They are both some of the most pleasant sewing machines to own. I've owned both and currently only own a hand crank and it's a marvellously meditative experience. I am far less frustrated with my sewing than I am with my electric.
I wish you could have seen my 92 year old mother’s face when I showed her this. She had a treadle singer and was a real expert at using it. She was talking to you throughout!! Thank you so much for transporting her back to her youth albeit for a short time!! Gill (Suffolk UK)
And what was she saying? I can't be the only who is curious, surely... I bet she had some great advice for all of us who are relative newbies at all this. Perhaps an "oral history" chat recorded with her about what she remembers of her early days learning to sew and what the machines were like to use would be a good idea (if she'd enjoy it, that is). I know I'd love to hear it - what she remembers about her parents' or grandparents' experience of the machines and how they affected their lives etc is just a "memory treasure trove"! Oh - how I love listening to people in their 90s and older talk about their memories of how things were done when they were young!! :-)
My grandma taught me to use both feet to treadle. The dominant foot is the driver and the nondominant one is the break. This gives you speed control. It also helps your legs work together for a longer sewing period without fatigue or calf cramps.
I was just about to post almost the exact same comment. The whole time I was thinking, "why aren't you using both feet?!" I believe it's also easier to get it started with both feet than with a single one.
Also was going on to comment this. Her friend would have got on so much easier in stockings feet as you can't really " feel" the connection to machine with shoes on.
I agree, it is always adviseable to maintain a "symmetry" / balance of your body when working on a machine, this not only helps avoid leg cramps but it is important for the spine.
I was taught to do the two foot thing on an industrial machine but I'm very right footed so I couldn't get the hang of it. I just use the one foot and then...get tired.
I inherited my Grandma's singer treadle when she passed away. I was in High School, and used it on all of my sewing projects. I am still proud of how I figured out how to insert an invisible zipper and finish buttonholes on the machine!
Oh my gosh! How do you do the buttonhole on your grandma's machine? I've got my grandma's Singer treadle and have been doing buttonholes by hand. If there's a machine way I'd love to know!
@@dorothymilne7055 Hi there. I have a 1917 White treadle. It had been owned by a tailor and came with two attachments that were for zig-zag stitching and buttonholing. I think you can probably find them online somewhere. They work by moving the fabric where the new machines move the needle. They are ingenious. I use the zigzagger constantly to "serge" seam fabric.
When my mother was very young, she trained as an apprentice to a very elderly gentleman tailor. By the time she was 20, she had become a professional tailor who specialized in man's suits. Her work was exquisite. She used no patterns and was capable of merely turning a garment inside out to see it's structure, drawing a few marks on gorgeous fabric and reproducing what she had memorized from seeing it that one time.. It's only as I've gotten older that I realize what an amazing talent she had. Since she trained on a Victorian pedal machine, that's what she sewed on for the rest of her life. She always said she couldn't "feel" the life of the garment under an electric machine. I grew up to the sound of the push-pedal merrily sewing along all through my childhood as she made my school uniforms, dresses and play clothes. After she passed away, I kept her machine for several years until I was no longer able to keep it with me. It broke my heart to see it go. Many years later I found the exact model of the machine she had in a 'junk' store, sitting unloved in a corner covered dust and cobwebs. I bought it for $15. The shopkeeper was glad to get rid of it. It has served as a beautiful table and conversation piece in my Victorian home for many years now. My goal for this winter is to get it working again, which includes finding a bobbin and a new belt and once again take up sewing. Your video provided the perfect inspiration and guidance for me. I do so love your videos and the gentility and talent you bring to these incredibly trying modern times. 💗
You can get a belt made at most saddle or cobbler shops. It's pretty easy to make, just need the correct measurement. Heck one of my machines has a Paracord belt because I been too lazy to cut a leather one and I don't use it often.
She sounds like an amazing woman. If anyone is looking for a belt and lives near Lancaster, PA, most of our locally owned sewing shops keep them in stock because the Amish still use treadle machines to sew.
Thank you for sharing your story, Em Cee.; how wonderful to have such memories. I have five sewing machines, one a 1922 Singer treadle, which I need to dust off and use again, thanks to BB's lovely and inspiring video.
When I was in rural remote Malawi in 2005, I tore my jeans, so they took me to see the tailor a few villages away. The dude was OLD, and he was rich by rural Africa standards because he was very important. And he was working with a machine just like this one. While he fixed my clothes I got his whole story, about how he'd gone south to work in the JoBurg gold mines in the 50's, then used a chunk of his earnings to buy and repair an old sewing machine, when the factories were selling off their old non-electrical ones. He was able to take it by train as far as northern Mozambique, but then he had to carry the thing *ON HIS BACK* through the jungle. Every night, he'd leave his precious machine at the base of a tree and then climb the tree to sleep safe from lions. He did this *FOR TWO WEEKS* before he reached his home in Malawi. Oh, and he still called Malawi "Nyasaland". After he finished fixing my jeans, I realized I had forgotten to discuss the price first, a serious error for a tourist. But this was no tourist trap I was in, so he wasn't out to bilk me too much. When I asked how much, his eyebrows when up high and he asked in Chichewa, "How about six cents?" I confirmed with my friend that I had heard the price correctly, and I asked if I could give him twenty-four cents without embarrassing him. He was so delighted with this exorbitant tip that he had me wait a moment while he dug up a couple of cassavas for me from his garden, and he even threw in a plastic grocery bag.
Watching you and Constance giggling and having fun together was such a delight. My sister owns our Grandma’s old treadle machine, it will be interesting to see her use it after watching this!
My take away from this is that using a Victorian sewing machine is like driving stick shift; no matter how much you try to learn off the internet, you just have to experience it to truly understand
I feel its very much like a rocking chair or a swing, like you use your foot on the floor to start, but you kinda just rock/swing without needing to touch the floor, its all momentum. The treadle is the same, your foot is rocking with it back and forth, with a super tiny amount of pressure to just get the next movement to rock all the way down and your foot just keeps going following it back up.
This is exactly what I thought too. I have a stick shift ‘78 vw bug, and started a couple weeks ago with treadle machines. I thought wow, this is the same kind of learning curve?
