We've now got quite a range of 12 Volt solar powered machines from good old 1940's Singer straight stitch ones to some 1970's and 1980's zigzag and multi stitch machines. There's also a 1961 Singer model 201, technically a domestic machine but well capable of sewing through several layers of military tent canvas. A new project just completed is a small Singer overlocker converted with a 12 Volt motor.
As all the electrics are 12 Volt there's no safety issue with operating on grass. Power level is very low; on average machines take about 10 Watts when sewing steadily with a small surge of 30 Watts or so when starting up. All circuits are fused well within conductor capacity and batteries are either kept in secure purpose built boxes or built in to the support vehicle

We've also got several interesting and diverse classic handcrank machines of transverse shuttle and boat shuttle types up to 130 years old, all in good condition and able to sew well. Many people find these fascinating and are impressed at the facility to sew in a field without any external power source. We've had so much interest in these we're thinking we could present them as a separate project.

Various stall setups are available. The main activity is the solar stall which obviously has to be outdoors, If you're interested in indoor sessions featuring vintage machines we could do that, or talks or workshops on restoring and using older machines.

We have standard risk plans developed over the last five years and a £5M Public Liability policy covering the activity.
A layout plan (PDF) can be downloaded below: