Thursday, November 19, 2009

Necchi Mirella

A few months back, I spotted a Necchi Mirella on eBay. As is so often the case, the photos were few, dark and fuzzy. It was difficult to know what I was bidding on, but I was eager to see one of these machines up close. The very unusual thing about the Mirella is that it is designed for both motorized and hand crank operation. Switching between the two is simple and requires nothing more than loosening the motor clutch, pushing in a button and attaching the crank.

In no particular order, here are some things I've learned about the Mirella:
  • Straight stitch only, with reverse
  • Rotary hook
  • Mirella-specific bobbins required; no longer made and very scarce
  • Low shank, but Singer attachments don't seem to work well
  • Motor is difficult to access
  • The body is made of aluminum, so the machine is extremely light and easy to carry
  • The free arm is accessed by unscrewing a knob underneath the machine and removing the extension. A separate cover is provided to protect the bobbin area.

Accessing the gear area on a Mirella, or on one of its sisters (such as the Lydia or the Silvia), requires loosening a set screw in the knob located in the middle of the handwheel. Then the knob can theoretically be unscrewed by holding the handwheel steady with one hand and loosening the knob with the other. In actuality, this proved very difficult. I eventually got the knob free by removing the set screw, oiling with Tri-Flow through the set screw hole, cushioning the knob with a rubber jar gripper pad, grabbing the pad with pliers and applying force. It took some effort!

With the end plate removed, you can see the very simple inner workings of the machine. If this were a Lydia or a Silvia, you would see the nylon camstack between the top and bottom gears. This camstack is very often cracked and is no longer made. It is my understanding that repairs are all but impossible. If the crack is small, the machine can often operate and perform some of the stitches but not the ones controlled by the cracked area.



26 comments:

  1. Love your Mirella. I have a green one. Not working. I have the crank, bobbin case, and at least one bobbin. I did not know that bobbin were hard to find. I am "Sew Cool" on Pattern Review.
    Sew Cool

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I realize your post is 10 years old, but I would love to talk with you about the hand crank. I've been looking for years to purchase one.

      Delete
  2. I got one of these machines at a garage sale, it was a mess, but after cleaning it up it is beautiful. Unfortunately it is missing both the timing belt and motor belt. Can't find anywhere. has everything else including manual and a bunch of bobbins. Any clues where i can get the belts, looks like the lugs are larger then most.

    ReplyDelete
  3. hello,

    I read your articles on PatternReview.com.

    I got a Mirella one but the handcrank is not fonctional. It feels like stuck by gear wheels but cannot find where the problem is. Would you pls share informations about this.......:)

    Thank you & have a nice day.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Hello!
    I am trying to find a bobbin case for my Mirella.
    Do you think it would be that difficult to alter another bobbin case to make it fit this one? By a machinist or gun smith, say?
    I have not seen the bobbin case yet to even know how different looking they are to another kind.
    I would really like to get mine to work!
    And perhaps get the machinist to also make me a handle--it kinda looks like a bent metal straw, doesn't it?
    Thanks!!!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Hello,

    Love your detailed article about mirella,
    I also got one but cannot move either by manual or electronic way.
    The repairman said it misses the motor belt which should be the yellow one near bottom.
    Now I'm trying to find the belt but it's really hard. Would you please provide photo with complete belt? or provide the number of teeth & size?
    Thank you~:)

    ReplyDelete
  6. Now I am ready to do my breakfast, afterward having my breakfast
    coming yet again to read other news.

    my web page ... bathroom cabinets

    ReplyDelete
  7. It's going to be finish of mine day, but before finish I am reading this great piece of writing to increase my know-how.

    my web-site: www.eic-party.de

    ReplyDelete
  8. Somebodу eѕsentially аssіst to make criticallу articles I woulԁ state.

    Τhis is the very firѕt time I fгequentеd youг ωеb рagе anԁ to this point?
    I amаzеd wіth the аnalуsis yοu
    maԁe to maκe this pаrtіcular рut uρ еxtraoгԁinaгy.
    Wonderful јob!

    Feel free tο visіt my wеb
    site augenlasern

    ReplyDelete
  9. I know you wrote this review a few years ago, but do you still use and love your Mirella? I'm beginning to want one as my take-along sewing machine..... One happens to pop up on my local CL, but it is so high priced that I'm just waiting to see if the seller would eventually lower the price. Anyway, after using it for a few years, what do you think? Was it worth the investment? Do you still use it? By the way, I adore your blog and all the dresses you are making. Very envious of your talent, your sewing studio, and the fact that you get to spend much time in it! Lovely!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. UrbanRecyclist, thanks for the sweet compliments! In return, let me save you some money: no, I wouldn't recommend the Mirella at this point, except as an art object. With the help of my friend McKenna Linn I did get it operating properly. As a motor-driven machine, it is rather loud and rumbly. There is nothing special about the stitch. As a hand-crank, it's a hand crank. I love the romance of these, but I've found that I only use them for teaching kids or first-time sewers. They have a real gee-whiz fun factor, but for the type of sewing I do, they aren't really practical. For one thing, the portability doesn't help me, since I always seem to need an iron and my serger.