I learned to use my mother’s 1960’s Kenmore electric when I was about 10 years old in the late 1970’s, but I learned to SEW when my sister showed me how to use our grandmother’s Singer treadle machine. The Singer went to my sister after my grandmother passed away, when I was only 4 years old. At that age, I hadn’t had the chance to have Grandma’s instruction on the machine, but I did remember that she kept it in pristine condition, the mechanisms carefully oiled and maintained, the cabinet polished, and the drawers stocked with all the appropriate accoutrements, thoughtfully arranged by hands that had raised 4 sons during the Great Depression. Although both of my father’s parents passed away when I was very young, I remember many visits ‘Downriver’, as that part of the state is called. Mostly, I remember the juxtaposition of their living room, which was very sleek and mid-century modern, against the corner that held her sewing machine. There was something so familiar and organic about the rhythm of the treadle, like a cross between a living heartbeat and some mysterious musical instrument, or the Wizard’s machine in “The Wizard of Oz”. This tour of your Singer treadle machine has brought back fond memories, and rekindled my interest in getting a treadle machine for myself.
*stares at my 1898 sewing machine, that is exactly a hundred years older them me with utter horror - there's dust bunnies.* I think I need to clean it now. Thanks Bernadette.
It looks like it works like swinging on a swingset. You need to add a small push with each cycle of movement, at just the right time. If you try to push at the wrong time, you cancel out the cyclical pattern instead of adding to it.
Similiar idea of conserving momentum as with manual bellows in a 17th and 18th century forge. They were usually suspended so that the weight of the bellows pushed the air out into the forge from the upper half over the time span of half a minute or so, and sucked new air into the bottom half at the same time. As the bellows were lifted, the air in the bottom half was forced into the upper half through a one way vent in the static central divider, the vent made by a wood board over a hole with a leather hinge and leather seals around the edges. This allowed for a constant air preassure and flow into the forge which in turn results in an evenly heated furnace and a better quality of work due to predictability compared to older types of bellows. I belive the bellows of old church organs have a similiar construction for the same reason.
This! I thought of swings when she was describing it too! It's just like swinging on a swing - you have to get into the *swing* of it! 😁 You phrased it much better than I could've; well done!
A few inconsistencies... 1. Loosen the clutch-wheel (that big silver one inside the balance wheel) to disengage the needle-mech. while bobbin-filling. Then tighten back up afterwards, to re-engage. 2. The top thread-guide is that little hook at the top of the faceplate, not the grooved rod (which is actually the presser-foot tension rod). 3. The bullet-thingies are shuttles, the spools that go into them are bobbins. Other than that, excellent video. Treadling is certainly something very different from anything else that people who use modern sewing machines would be use to, but it's a lot of fun. It can be exhausting if you're doing a lot of sewing, though.
I have this same hand cranked sewing machine (model VS3, also known as 28 and later models 128, 128k, etc) and I love it! I would like to add that both machines (and all machines, modern and old, afaik) have that clutch-wheel that should be disengaged before winding the bobin -like we do in modern machines- so the needle and the feed dogs do not move while the balance wheel spins. I would like to mention as well that the VS3 is also treadle-ready too, apart from hand cranked: it has a guide on the left side of the balance wheel for the belt and holes on the wooden base that match the ones on a table for the belt to go through! It's a truly beautiful and exciting piece of engineering
Also, the little hole on the side of the bobbin is where one pulls the thread through, so that it sets itself when started, and one doesn't have to worry about what "direction" they've wound it.
I just saw 2 singer machines at my local antiques store and after watching this I’ve made up my mind, I’m going back tomorrow to get one. These machines are so beautiful Update: I got a 15K-88 made in 1936. It’s in incredible condition and works beautifully. So happy I got her
As a antique sewing machine collector, the aesthetic cinematography-ness of this video gives me joy beyond no bounds. Also that shot of you threading the needle is the single most satisfying thing ever. But a few notes, -That top bar is actually not a thread guy, its a screw that adjusts the pressure on the presser foot adjusting it is usualy unnecassery unless your sewing something drasticly thin or thick. -the little open circle/hook/shape thing on the faceplate is the proper thread guide for sewing and bobbin winding, also i saw another comment on you missing your tension check spring! -also the big silver knob in the middle of your hand wheel can be disengaged to wind the bobbin without the needle moving!
I was wondering if her machine didn't have the option of disengaging the needle when winding the bobbin because it was so old. I have a couple of machines from the early 1900s that disengage but I've never worked on one from the late 1800s.
Yes, I have an 1898 Singer and sometimes when disengaging the clutch after she’s sat for awhile I have to hold the top of the bar the needle is attached to when I first get it going so it doesn’t continue to move, but keeping everything well oiled and using it regularly has made this less of an occurrence. Seeing videos and comment sections full of owners/collectors of these amazing machines sharing tips and knowledge in a polite way warms my heart.
@@mollysmith1711 When I got mine it was in very poor shape and missing a few pieces, she was just a side project, but slowly took over as a main focus. I sew on her daily now after quite a bit of work and research and still continue to make small repairs and replace worn bits here and there hoping to have a well working machine to pass along some day. Oh, another commonly overlooked part/adjustment on treadles is the screws and brace pieces located at the ends of the pitman arm, my machine was clunking rather loud even after a good oiling so I inspected and noticed the bottom screw was very loose, after an adjustment she runs nice and quiet.
I have a case of machine still wants to occasionally move with clutch disengaged so still rasing the presser foot is still good info for me, just in case.
Treading for bobbin winding, you’re wrapping the tread around the “top post” which is actually a pressure adjuster for the presser foot. You can screw this mechanism clockwise to increase pressure on the presser foot or anti-clockwise to release pressure on the presser foot. The thread should go through the thread guide on the face plate just as it does for normal machine operation. There’s actually a helpful illustration of this process in the singer 128k manual (available via ISMACS as linked in your description). Same again with threading the machine for normal use, you shouldn’t be using the pressure bar thumb screw threads, instead wrap it around the small eyelet with slit in the face plate and then continue as you had been treading. Also I think you’re missing the thread take up spring from the tension regulator (this is often damaged or missing from older machines) but is available as a spare part. If you want to replace it and you’re unable to find it yourself let me know.
My machine was missing that spring when I brought her home too, but I found a replacement on line very easily. Thanks for the information about adjusting the presser foot ☺ I had never noticed that it was adjustable.
I'm surprised Bernadette's machine has been sewing properly and without threads breaking, seeing it wound round the the presser foot adjustment thread was painful! However, I'm willing to bet she notices an improvement when it's properly set up.
I bought a 1912 singer yesterday and it works wonderfully!! Im 16 and my mom doesn’t know how to sew, so its amazing that someone can explain the process to me like this! Thank you!
I don't sew. I probably never will - but this was a delight to watch. You have that rare gift of making me fascinated by things that I otherwise would have absolutely no interest in. Thank you.
Warning for absolute beginners like myself: when Bernadette says oil she means special sewing machine oil. Any other kind of oil will ruin the machine. In WOII when there was a shortage of everything this happened. People used different oil and machines just stopped working, can still be cleaned I believe but is a lot of work. Also love the video!! 🥰
@@kibummmm No.While WD 40 is a lubricant, it has additives that will harden later and jam up the machine. Use only sewing machine oil on machines this old. It's very cheap, so there's really no excuse or reason to use anything else. Also sewing machine oil can be wiped all over the machine to clean it. In particular, it won't harm the pretty decals.
On the subject of solid old things, my sewing machine is from the late 70s. It was given to me as a hand-me-down by a friend of my grandmother and along with the inevitable brown and cream colour scheme, it's mostly solid metal and completely indestructable. I wouldn't be surprised if it outlasts me! (Oh, and it has an equally solid-sounding name: the Riccar Reliant 505!)
I have one too. Lugging up the loft ladder to my "sewing room" was quite an experience in itself. All I kept thinking was - DONT DROP IT ON MY FOOT!!!!! Needless to say, it's on its table and doesn't get moved much😂. I also have 2 modern machines downstairs, both can do something the other cannot. The Riccar is used for heavier jobs, heavy curtains, covers for arm chairs, setters etc!
Not a sewing machine, but it has been specified that should anything happen to my mom, I get her Kenmore mixer. It is a bit on the newer side, but also built like a tank and using the same kind of motor those mixers have used for decades.
You’ve definitely inspired me to try my great-grandmother’s c. 1930s Singer sewing machine again! I rescued it from being sent to auction (the actual tragedy of losing a family heirloom like that!) because I knew I would want to expand my knowledge beyond hand-sewing one day. It’s a hand-turned rather than treadle machine, but hoping I can follow along now that the process is demystified somewhat! Thank you!
I recently found the date of my great-grandmother's hand turn Singer, 1920! How incredible to have something that is 101 years old and very nearly still in entirely working order. It doesn't have the same bobbin as Bernadette's, but is otherwise very similar. I found a great tutorial about cleaning and restoring a similar model so I gave it a good clean but there's something wrong with the tension so I think professional help is needed to get it fully operational unfortunately.
Oh cool! I actually have a pretty treadle Naumann from late 1800s I was thinking of reviving recently - I got it like for 30 dollars from an old couple who used to sew everything on it when they were young. As the gentleman said "the only thing I know that can do silk and chiffon and heavy denim too". It's been standing in my room for about 7 years now so I suppose it'll take some TLC before the first use but it'll be so worth it!
Dear 'tribe', today i nearly cried happy tears as i took possession of my Great grandmother's 1898 Singer treadle sewing machine (i thought it had gone decades ago). Woodwork fully restored, metalwork freshly polished with beeswax and original leather belt in place. I remember sewing with it as a child, during a black out by firelight. I didn't have anyone else to tell who might appreciate how special this is...thanks 😊
I've got a 101 year old handcranked singer machine myself and I absolut adore the sheer beauty of it. Sewing with this machine is a joy. The rhythm of the mechanism is almost hypnotic. I'm sewing mostly messenger bags or cyberpunk cloaks on my machine. The thought of sewing this futuristic projects on such an old machine let's me smile through the whole project. Another thing I want to point out is the smell. My machine was in very good condition as I got it. But of course the wood of the box on which the machine sits smelled a little bit unpleasant. I sewed a little bag, filled it with coffee beans and put it under the machine. It smells much better now. A mix of oil, metal, coffee and history. This machine is one of my favorite belongings ❤️
i felt like watching contance struggling with the machine was what watching a victorian figuring out using a modern mobile phone would have looked like 🤣 so cute!
I won't never forget that time my cousin was looking for a sewing machine and when I suggested a singer she told me she wanted some more tested brand. *More tested than singer*
....how the hell do you find a brand that's more tested than Singer? Like, you talk to a random person on the street and ask them about sewing machine brands, what are they gonna say? Necchi? Pfaff? Wardwell? No, they'll say Singer. (Don't get me wrong, those are good brands. Singer has just dominated the arena for so long that it's the first name people think of when they hear 'sewing machine'.) They've been making machines since *1865.* You can't get more 'tested' than that.
Well... The new Singer sewing machines are actually in no way comparable to the old Singer machines. The brand has been bought up by a different company, I think something Chinese, and the quality just isn't the same. If someone asked me for a recommendation of a new sewing machine, I wouldn't suggest a Singer.
