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White Sewing Machine Manuals

See that picture?  That’s about what it felt like as I was trying to track down the manual for the White #999 sewing machine I bought at a garage sale last week.  I’ll explain below, but if you happen to find this page while on a similar search let me save you a bunch of time – here’s the magic recipe:

  • Go to https://www.singer.com/manuals
  • Search for the model number of your machine (e.g. “999” in my case)
  • With a bit of luck, you’ll see a result for your model along with a “Free Download” link.

Okay, now for the rest of you loyal readers (Hi, mom!) the reason I’m posting this is because of how insanely difficult it was to figure out these seemingly simple steps.  If the internet has done nothing else, it has made finding information about old products (i.e. manuals and user guides) much, much easier.  Or so I thought.  With rare exception, every time I’ve gone looking for a product manual online, be it for a computer, power drill, or a washing machine – I find a free download in a matter of minutes.  Typically available directly from the manufacturer.

But apparently sewing machines are off in a completely different world.  My attempts at googling for a manual turned up naught;  no manuals on the manufacturer’s site, and nothing but link after link of 3rd parties charging $10, $15, even $20 for what I felt should be a free download.  (Me: “WTF??? I only paid $15 for the darn thing, I’m not gonna drop another $15 on the manual!”)  To understand the frustration involved here, picture a 6’6″ guy with big hands who hasn’t touched a sewing machine in at least 30 years trying to decypher the 15-20 steps needed to properly thread such a device.

It was only after contacting White Co. directly that they pointed me (4 days later) at the Singer site, above.  Nevermind that there is not a single, solitary mention of the term “white” on singer.com.  And never mind that none of the manual descriptions mention white.  Or that if you search for “white” on the aforementioned manual page you get zero results.  Nope, ignore all that, because this is the official product manual download page for White sewing machine manuals.

Don’t ask me how this came to be.  I’m assuming that somewhere along the line (probably back in the 70’s) Singer acquired the White brand.  And, while they have the legacy manuals in their database, they’ve been doing their best to wipe all other traces from their corporate memory.  Or so sayeth the conspiracy theorist in me.  Regardless, someone over at Singer and White Co’s really need a kick in the pants for this.

To end this rant on a happy note, I’m pleased to say that I eventually did figure out the thread path (w/out the manual, no less!) and for my first project, I stitched up a nice little tool pouch for the screwdriver set I keep in the office.  Look out, Martha, there’s a new domestic goddess a-comin!

Broofa

42 responses to “White Sewing Machine Manuals”

  1. No wonder Martha isn’t showing up on my DVR summer schedule right now…she is out taking sewing lessons to try to compete with you! What is your next project? Congratulations on figuring out how to thread your machine…next is bobbin winding… go for it!

    Virginia

  2. Finding old manuals in general is insanely difficult.

    I try to be a good netizen and post them on scribd.com if possible so other people don’t have to go through hell in the future.

  3. Thank you so much for posting the website to get a manual! I’ve been going crazy trying to find mine, and when I gave up w/ that, trying to find it online. I just wish I found your blog days ago!!

    Thanks again!

  4. I am so thrilled, you helped me find exactly what I needed!!! You are great. Thanks!

  6. Thank you, I was pulling my hair out, when it kept refereing me to singer? I am now ready to take on the machine!

  7. She is absolutely correct! It is hard to imagine that a website operated by Singer would have an owners manual for the White 77 Rotary sewing machine, but they do and it was free!
    Thanks for the tip!!!

  8. THANK YOU SO MUCH! I have been searching for this manual for days now this is wonderful!

  9. Hey, thanks so much for posting your tip about finding White manuals on the singer website! I had scoured 10 other sites but couldn’t find my old model, a white 664, also purchased second hand. Maybe you can help me with my next dilema: The thread breaks every time I try to sew. I’m sewing a seam on polyester fabric, i think with cotton thread ???

  10. I can’t thank you enough for having this quite valuable info! I’m pretty good at Googling stuff for my wife, but I would’ve NEVER guessed to look for White manuals on Singer’s site.

    My mom gave us a White 1515 a couple years back, and we didn’t know how to thread it so we never did anything with it! And now that we have the manual, its like magic! Thanks again!

    You get the assist on this Google adventure!

  11. Thanks for the information. You’ve just saved me $10. thanks again

  12. Just spent 2 hours looking for a free download for a manual White 999! Came across your blog and much appreciated. Never thought they became part of Singer! Got the manual and found the part I was fighting with was bent out of shape. Thank you very much

  13. Thank you so much for posting this! I just bought a used White with no manual and found some selling for $25! I knew there had to be it free somewhere. Thanks so much!

