A few weeks ago, I started thinking about what life might look like without electricity, truly off-grid. And, then I started thinking about how much sewing I do and how terrible it would be to have to hand mend everything without a machine. That led me to look into antique treadle machines and I absolutely fell in love with the simplicity and beauty of these machines. I’m fascinated with old-fashioned things in general, but especially things that are still useful today.

After a bit of searching on marketplace, I found my dream sewing machine. A classic Singer Sphynx from 1925! She is a beauty! I feel like she should have a name of her own, but nothing seems to suit her just right yet. 🙂

Getting Started With a Treadle

When I brought the machine home, I wasn’t sure where to start or how to make it sew. I’d knew the general concept, but was a little intimidated by learning all the features of something so old. It turned out that everything is quite simple on the machine.

Getting it started, I noticed the parts were a bit stiff, so I used my sewing machine oil to lubricate every moving part that I could find. Like waking up after a good night’s sleep, the machine started slowly coming to life.

Something still wasn’t quite right as it seemed the belt was slipping and a bit loose, so I shortened that just a bit. The belt is quite simple, a leather strip connected with a heavy duty metal staple, that is easily shortened. Once the belt had been adjusted, I tried to get the rhythm of making the treadle move. It took a few tries, but not long before I was treadling along watching the needle go up and down.

Next, was the real test – to see I could actually sew with real fabric. Up until this point, I was focused on making sure everything would move correctly and I wasn’t spinning the wheel in the wrong direction. The bobbin was a little tricky to thread, as it is a shuttle bobbin as opposed to the newer circular drop in style. I fiddled with the tension and once everything was threaded, decided to do a test run on some fabric. It sews beautifully! Nice even stitches and moves easily through the fabric.

Video Tutorial

I put together a short video explaining the different components of the treadle machine, and how I learned to sew on it. I also walk through threading the machine, winding the bobbin, how to thread the shuttle, as well as how to make it treadle. Check it out here on GabTV.

There is something magical about sewing on this machine. It is very satisfying to provide the manual power to make the machine work and the calming rhythm of the treadle just makes sewing a very peaceful experience.

Drop me a comment if you sew on a treadle machine and have any tips to share. I hope to be posting soon about my first project on this machine. 🙂