Fabulous, informative video! I rescued an old Singer from the trash over 50 years ago. I was never sure how to sew with it, but loved the Egyptian motif and oak table so much that I could never part with it. You’ve made it look pretty easy to use. Thanks so much!! ;)
I got *really* into antique Singers during the pandemic. They are actually a *lot* more accessible and available to buy than I just assumed for a long time and I accidentally went from 0 machines to 11 very quickly. I've since rehomed a couple and need to let a couple others go but I will warn people that sometimes when you go down the antique sewing machine road, it becomes a very deep rabbit hole 😆
Glad I saw this in time, as a warning. I was just checking out the dutch craigslist (so to speak) and was surprised by how cheap they can be. Already had shortlisted a couple not too far away! Gonna put this on hold real quick.. 🤣
@@h.c.49 in my experience wd40 is too thin and evaporates too quickly for these old machines. They were designed and built with specific tolerances to operate smoothly. They work best and wear less with a proper sewing machine oil. Also be sure to oil moving parts under the machine and inside the cover plates on the back and on the left side. These are the crank drive and needlebar areas. Having rescued and restored 35 of these old singers I find they are very solidly built and usually cleaning and oiling can have them sewing like new
You can "back-stitch" with these Machines . . . You just turn your work, and go back 4 stiches or so, and can pull the top thread to the underside and knot~
And on the treadle you can raise the foot slightly - so it just hovering above the fabric and pull the fabric forward for a few stitches then lower the foot and let it feed in the usual direction again. To do this on a hand-crank you need an assistant for a second or two to wind the handle for you while you control the presser foot and fabric - which needs two hands. Try as I might I've not been able to finagle another way around it. If I don't want threads at the very beginning edge of the seam, or don't want to start right at the edge, I start the seam at the "beginning" but in the wrong direction - as if I'm stitching the last few stitches of the seam - and sew a few stitches towards the edge. Then, when I get to the "end" (actually my intended beginning of the seam) I stop with the needle in the pivot position, pivot 180-degrees and continue sewing the seam as normal. This of course works whether you're on a hand-crank or treadle.
Note: On a hand-turned singer you can disengage the flywheel which will make it so the machine won't make the needle go up and down while you're winding the bobbin. 11:45 That was a big OOOOoooo moment for me though. I just figured I only had one stitch length, thanks
The best thing about these videos about old sewing machines is just hearing everybody’s stories in the comments about their antique sewing machines and how they got them.
you don't need to take the needle guide off, just loosen the nut and slide the needle up into place then tighten the screw back down, and also you can disinguage the needle from moving while filling the bobbin by turning the silver knob on the flywheel towards you while holding the flywheel still. your threading the machine wrong also, your going to break your thread. those are not thread groves for the thread but thread groves to adjust foot tension. there is a thread guide on the front of the machine at the top. the thread goes through that then down to the tensioner..
Yes, I cringed watching the thread being guided around the presser foot tension knob! That little hook attached to the faceplate, directly above the tension unit, is where the thread should be going instead. Other models will have a wire hook around that location for the same purpose. There is also a stop motion knob - you hold the hand wheel, and loosen the little knob at the end towards you - so that you can wind the bobbin using the treadle & belt while the needle stays still (and keeps down wear and tear on the rest of the machine). Needle shouldn't be in action while bobbin winding. Tension unit is missing it's check spring too!
@@adrienneg.2401 omg I was cringing almost the whole time. Not being mean to Bernadette but one should know what they are doing before teaching others to do it also.
the bobbin case is called a "Shuttle." Also, majority of old treadle and handcrank machines do not have a reverse! If you try just treadling backwards, the thread will snap. How do you back stitch? you stop with the needle down, and you have to turn the fabric itself around. How do you zig zag? there's an attatchment for that! If you can find old low shank attachments on Ebay or out at a second hand store or a flea market, I highly recommend playing with them! Bernadette you would LOVE the tuck marker! You measure and mark the first tuck, and with the proper settings on the attachment it'll yes, mark where the next tuck will be for you! A quick study of your machine's foot tells me it's a low shank, with a typical side clamp. Majority of old Singer attachments from the age of straight stitch machines will fit it, as long as it's low shank. The back clamp attachments sadly will not, they were for Singer 66 back clamping machines for a short while until Singer went 'oh wait! we should put it on the typical side!'
@@SB_McCollum This is how my grandmother taught me to back stitch, too. And, the zig zig? She timed her hands to the machine, and moved the fabric side to side. Quite marvelous.
Did I squeal and clap when Constance got the rhythm and feeling? Yes. Did the cat on my lap sink their claws into me in protest of being awoken? Also yes. Was it worth it? Absolutely! As a side note, the interplay of the light and patterns of the spokes on the larger wheel with the spaces on the legs of the machine is legit mesmerising to watch.
My mother-in-law, who is in her 80s, has her grandmother's treadle Singer and table. She has said it will come to my daughter. I've bookmarked this and will share it with them both so that they can both watch it and learn more about their beautiful Singer.
There are more informative videos here on youtube, as well. :) She didnt show getting the thread into the bullet case. Also her machine is missing a spring (easily replaced) that has her threading it incorrectly.
The part with you teaching Constance is adorable and you can imagine that's how it would be back in the machines time if a lady got a treadle when they were new tech and having the same fun you two had with it 🥺
Omg hearing that professionals also have trouble winding a bobbin makes me feel so much better about never getting it right. Also, loved watching you and your friend giggle over the treadle machine - a scene right out of 1900's I'm sure!
Thank you for reminding me to clean up and oil my late mother's hand turned Singer. She bought it in an antique shop in the late 60's and sewed many of our clothes on it including my communion dress. She even got it serviced before she died so that it would still work for me but I've stuck to my electric one mainly because I didn't know the finer points of using an older machine. And now I find out how old - according to the serial number it's from 1884! It'll be fantastic to get it going again thanks to your video :)
I have a treadle at home, that I repaired around two years ago. I love it so much and this video really shows what a joy it is to work with such trusty machinery
My grandmother owned a Singer Sewing Machine Store in Ottawa, Illinois in the 1870’s. I have many antique sewing machines but would dearly love one that is dated 1875! Singer made excellent machines!
A few other tips for treadling: I treadle barefoot (this has been recommended in several vintage sewing machine groups. It gives you a better feel for what is going on with the pedal), and I use both feet instead of one. My foot on the dominant side is in the back (farthest away), and the non dominant is in the front (closest to the floor). The non-dominant heel is on the floor, so just my toes are on the pedal. I start the flywheel with my hands to get the pedal going, then push back and forth alternating feet. Give this method a try - it is SO much easier to treadle this way than relying on one foot. I love antique Singer sewing machines!!! They sew sooooooo well and are always reliable!! It's so fun to see others' fondness for these old lovely ladies! 💖
I had access to a treadle machine years ago, and learned that using both feet was much easier than one. Once you get going it is sort of like dancing, using my feet in concert to maintain the "swing" of the treadle. (Someone mentioned it was like swinging, and that is a great analogy.)
That part with Constance was so relatable, when I tried to use my great-grandma's machine as a teenager I had the same hilarious reaction. This video was so beautiful and useful. Tomorrow I'm going to check how's (now) my machine. I hate modern machines, maybe she will be the one.
