Please LOGIN or Join PatternReview

Go to Page: 1 of 22 of 2

Necchi Lydia 3, model 544 looking for information: bobbins, maintenance, repair
poplin Advanced WA USA Member since 5/28/06 Posts: 1355	Login to reply to this post Like this post Date: 11/18/09 8:51 PM I've got a Necchi Lydia 3, model 544 on my work bench. And I've got lots of questions. The only vintage SMs I've been working on lately are Singer (401, 404, 301, 600E) and Kenmore (1060, 1040, and 1947). The Necchi Lydia is looking like a mystery to me right now. I can't even figure out where to open it to get to the internal parts... First off, are the plastic bobbins easily purchased at fabric/SM stores? If so, what type are they? Or is it necessary that I use the original Necchi plastic bobbins? I'm afraid that the original bobbins it came with have burrs. They don't look very smooth. Second, anyone here actually opened one of these types of Necchis (Lydia, Sylvia... )? Care to share or PM me, please? ------ Dec 2012: 2 yards Her needlework both plain and ornamental was excellent, and she might have put a sewing machine to shame. ~James Edward Austen-Leigh, about Jane Austen
skae   Advanced MN USA Member since 4/23/07 Posts: 2746	Login to reply to this post Like this post Date: 11/18/09 11:10 PM check with a few of the sewing machine dealers on ebay. Don't forget your local libary they have lots of info. Or ask your local necchi dealer. hope this helps ------ Galatians 5:22-23 The Spirit produces love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, humility, and self-control. There is no law against such things as these
Ripple Dandelion Intermediate NC USA Member since 9/23/06 Posts: 323	Login to reply to this post In reply to poplin Like this post Date: 11/19/09 7:24 AM Hi Poplin, I'm no expert, but I recently purchased a Necchi Mirella, which is a similar body style but is only a straight stitcher. You get to the insides by removing the handwheel and then the cover on the right hand end. You will see the camstack. Check for cracks! They may well be there. If so, that is bad. I don't think replacements are available. I looked at one Lydia with a cracked camstack. The straight stitch was working, but some of the patterned stitches were not. I'm not sure about the bobbins. The Mirella has its own specific bobbins, which are metal. I hear they are rare, rare, rare. My Mirella came with six, so I count myself very lucky. The motor is accessed from the bottom of the machine. I have a few photos of the insides that I could post on my blog for you. I will try to get that done this afternoon. Good luck. Also, the Necchi Yahoo group may be helpful. ------ Virginia http://asewinglife.blogspot.com
Ripple Dandelion Intermediate NC USA Member since 9/23/06 Posts: 323	Login to reply to this post Like this post Date: 11/19/09 12:06 PM Poplin, I posted a few pictures of the inside of the similar Necchi Mirella here. ------ Virginia http://asewinglife.blogspot.com
poplin Advanced WA USA Member since 5/28/06 Posts: 1355	Login to reply to this post In reply to Ripple Dandelion Like this post Date: 11/19/09 1:06 PM Thank you for those pictures. Very cool looking hand crank machine there! Thank goodness yours came with six, original bobbins. I don't know about the Lydia 3. The machine is not mine. A friend of mine is just loaning it to me (for an indefinite period of time) to play with and admire in my spare time. I found the bobbins online. I wonder though if these bobbins are standard, like the class 15 clear plastic bobbins. I'll have to compare them side by side. They look similar to the class 15 plastic bobbins in my Singer accessory box. Those plastic bobbins are branded "Singer." Did you have to replace the belts? ------ Dec 2012: 2 yards Her needlework both plain and ornamental was excellent, and she might have put a sewing machine to shame. ~James Edward Austen-Leigh, about Jane Austen