      My current hand crank is a pink Atlas with a reproduction crank. It is much smoother and easier to crank than the Mirella, and it's very rugged. Unfortunately it's also quite heavy! The crank comes from Stitch in Time on eBay, and it can be added to lots of different vintage machines with external motors.

      If you are interested mostly in the portability rather than the hand crank, Janome has some good lightweight modern machines. In vintage, a Singer Featherweight seems like a good compromise between size and usability, though I haven't had one of them. There are other neat vintage portables (Elna Grasshopper and Lotus, for example), but those are more difficult to find parts for, which I do think is an important consideration. I had a Lotus that I also ended up selling. Like the Mirella, it was rather loud and the sewing area felt cramped to me.

      The Mirella ended up going to live with McKenna, who collects Necchi and wanted it just to have it.

      Now I don't have a grab and go machine. I finally figured out that I don't seem to need one. For the past year I have been using my Juki F600 and my Pfaff 130 in an industrial table and I'm quite happy with those two. The Juki is certainly portable, but large, and I never take it anywhere. Thanks for asking and I hope that helps!

      Delete
    2. Thank you for the detailed feedback on your experience with the Mirella. Ok, I don't feel so bad that I missed the opportunity to get a pink Mirella.(within a day, it disappeared from the CL post, so I think it sold) It was SO expensive anyway. The hand crank option, though as impractical as it may be, is indeed romantic and one of these days I'd like to convert one of my machines to a hand crank and if and when power goes out, I'm going to take it out and suddenly start sewing!

      I have a featherweight which I just bought this month, but I'm wanting a Kenmore 158-1040, for its zigzag ability as well as its smallish yet all metal portability. I shall see what I will end up with. Thank you again for your help!

      Delete
  10. I have a pink Mirella sitting here in pieces for the second time. It showed up at my house many years back, someone had given it to my mother and she said it needed some work. It was frozen, the belts had turned to course sand in the bottom of the machine and the power cord was cracking along the entire length.

    I did get it unfrozen and got the crank to work. I picked up a timing belt but never could find a motor belt. Today, for grins I guess, I took it apart once more to get at the motor. And to re-oil it so it doesn't freeze up again. It's my understanding that the motor belts are difficult to find due to the custom size of the pulley. I'm going to see if I can replace the unique pulley with a more standard one and then see if I can find a motor belt that will work.

    I have a Necchi BU Nova as well. Also a several singers including the feather weight. Yes, likely I'm due for an intervention.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Teresa, I'm wondering if you ever replaced the motor pulley on your Mirella. I thought about that as well, but haven't gone farther than that. I did find a substitute belt for the motor pulley on one of my Mirellas. It's a Filter Queen vacuum cleaner belt, part #12600000100, a flat belt, not cog, but it works. I'm still hoping to find a cog belt for it.

      Delete
    2. Even if 8 years later than yours, look at my post at the end of this blog. I was able to replace motor pulley and belt.

      Delete
  11. Please can you tell me size and amount of teeth of motor belt thanks Stef

    ReplyDelete
  12. I recently inherited this machine from my boyfriends grandmother and unfortunately the instruction book is missing a few pages. Can you give me some advice on winding a bobbin?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. If you like, I can send a scan of the user manual, but it is in Italian language. However oictures are selfexplaining.

      Delete
  13. One on FB in Vintage SM oldies butgood group in MI for $75. Just did a bla bla bla about hand crank machines and hit preview and it's gone. Let try this again
    No preview this time

    ReplyDelete
  14. I was able to repair my old Mirella Necchi that had a broken motor belt. Considering that both belts of Mirella have a non-standard pitch and that was impossible for me to find a new original motor belt, I decided to replace the motor pulley. I got a XL12T pulley from https://www.ebay.it/itm/XL12T-Timing-Belt-Pulley-Synchronous-Wheel-Bore-4-5-6-6-35-8mm-Belt-Width-10mm/273151357221?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&var=572417312373&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649 selecting a 6.35mm 1/4" hole. Then I used a 112XL 10mm wide belt and now eveyhing is working! Look at the linked pictures.


    https://drive.google.com/file/d/1EFipvz8ZU0FDoY1V3UFj5m-_1dt6Iq8_/view?usp=sharing

    https://drive.google.com/file/d/1CJcpJqYTaSPOlQkB10_NCNXWzoib_z_7/view?usp=sharing

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Wow Piero! Thank you very much for such useful advice...I now have hope I will manage to give a new life to my Mirella!

      Delete
    2. Thank you so much Piero Tognolatti. I followed you advice and I was able to find a pulley and belt for my Mirella. I just installed the new parts and it works perfectly. I bought a 112XL belt and a 114XL. I ended up using the 114. It seems to fit really well. Thanks again.

      Delete
    3. went with the 112XL belt after all. The 114 was slipping.

      Delete