This is so cool. And I especially appreciate that the machine has a mechanism to wind bobbin thread evenly throughout the spool. So many times on my electric machine the bobbin is uneven unless I guide it myself. Even then there's no guarantee lol.
I've been obsessed with these since childhood - my aunt has a shoemaker's treadle machine (and some of the wooden shoe molds still!) and we used to play in it as children and be completely amazed by how it worked. That part hasn't gone away. But I've never felt keen to constantly use one. My grandma had really bad knee problems, seemingly from using a treadle machine all her life. She was always very thankful for the motor you could attach to the sewing machine, to make it electric instead. But they truly *are* wondrous!
Most Grandparents have bad knees no matter how they actually lived their life. Knees can take a LOT of abuse... until they can't. Best advice is simply to take any chronic pain seriously and get it properly looked at by professionals. And if you are young enough not to have chronic pain - take stretching seriously!
My g-grandpa hooked up a 12 volt motor to my g-grandmas machine and would pull the battery out of his truck while he was working. He logged with mules and they didn't have power in their house till the early 70s. All before my time but I've heard stories she would run the batt so low he would have to get her to help him push start his truck in the evenings to charge the battery. That machine is my nightstand now.
I had been waiting for a video like this! My parents have a treadle machine in their bedroom from 1905 and my grandmother has the same model in her home as well which belonged to my late grandfather. He had many jobs throughout his life to make ends meet in a house of 6 people, and I have learned one of those jobs was tailoring. I got really into sewing at the beginning of the pandemic to pass time, which made my mom very happy as she says my grandad would be proud to see those skills and love of sewing being shared by someone else in the family :) Ever since I have dreamed of being able to repair one of those machines so I can keep improving and learning. In a way, it makes me feel closer to my grandparents and giving a new life to that antique machine is a reminder that I'll always have a part of them with me ❤
I have worked with an old sewing machine (around 1890) and to hear someone explain such an obscure thing in such great detail is an amazing feeling! You were talking about momentum and i found myself nodding my head to agree and even exclaimed "yes exactly" at a video! Xd
I remember sitting on the floor while my Grandmother Ross used her machine. She would allow me to operate the treadle for her. Watching this, I no longer imagine that I was helping much! I remember the light streaming through the window onto the wood plank floor with the shadows of the panes slowly stretching out through the afternoon.
This is like a guide to my childhood, I already hear the light 'clacking' of the machine in my ears. I grew up with the sewing machine of my grandmother from the 1930s (it was a gift from her parents for her 18th birthday, she later on became a dressmaker) I always used play around with it when I was little😊🗝
Wow, such a beautiful video! It makes me want to give my 1896 machine a fresh dusting and oiling. I bought mine about 5 or 6 years ago in rough shape, but after a thorough cleaning and a replaced belt, it works good as new and I've made so, so many garments with it. I had almost forgotten how hard it is to use when you're not used to the rhythm. To me, the lovely clacking it makes is just like music. Not to mention the aesthetics of these machines! Where did the style go??
Thank you dearly Bernadette, I purchased a similar model singer to yours. Being my first sewing machine, and as a 45 yo man self tasked with completing my 11yo daughters costumes, your tutelage is invaluable.
I cried so much with joy and memories and nostalgia at this video and several of the comments below ...! Now I know that I have a treasure in my old sewing machine, and in the memories that still live in my mind, from when my grandmother - that you even look a little like her when she was very young!- taught me to sew on these machines when I was at most 7 or 8 years old. *Thank you so much for the LIFE you gave me with this video!*
I remember hearing about how my grandfather bought the electric attachment for Nana's treadle machine once they got electricity to the ranch house. Nana had 6 girls to sew dresses and sunbonnets for, often from grain bags. Quilts were made from these dresses after no one fit a dress. I am sure Nana was happy for some primitive electric sewing :)
I feel like there's a parallel universe where Bernadette is an evil baroness who forces prisoners to try and operate the treadle machine without instruction and forces them to sew a ridiculously long garment before they can be released.
I BOUGHT A HANDTURNING MACHINE YESTERDAY AT A FLEA MARKET. SHE IS IN A GREAT CONDITION. I'll start to service the machine later today, but thank you so much for this video.
When I was a kid, we had an Antique sewing machine table. There was no sewing machine on it, but the treadle was there. I would spend hours treadling away while coloring, doing homework, or just daydreaming at the table. Years later, I bought a table from a restaurant that had a treadle underneath. I still love the motion. It is so soothing.
I did not realize that I needed to oil the fly wheel on a treadle. I have a Singer treadle made in 1908 that was purchased for my Great-Great-Grandmother as a wedding present. Singer treadles are very well made. It had no care for 30 years add worked just fine after a few minutes of tinkering.
Both of my machines are “modern” (the newer one is from the 80s), but my grandma’s machine is in a treadle cabinet since she had a treadle machine prior to the one passed down to me. I’d love to get a treadle machine so that I can use the treadle in the cabinet!
If the machine is already in the treadle table, you might be able to convert it to use the treadle. Take it to a machine shop (or ask them to come to you, 'cause those tables are HEAVY), and ask them how difficult it would be to modify or replace the flywheel to accept a belt. Then find a local leatherworker to make you a belt. There's a guy in my area that converts machines to hand-crank types to send overseas to areas with no electricity. If you've already got the treadle table/set-up, it's not too far of a stretch to coax it to work as a treadle type. 😁
Facebook marketplace has treadle machines without the table usually for less than $50. I got a machine with a table for $80. It's a Franklin machine, and what tickled me was, upon opening the top, the machine rose automatically! Chain mechanism of some sort.
You may well find that you can get one for not much at all on ebay. These machines cannot be used without a new table or having a case made and a hand crank fitted - and the tables are a LOT easier to kill than the machine (not to mention the people who make the tables into regular tables and check the machine). A treadle machine with no table is worth barely anything and there are plenty of them. In the UK you would have no issue getting one for less than £10.
