Singer treadle

by sarai, who blogs at Mumbling Monkey about her life, crafts, academic endeavors, and Nova Scotia

Love it, hate it, or something in between? Love it. It's old, it's wooden (and metal and leather), and it still works.

When did you buy this sewing machine? My mom gave it to me, probably four years ago.

When was it manufactured? 1923, I believe. I looked it up on the Singer website once.

Where did you buy it? I think my mom bought it locally from a private owner.

How much did you pay for it? No idea how much it cost.

How many projects have you done on this machine? One or two, and various repairs and details on other projects.

Describe the kind of work you've done with it. I've sewed in zippers, done a little machine quilting, made a skirt, that sort of thing.

What do you like and what do you hate about it? The only regret I have about this machine is that it's so big and heavy. I don't have it right now - it's in storage across the country. I miss it.

What I like:
- it doesn't use electricity. I appreciate hand- and foot-powered tools, and independence from mainstream energy sources.
- it has lasted so long, and is going strong. I put a new belt on it when I got it; belts, needles, and bobbins for machines of this age are still available!
- What it does, it does very well. This machine will only do straight stitch, which would be a disadvantage for some. But, it does the best and neatest straight stitch I could ask, and will sew through denim no problem. A sailor friend of mine told me that Singer treadles are reputed to be so amazing that they can even handle sailcloth.
- The machine folds down into the wooden housing. If I am not going to use it for a while, it's nice to protect it, and be able to use the top of the housing as a little table.
- The housing has a hinged extension at one end, so I can spread out a lot of fabric.

Comments

[anonymous]

What is the model number of this Singer Treadle? Can you find out?

[Krista]

I don't know! Sarai has it in storage across the country and so can't check, and she doesn't know off-hand. I wish we could know which one it is... I hope to get more reviews of treadles to post, so if you sew on one, please let me know if you're interested in writing a quick review!

[Julie]

My sister is an avid treadle sewing machine user and lover (she says they do a better job than her Bernina for a bunch of projects.) She recommends the Treadle On list serve: http://www.treadleon.net/

[Kathi D]

I have the cabinet for a Singer treadle machine but sadly the machine is missing and I don't know where it is. It's the machine that most of my school clothes were sewn on by my mother. I think she got an electric machine after I was in high school. I tried to learn to sew on the treadle machine as a child but was never very good at it. I would get it going backwards!

I wish I had the sewing machine so that I could try it again. I may look for one to buy.

[shannon]

I have one like this from 1908, but it looks almost exactly the same. I love it for sewing fine fabrics like silk, because it just has a hole, not a big slit like a zigzag machine, for the needle to go through, so fabric doesn't get tangled up in teh feed dog. It's easy to control the speed of the sewing too. The only drawback is that there's no reverse stitch.

[Krista]

Shannon, I've always wondered how you backstitch with no reverse -- do you turn the fabric around to do a few stitches, or is it easier just to tie the threads off by hand?

[Krista]

I got Shannon to answer my question via email -- here's what she says:

"I turn the fabric around! A hassle. Another way is to draw up the
under thread with a seam ripper and tie off the end of the seam with a
knot. I think that's the official way to do it.

Or the old way back in the day.

--shannon"

Thanks!

[Rob]

This looks like a Model 66 but a closer picture would make it easier to tell (tension control on the front, and it looks like a full size machine). If it has a drop in round bobbin, that's probably what it is.

A couple of ways to lock off your stitches without reverse. Use a short stitch length, try it on your machine and try pulling them out, you'll see. You can also set the stitch length at zero and pull the fabric backwards to create a backwards stitch. This machine might have a reverse depending on the version, the later models had a reverse.