Friends, you are to be forgiven for thinking that this portable, circa-1969 sewing machine looks an awful lot like an Elna Lotus -- on acid.
It's approximately the same size, the same weight, the same shape, and has the same swing-down doors. And they're both all-metal, mechanical zigzaggers.
But there are differences. The Elna Lotus was made in Switzerland. The knock-off was made in Japan and badged "Penncrest," a J.C. Penney brand, and sold as the Swing 'n Sew. (Swinging was a very Sixties concept -- remember the Polaroid Swinger instant camera and the 1966 Ann-Margret film, The Swinger?)
One thing I really like about the Penncrest is that it has a reverse lever. To reverse the Lotus, you have to turn the stitch length knob all the way to the left and back again to your designated stitch length -- very inconvenient, imo. The Penncrest is the simpler machine: while later models offered more stitches, this one does only straight-stitch and zig-zag. (The Lotus boasts a blind hem stitch, a stretch zig-zag, and a multi-step buttonhole.) The Penncrest has a 1 amp. motor and takes class 15 bobbins.
Maybe it's on account of the foot (similar to a vintage Singer's), but I prefer the experience of sewing on the Penncrest, and it has a beautiful, balanced stitch. It's not as smooth, silent, and refined-feeling as, say, a Singer Featherweight, but what Japanese machine is? It's very similar to the Elna, however.
Best of all is the flower-power styling -- very reminiscent of a Singer Genie, maybe better!
There's something extremely unpretentious about this Penncrest Swing 'n Sew. The Elna is austere and stiff -- certainly well-designed, but kinda' high-brow. The Penncrest evokes less Swiss precision than shag carpeting, black-light posters, and lava lamps. And J.C. Penney.
Did YOU swing in the "Swingin' Sixties" and what did that refer to exactly -- go-go dancing? We owned a Swinger Polaroid camera, which was a little messy to use, as I recall.
Have a great day, everybody!
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