It's weird. I learned to sew on a modern machine when I was 13 in school. Staying with my Aunt at her old summer bungalow she asked me to add sleeves to sleeveless dresses she liked but wouldn't wear. It was a treadle machine with a round bobbin. Otherwise it looked liked yours. What's weird is when I sat at the machine I sewed on it as if I'd done it a thousand times before. She had me adding sleeves to so many dresses some days my ankle/ankles would ache. What a wonderful summer. I'm sorry I didn't take that old Singer when we had to give up the bungalows. It was just too heavy, and who listens to a teenager? Thanks for the memories. 🙂 👍🏻 🧵
I was lucky enough to find a Singer 1917, new compared yours treadle sewing machine. I’ve been looking for one for ever and finally gave up. Few months ago I found my girl. They are so amazing. The best way I can describe them is they are so simple and complex at the same time. I do sew but with vintage motor driven machines. I’m looking forward to getting really proficient with the treadle, as it seems it’s going to take me to another level of sewing and enjoyment.
My grandmother has a Singer Treadle machine, as a kid I used to love sitting at it and pressing the pedal at the bottom and listening to the machine as it moved. I hope one day to add it to my collection of sewing machines I've started building.
We have a treadle machine that’s sat in my house for years that, because of one of your previous videos, I learned how to research and date back to 1892 or 1893, and someday I plan to restore her to working condition. Thank you so much for putting out this video, I’m sure it will be super helpful!
That scene with you and Constance at the machine while she learned how to treadle was heartwarming and wholesome. This is my new favorite video on TH-cam.
This makes me so excited to finish my sewing room- I am fortunate to be receiving my great-great-grandmothers very first sewing machine once the room is done and I am looking forward to learning how to use it!
This video is what prompted me to really dig into my NINETEEN nineties Singer’s manual to understand it, start regularly cleaning it, and figuring out how to oil it a few months ago. I’ve had the machine for about ten years since inheriting it from my Nana, and before this year used it only sporadically. Had no idea that it needed maintenance. This year I’ve used it more than ever, and I’m glad that I’ve been able to sort of develop my relationship with it since my Nana’s death-it’s the machine I learned to sew on 15 years ago, and it makes me feel closer to her. Plus it’s extremely satisfying hearing the sound a properly maintained machine makes-just like the ones in this video. Even though mine is electric, it feels like a wonderful connection throughout time.
I have my Grandma's treadle machine, which belonged to her Great Grandmother, who taught her to sew on it. I replaced the belt, and now it works, but I'm so glad to know what all these features mean. Mine is a Windsor B, but a lot is the same as this Singer.
I've posted these tips for treadling on another channel where someone was learning to treadle but I know many of you watching this (and there are many of us!) may have a treadle you haven't mastered yet, or really want to get one some day. It really does take practice, but know what to practice can speed things up. So this is a long comment, but I hope it helps some of you. :-) Practice to start with so that the handwheel clutch is disengaged (like you'd do for bobbin winding), the presser foot is up and there's no thread or needle in the machine. Have your right foot forward on the treadle pedal (and only push forward with it, that is - away from you) and your left foot towards the back of the treadle pedal (and only push back on the pedal with that foot). You can swap feet whenever you like but the foot to the front pushes forward only and the foot to the back pushes back only. It's a bit like pedalling on a bike in that only one foot pushes down at a time while the other has a little rest. When you stop your feet should stay put - at least one of them so the inertia in the machine doesn't keep moving the machine and pedal. Often as not it will "roll" backwards just to spite you. :-) Learn to treadle s-l-o-w-l-y so you can figure out where the "dead spots" are on the treadle pedal. You might be lucky and have two but if you're like me you have three (pedal all the way forward, dead level and all the way back). You don't want to stop at those spots because if you do then you need to use your hand on the handwheel to get it going again and it's just harder to get it going again. When you do need to use your hand on the handwheel to start grab it firmly and pull towards you with a bit of vigour. "Stroking" the handwheel is a bit too gentle to efficiently overcome the inertia in the machine. Your handwheel should only ever come towards you (even for reverse if a machine has it, some brands do even in quite old machines - machines don't "wind backwards" to stitch in reverse). If when you stop your right foot was pushing forward then when you start again if you carry on with the right foot pushing forward the machine wheel will turn the same way it was going when you stopped. It's the same principle if you were pushing backwards with your left foot. Play around with it and observe what happens to the direction the handwheel turns when you stop and then re-start treadling. You'll soon see what I mean if I haven't explained it well. With practice (and going slow to start with) you'll get the hang of starting up after stopping with the handwheel always coming forward. The moment you see it going the wrong way when you start up again you know you've recommenced treadling with the "wrong foot". Swap to pushing with the other foot immediately and it will go in the right direction again. After you've got the hang of this engage the clutch again so you can get used to it with the "heavier foot" required to move the whole mechanism of the machine. When you can stop and start pretty much at will (and use your hand on the wheel to do a "decisive stop" when you need to) and always (nearly always!) start in the right direction you're ready to put a needle in the machine and practice sewing on paper. Once you're able to stop and start where and when you want (hint - slow the treadle down as you make the approach to anywhere you want to stop) and guide the paper around corners and curves adjusting the speed as needed with your feet to suit the path you're navigating then you thread her up with a new needle, grab your fabric and sew like a pro! For any precise sewing it is not cheating to just manually turn the handwheel. Nor is it cheating, if you have a hand-crank on the machine as well, to use that when and where it suits you. Treadling is great for fast sewing and long seams but that doesn't mean you're obliged to use it exclusively before you can call yourself a treadler. :-) Finally - thread nests under the throat plate are often caused by incorrect threading (eg the thread is not fully between the tension discs, not properly going through all the guides or checkspring) or the handwheel going backwards. If ever you get those loops or nests in random places on a seam rather than all the way along when you haven't even changed the tension on the machine check those two things first.
IF you're a lefty it might be better to reverse placement of your feet on the treadle (right foot towards the back etc. This is what I do on my treadles and it works much better for me....