  14. OMG thank you for this. Sadly, I’d already paid $10 for a pdf version I haven’t received yet–but if I don’t get it soon I will simply reverse the charges.

    The good news is I have another older Singer, and a very old Spartan (Singer brand used for sale in the UK), so hopefully this will help.

  15. Thanks so much for the info, I just got a White for Christmas and it didn’t have a manual with it and with your help I was able to go to the Singer site and download one. You’ve made my life so much easier; Happy New Year;

  16. Bless you. I know the manual is here…someplace…but I can’t remember where I put it! 🙂 You’ve saved me a lot of trouble searching online.

  17. THANK YOU. You can’t imagin what a relief it was to find your posting. Took seconds to get what I wanted. Greetings from UK Margaret

  18. I GOT A WhITE IN A CONTAINER OF STUFF I BOUGHT AT AN AUCTION YEARS AGO. I JUST DECIDED TO SEE IF IT WORKS AND YOUR INFORMATION WAS
    SPOT ON. THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU.

  19. THANKS!!! What a great resource! I’m going to tell all my sewing friends. Thanks for taking the time to share this tip!

  20. Thank you, thank you, thank you! You have saved me A LOT of time searching, who would have thought Singer had the manual to White machines?

  21. Thank you for all the time and effort you put in to post this info and making it so thorough, concise, and even entertaining! Your experience and its accompanying frustrations have been shared by many. You have provided a most valuable resource that has enabled many to keep their sanity, and also bring a positive rewarding conclusion to another of life’s treasure hunts. Gratefully appreciating you, Paul.

  22. Thank you so much for posting this! All the websites I was finding wanted me to pay for the manual. You’re awesome!

  23. Thank you very very much for the info. about the White Sewing
    machine manuals. I found exactly what you were talking about.

    Robert Barnes

  24. Thank you very, very much. I have never touched a sewing machine before being given a White 999 without a manual. I’m very excited to pull it out of the corner and start using it.

  25. Thank you for this posting. Especially the link…..It is magical now I can hopefully get the manuals for all my vintage machines. Thanks a billion!!!! I love to sew

  26. Thank you, mille fois.. made our lives that much easier…..we know
    nothing about sewing machines and will now try out an old 5135 with a tad less frustration

  27. Thank you so much! I downloaded the manual to the White 167 that I found in the (gasp) trash, and it works perfectly!

  30. God bless you and your blog! I never would have thought to go to Singer for a White manual. Now if only the instructions showed you you how to oil more than just the shuttle.

  32. Thanks for saving me a ton of searching time, and $ as I probably would have paid to download.

  33. Thank you!! After spending an hour looking and finding websites that wanted to charge for the manual I fanally ran accross your site. Thank you again!

  34. Thanks for your information on sewing machine manuals. My children bought a white sewing machine model 1514 for me at a garage sale recently and it didn’t come with a manual. After spending an hour or so online looking for a manual I stumbled on to your site. A lucky thing for me! Within a few minutes I had printed a copy of the needed manual. Thanks so much. Ruth

  35. hi, i noticed this site and it sounded really helpful. i just bought a white machine and it has the number 755 on the front but when i look up 755 on the singer website the model is much newer. any help would be appreciated. the machine is blue.

  36. Thank you, thank you, thank you fo the tips on where to find the manual for the White sewing machine. It was VERY helpful, and free!

  37. I am looking for a manual for a machine with cabinet that only says Hamilton on it. It has a model 660Z and a serial number 404901. I cannot find out who made it, but think it migt have been WHITE co, and I cannot trace the model nor serial number on the Singer site. Can anyone offer any advice? It is a zigzag capable machine, and I am not sure when they were first made. There is a small sticker on the side that says made in Japan?

  38. Thanks for this link, finally found a manual for our White / Domestic 762 (I put the model number in there as google bait)

    Roger

  39. Thank you so much for the link! I just bought a White 656, with its cabinet, at a thrift store and I couldn’t find a manual for that model anywhere on line (except the paying sites). I had even already searched the Singer site, but I didn’t find anything because I searched for “W656” instead of plain 656. Moral: leave out the letters!! Now if only I can find out when my machine was made. It looks like it’s in pretty sweet condition. Thank you again!!

  41. THANK YOU!!! I searched the web for 15 minutes before I found your post. I would have been searching for hours without your wisdom!!!

  42. Thank you so much for posting this! Very easy to find the manual I needed.