New Home Sewing Machine Models

New Home models became most popular during the early 20th century, but the company sold hundreds of models over nearly a century. You can even still find some of the earliest models made before the company was named New Home Sewing Machine Company.

The frequently changing company ownership and company name make it difficult to track down what exactly qualifies as a “New Home” machine since many of the early models did not carry the new Home brand name.

Antique Models

The upside-down “C” shaped Gold Medal chain stitch machine also had a brief run of popularity during this time.

As mentioned earlier, the Little Worker (also known as the Midget) and the Ruby models also had a lot of success in the pre-1900s.

As the company expanded, these machines gained fancy cabinets and tables. Eventually, treadle-operated models edged out the simple hand crank machines. All of the machines from this era have solid cast iron parts and weigh quite a lot!

Vintage Models

New Home machines made after 1900 but before 1960 fall into the vintage sewing machine category. These models may have a cast iron, aluminum, or even plastic body but contain solid metal inner parts.

During its heyday before the great debt of 1928, New Home produced hundreds of thousands of machines and many models. A few of the most popular pre-1930 models include:

• The New Home A1 and A2. These models had a cast-iron body, elaborate gold leaf decoration, and a vibrating shuttle.
• The New Home Oscillator, made from advancing sewing machine technology in the 20th century. This model had a central bobbin. It also has a special diamond decal located near the stitch length control.
• The New Home New Ideal stands out because of its narrow shank shuttle. It also has a vibrating shuttle and a round needle bar.
• New Home No. 30 hit the markets a bit farther into the 20th century and operated under electric power. It still had a vibrating shuttle, though.

Modern Models

After Janome bought out what remained of New Home in the 1950s, the Japanese company briefly continued to sell existing New Home Models. For this reason, you can find vintage, authentic New Home models through the 1950s.

Old Janome Sewing Machine Manuals

Your Janome sewing machine manual will give you vital information on how to set up and operate all the functions in the machine. When you buy a new sewing machine, this booklet comes with it. If you came by your machine second-hand, it might not have its manual.

In this case, you can start by checking out Janome’s retired sewing machine manual free download page, located here.

If you need a Kenmore 385 manual or a New Home manual, you can try reaching out to fellow sewers on an online forum to get your hands on a free manual. You can also purchase old manuals from places like eBay and Etsy for as little as $10. This method works great if you’re in a hurry and want an instant download!

If you have some experience sewing, you will likely find vintage Janome models pretty accessible. Despite that, you should still read the manual before embarking on your vintage sewing adventure!

Many old Janome models come with cool functions like adjustable feed dogs to allow free-hand sewing or even knee control. Since not every machine has such options, you might need instructions to help you out!

How Old Is My Janome Sewing Machine? (Models, History, Value)

You may be tempted to say Janome, b ut the actual pronunciation of the term is ja-no-mey. The ‘e’ is not silent in this name and sometimes western English speakers have a hard time remembering that little difference. In the end, no matter how you pronounce its name, Janome has a long and storied history.

How old is my Janome sewing machine? Interesting enough Janome has been around as a sewing machine manufacturer since before the depression. It started as the Pine Sewing machine company in 1925 and you could own a Janome without even knowing it. The company didn’t change names till 1954.

To learn more about Janome and its sewing machines just continue to read our article. It is an interesting story that doesn’t start with a post-world war origin. Janome did not start by cloning machines but by inventing new parts that worked better.

Old Janome Sewing Machines 101

Some Final Words

Janome does have an interesting history. It is too bad that its earlier Pine models did not seem to survive the war or time. Those would have been nice to see. But Janome still makes great sewing machines and they help make sewing a lot more fun.