@@marymalheim Absolutely - and you can even swap them around as you go if you find your ankles or calves get tired or uncomfortable after being in one position for a while. As long as the principles of front foot push forwards and rear foot push backwards it'll work just the same. :-)
I have also two antiques, and I would like to add, concerning needles, it depends on how old your machine is and what needle type it requires. Usually modern sewing machines have a flat side (in Germany we call it “Flachkolben” not sure whether there’s an English word for it) but my oldest sewing machine I have (1889, Singer, Hand turned) it’s needles need to be rather thin and round(!), without any flat side to it. I actually had to buy also old needles because I couldn’t find any more being produced. Also beautiful and interesting Video as always Bernadette 🌸
What a fantastic and in-depth tour. Thank you so much for giving such a thorough introduction! I don't have a treadle machine (yet), but I do have a couple of vintage domestic machines from the 1950s and 60s, and an industrial from the 1970s, as well as a modern Serger. I've been having fun over the past few months digging into all sorts of different attachments and finding new capabilities that these straight stitch machines can do, if you have the right bits. And during this last winter, with the 13 atmospheric river storms that hit California, I had about 33 days with no electricity, so I got to appreciate the Zen-like quality of channeling great great grandmother energy, and doing sewing by candlelight and oil lamp, disconnecting the drive belt, and turning things by hand, and eventually, by hand crank, once I bought that attachment! 🤓 As a result, I can totally appreciate the hands-free aspect that you get with treadle machines, but even doing it by hand crank and only having one hand free is not so bad, since everything runs at human scale and speed. Nothing moves unless you move it, so things are slower, but ultra precise, with no broken needles and seldom even a broken thread. Anyway, thank you once again. I do hope to get my hands on a treadle machine at some point, and I really appreciate you taking the time to show how it all works!
I have a 1912 Singer 66 treadle machine I call Beatrix. There is definitely a rhythm to the treadling that you have to figure out. I also have some of the Singer attachments for buttonholes and zig-zag. What I love most is that it is so quiet when you sew and so incredibly smooth. I can remember as a small child playing with my Oma's (grandmother) treadle machine. It also works really well for pieced quilting because you can stop so precisely at the point you want.
I recently bought a 1923 treadle singer, and it's honestly my favorite machine I've ever used. However, I learned pretty quickly that treadles can sense your fear - as soon as your confidence dips, the wheel goes backwards just to remind you that you aren't the one in control of the situation 😆
You have inspired me to learn how to sew. My auntie recently gave me my grandmother's vintage featherweight Singer from August 1960 (the receipt was still in the carrying case), so now I have a machine to actually begin my sewing adventures. I'm nervous, but excited.
Hello Bernadette, absolute awesome video about such a precious old machine, I don't have really something to add, but one thing. On the handwheel, there is a smaller silver-looking kind of screw right in the middle, you turn it counterclockwise and you loosen the handwheel completely from the whole machine drive. It is now freewheeling, so when you use either the treadle machine or the hand-turned one, you use less energy to drive all of the machine when you wind up the bobbins. To lock it with the machine again you simply turn it clockwise again.
Wonderful as ever, thanks for this video. But some points: Not all old swing shuttle sewing machines require flat piston needles - You should smooth the hole in the needle plate - When winding, loosen the screw on the handwheel - Don't pass the thread around the top post, only through the upper guide - Important: Before threading the thread between the tension discs, lift your foot. Just as you have done - I've had good experience with putting one foot on the front of the footplate, one on the back - I've had good experience with putting one foot on the front of the footplate, one on the back - You can secure the seam by turning the fabric.
My grandmother is a seamstress and she actually uses this exact model of sewing machine! (she isn’t even a person especially interested in historical clothing, she just own this type of machine and uses it!)
I was lucky enough to find a 1908 treadle at a yard sale. It needs a belt and the metal slide covering the bobbin…. This lovely guide of yours has taken away a LOT of stress of getting this beauty working again!! Many thanks!
My grandmothers treadle machine was the only one that I could work! It was left to me when she passed and I still love it. She got it new in the early part to the 20th century, for her 14th birthday.
It's was always weird to me that this style of machine is considered antique, they are still the standard in my country (and in many countries at our economic level and also without constant electricity) singers used to be the standard but they are too expensive nowadays and scarce a Chinese brand called butterfly is now the most common.
Singer treadle and hand crank machines are highly prized by the Amish for the exact same reason that they don't require electricity and they'd survive the apocalypse.
@@rdb4996 electric ones are actually a little bit cheaper but they aren't reliable because electricity is not reliable so most seamstresses have it as their main /only machine depending on their economic status.
@@mortisrat they should be cheap to buy for someone from a country with a strong currency, you probably find them on AliExpress since the newer ones are often Chinese, and videos on how to use them from African and Asian TH-camrs, there will be slight differences with original singers because although they are based on 19th century tech they are still being built in 2021, so the engineers definitely take inspiration from newer machine types while making sure they are completely manually powered. The awesome thing is that they are still very sturdy and I don't think they'd work at all if they weren't sturdy unlike electric stuff that you can cut corners with plastic, so there isn't that much of a decline in quality in brands from different countries of origin.
*UNSCREW THE KNOB* in the middle of your flywheel handle on the right - it will stop the mechanism from working whilst you wind the spool... At 5:03 you can see there is a hook sticking out of the cover plate [far left] - THIS is where the thread goes around and NOT the foot tensioner - for both bobbin winding and sewing
Yup. I have the same thing on my machine from the 60's. My little snot of a 6 yr old has figured out how to disengage that, so now anytime I sit down to sew, I have to double check that before going. 😑 Old girl needs that fly-wheel break out as well, otherwise she takes off without ya! 😆
You wanna hear something funny, I was ready to take my 1953 99k hand crank to the repair shop, since it wasn't making stitches when turned. I got as far as looking up how to fix the timing, when I realized I'd disengaged the needle movement by accident.
I love the accuracy and detail in your videos. I would absolutely love if you did a history of needles, a history of lace/lacemaking/tatting, or a history of Nalbinding video.
I have a treadle machine which belonged to my grandmother and while growing up I had the opportunity to watch her make quilts using it. I have not used it, but wanted to keep it since it was hers and loved her so much.
My grandma has an antique treadle machine and when I would go to her house as a kid I would always play with the treadle. All of the tips you gave about using a treadle machine remind me of all of the troubles I had playing with it trying to get a good rhythm. After watching this video I really hope I can restore it one day and actually sew something with it!
