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Devon, Alberta, Canada
Thank you for visiting the Sewing Machine Orphanage. It has been a busy summer and new additions are waiting to be added to the website collection. I thank all donors who have contributed to our program and look forward to sharing each machine's restoration and potential rehoming. Thank you all for your interest and support.
The Sewing Machine Orphanage accepts vintage sewing machines by donation for restoration, preservation and, in some cases, rehoming to those who wish to help preserve their legacy.
Across basements, barns, and family homes sit sewing machines rich with stories. These machines once clothed children, supported livelihoods, marked migrations, and shaped everyday life. They are often deeply meaningful objects, kept out of respect for those who used these exquisite tools to care for their families with skill, craft, and love.
When families no longer have the space, resources, or ability to care for them, these machines risk becoming lost. The Sewing Machine Orphanage exists to provide careful stewardship, ensuring that each machine is preserved, documented, and respected as the historical artifact it is.
Inspired by historian Laurel Thatcher Ulrich’s concept of the orphaned sewing machine1, The Sewing Machine Orphanage serves as both a physical and digital home for sewing machines and the stories they tell of our past.
The National Museum of Ireland is home to countless everyday objects that have shaped Irish life and culture. In the short film "Ordinary Things: The Grace of Objects", the museum’s curators reflect on the quiet dignity and meaning found in the tools, utensils, and keepsakes of daily life. These objects, much like the sewing machines we care for, are imbued with stories of work, love, and memory—reminding us that even the most ordinary things can hold extraordinary grace.
1 Laurel Thatcher Ulrich, “An Orphaned Sewing Machine,” Harvard Magazine (January–February 2017), https://www.harvardmagazine.com/2017/01/an-orphaned-sewing-machine.