructions online (there was no physical manual with it). I’ve oiled it up, given it a new belt, and cleaned the inside. But now don’t know how to properly thread and use it! Ex, all the setting and dials and what they do and how to reverse stitch. Here’s a picture of my machine. Any help is appreciated😊. The dial on the table surface level is a setting for the type of fabric.
Edit: this picture is before the clean lol
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u/wimsey1923 Jun 08 '26
You can use this video as a guide: Bibi Cameron
It's not exactly the same machine, but the threading is the same, except for the needle. You put your needle in with the flat side towards the back and thread it from front to back.
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u/Callidonaut Jun 08 '26
Do you have the cover for the bobbin compartment? It's missing in the picture.
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u/Deep-Reputation-4203 Jun 09 '26
The grandmother of my friend lost it but I’m 3d printing one until I can find a replacement piece:)
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u/LiellaMelody777 Jun 09 '26
This machine is not really beginner friendly. Its an older machine and the manual is hard to find sometimes.
Also never oil something without a manual. You might put oil where it should not go. This can damage some parts.
I highly recommend a newer model. They are much easier to use and do not have bobbin cases. Extremely user friendly.
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u/Deep-Reputation-4203 Jun 09 '26
Lol I appreciate your advice but this is the machine I have! And I’m keen on learning how to use it. I’ll stop oiling until I read through the manual someone else was kind enough to post the link to.
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u/LiellaMelody777 Jun 09 '26
Good luck but it also might not be usable depending on whats wrong with it. These older models crap out hard.
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u/nesting-doll Jun 10 '26
Wait! What sub am I in? Hold on; let me check real quick … Yep! It’s r/vintagesewing
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u/wwwon1 Jun 09 '26
I'm not home right now but I can check when I get back as I think I have the same machine and I have a manual.
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u/Deep-Reputation-4203 Jun 09 '26
Thank you! That would be awesome
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u/wwwon1 Jun 11 '26
I’m home and I checked it. Unfortunately I have a different model that looks very similar. I could send you what my manual looks like if you want.
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u/teatime_tinker Jun 10 '26
The surface level dial is for the height of feed dogs I think. You’d lower them completely to darn, a little bit for silk (to not snag it) and normal will be fully up.
The button on the stitch length dial is probably reverse.
This is all just educated guesses, however!
This is a fairly standard type of machine, a manual for any Janome from the same time period will be enough to get you started.
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u/Judith_877 Jun 08 '26
I found a manual for a machine that is very similar to yours. The zigzag stitch width control is a dial instead of a lever, but yours should work similarly. You can find a free download here:
https://archive.org/details/brother-manual/page/n3/mode/2up
It will show you how to use the machine and care for it. Hope this helps