threaddy   Advanced WY USA Member since 4/22/09 Posts: 2320	Login to reply to this post In reply to poplin Like this post Date: 11/19/09 3:32 PM OH NO!!! That is the machine that changed my life!!! I hated it so much my Dad bought me my first Bernina...which began my love affair with sewing. That thing drove me to tears and I would never have gone on with sewing if THAT was what I had to sew with! You say it is on your workbench...that means it isn't yours..good ! Tell the owner it can't be fixed, throw it in the trash!!! (Now everyone will post that it is a great machine and I must be mental...) ------ "The problem is not that there are problems. The problem is expecting otherwise and thinking that having problems is a problem." Theodore Rubin "Life isn't about finding yourself. Life's about creating yourself." George Bernard Shaw Bernina vintage and embroidery serger 234 and BLcoverstitch
Ripple Dandelion Intermediate NC USA Member since 9/23/06 Posts: 323	Login to reply to this post In reply to poplin Like this post Date: 11/19/09 6:03 PM I didn't have to replace the belts, but it had been serviced sometime in the nineties. I suppose the belts had been replaced then. The Lydia I briefly looked at (a Craigslist item) seemed to sew a nice straight stitch. The camstack was most definitely broken. Such a shame. I love the design and look of these machines. One odd thing about the Lydia: the handwheel is not where you expect it to be when you are sewing. Actually, now that I think about it, I believe on the Lydia the handwheel is the top wheel and the stitch selection knob is on the bottom. For a lot of folks, they grab the bottom wheel to raise or lower the needle and end up changing the stitch selection. ------ Virginia http://asewinglife.blogspot.com
poplin Advanced WA USA Member since 5/28/06 Posts: 1355	Login to reply to this post Like this post Date: 11/19/09 6:41 PM I knew from the the get go that this style of Necchis and I will never bond. So, yeah, sigh of relief. I am not the owner of this machine. The current owner loves it, but he doesn't sew. He just likes the looks of it. Can you blame him? I haven't plugged it in. I believe it works as he has a test sample of all the stitches, and they all look really nice. But I want to know how it does on more fine fabrics. This Lydia is complete. It looks as if it hasn't seen much sewing in the past. The case looks very good, too. Hardly a scratch on it, just this crayon mark on the bottom edge. A little GooGone should fix that. It may be rare indeed to find a Lydia and her sisters in this excellent (cosmetic) condition. Only the bobbins need replacing, I think. I'm going to plug her in tonight and see how she does on some quilting cotton and batiste. ------ Dec 2012: 2 yards Her needlework both plain and ornamental was excellent, and she might have put a sewing machine to shame. ~James Edward Austen-Leigh, about Jane Austen
Peter in NYC Intermediate USA Member since 6/9/09 Posts: 323	Login to reply to this post Like this post Date: 11/20/09 8:23 PM Ripple is right about how to open the machine. My camstack is cracked and it cannot be repaired. It does a good straight stitch but as it has a tendency to race, so it's just not pleasurable to use this machine. Very pretty, however. I'm 99% sure you can use the plastic Singer bobbins on the Lydia. My Lydia pics -- Edited on 11/20/09 9:03 PM -- ------ You'll be in stitches at malepatternboldness.com!
Ripple Dandelion Intermediate NC USA Member since 9/23/06 Posts: 323	Login to reply to this post In reply to Peter in NYC Like this post Date: 11/21/09 6:45 AM Ohhh Peter, how I liked seeing your Lydia pictures and reading your commentary. This machine kind of makes me crazy: if not for the camstack problem and the handwheel/stitch selector knob being in the wrong place and the bobbin being tricky to access and the motor being wimpy and difficult to get to....It would be absolutely perfect! My Mirella has the advantages of: no camstack to break, bobbin can be reached by flipping up the end of the extension table and the way cool handcrank. It's a thing of beauty. For all that, I don't find myself reaching for it to sew. But I am determined to explore it more, maybe for piecing patchwork very precisely. Not that this kind of work is what I generally do much of, but I have to consider what the machine needs! ------ Virginia http://asewinglife.blogspot.com

Go to Page: 1 of 22 of 2

Please LOGIN or Join PatternReview

Printable Version

* Advertising and soliciting is strictly prohibited on PatternReview.com. If you find a post which is not in agreement with our Terms and Conditions, please click on the Report Post button to report it.