I've been eyeing a hand-turned pre-loved sewing machine as it goes for pretty cheap here, so this is a much welcomed and needed guide! Thank you so much, Bernadette! Your videos always cheer me up and invigorate my need to create. Sending much love as always from Malaysia 🇲🇾♥️
Fun to hear Constance giggling during her process. 😃Good job. If you want to back stitch, you actually pivot the fabric around with the needle in the project and go forward. I learned that from My Mother's Tan Metal Monster (Singer) electric machine from the 1950's. That didn't have a backstitch invented yet. Not easy to pivot fabric if you have a large project.
My gradma owned one when I was a kid, I was amazed by how the machine work and felt relaxed with the noise that machine did wenever my grandma repair any clothes with it. She always asked me to put the threads becuase she could not see properly. I was crush when she told me, a few years ago, she sold it. That machine felt so sturdy that could last for hundreds years more.
Thank you so much for this! I'm soon about to embark on some antique sewing adventures and this was incredibly helpful. My day was also immensely brightened by bonus Constance shenanigans! 😍😍
Just two weeks I told my father that I want to try my grandmother's sewing machine from the mid 20th century, but I didn't know how to make it ready. Now I do! Thank you so much!
![[ TEASER ] เงาะป่า - วงL.กฮ. | TMG RECORD](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/M4ObdFfcPww/mqdefault.jpg)
👁👄👁 I have never felt more prepared for a machine I don't own
Same✋
The treadle or the time machine?
@@BADASSMANDO
Both, obviously!
Yet
They are both some of the most pleasant sewing machines to own. I've owned both and currently only own a hand crank and it's a marvellously meditative experience. I am far less frustrated with my sewing than I am with my electric.
I wish you could have seen my 92 year old mother’s face when I showed her this. She had a treadle singer and was a real expert at using it. She was talking to you throughout!!
Thank you so much for transporting her back to her youth albeit for a short time!!
Gill (Suffolk UK)
How wonderful and heartwarming! Comments like these make my day. All the best to all of you in the sewing community. All the best to your Mom as well.
❤
aw how darling!!!
And what was she saying? I can't be the only who is curious, surely...
I bet she had some great advice for all of us who are relative newbies at all this. Perhaps an "oral history" chat recorded with her about what she remembers of her early days learning to sew and what the machines were like to use would be a good idea (if she'd enjoy it, that is). I know I'd love to hear it - what she remembers about her parents' or grandparents' experience of the machines and how they affected their lives etc is just a "memory treasure trove"! Oh - how I love listening to people in their 90s and older talk about their memories of how things were done when they were young!! :-)
@@meganmills6545 brilliant idea!
This is delightful! You and Constance have probably recreated a scene straight out of 1901 :)
what a delightful thought
This made me so happy for some reason. I love that perspective.
Wholesome and sweet scene! This channel is like peering into a crystal ball and seeing what once was 💕
staawwpp! I almost cried reading this comment!
@@robertmacnaughton4190 There is a market for old needles..just saying...identification is difficult to say the least though.
My grandma taught me to use both feet to treadle. The dominant foot is the driver and the nondominant one is the break. This gives you speed control. It also helps your legs work together for a longer sewing period without fatigue or calf cramps.
I was just about to post almost the exact same comment. The whole time I was thinking, "why aren't you using both feet?!" I believe it's also easier to get it started with both feet than with a single one.
Also was going on to comment this. Her friend would have got on so much easier in stockings feet as you can't really " feel" the connection to machine with shoes on.
I agree, it is always adviseable to maintain a "symmetry" / balance of your body when working on a machine, this not only helps avoid leg cramps but it is important for the spine.
I was taught to do the two foot thing on an industrial machine but I'm very right footed so I couldn't get the hang of it. I just use the one foot and then...get tired.
Yes, my grandma taught me with both feet too, one back and the other forward and taking turns to press down.
I inherited my Grandma's singer treadle when she passed away. I was in High School, and used it on all of my sewing projects. I am still proud of how I figured out how to insert an invisible zipper and finish buttonholes on the machine!
I'm proud of you too♥️
Oh my gosh! How do you do the buttonhole on your grandma's machine? I've got my grandma's Singer treadle and have been doing buttonholes by hand. If there's a machine way I'd love to know!
I have my great-grandmother's as well. These things were built to last, and they are beautiful.
@@dorothymilne7055 Hi there. I have a 1917 White treadle. It had been owned by a tailor and came with two attachments that were for zig-zag stitching and buttonholing. I think you can probably find them online somewhere. They work by moving the fabric where the new machines move the needle. They are ingenious. I use the zigzagger constantly to "serge" seam fabric.
@@susanohnhaus611 Thank you! Mine is a 1924. I will go on the hunt! you inspire me :-)
When my mother was very young, she trained as an apprentice to a very elderly gentleman tailor. By the time she was 20, she had become a professional tailor who specialized in man's suits. Her work was exquisite. She used no patterns and was capable of merely turning a garment inside out to see it's structure, drawing a few marks on gorgeous fabric and reproducing what she had memorized from seeing it that one time.. It's only as I've gotten older that I realize what an amazing talent she had. Since she trained on a Victorian pedal machine, that's what she sewed on for the rest of her life. She always said she couldn't "feel" the life of the garment under an electric machine. I grew up to the sound of the push-pedal merrily sewing along all through my childhood as she made my school uniforms, dresses and play clothes. After she passed away, I kept her machine for several years until I was no longer able to keep it with me. It broke my heart to see it go. Many years later I found the exact model of the machine she had in a 'junk' store, sitting unloved in a corner covered dust and cobwebs. I bought it for $15. The shopkeeper was glad to get rid of it. It has served as a beautiful table and conversation piece in my Victorian home for many years now. My goal for this winter is to get it working again, which includes finding a bobbin and a new belt and once again take up sewing. Your video provided the perfect inspiration and guidance for me. I do so love your videos and the gentility and talent you bring to these incredibly trying modern times. 💗
Than you for sharing this story ur mother seemed lovely
You can get a belt made at most saddle or cobbler shops. It's pretty easy to make, just need the correct measurement. Heck one of my machines has a Paracord belt because I been too lazy to cut a leather one and I don't use it often.
She sounds like an amazing woman. If anyone is looking for a belt and lives near Lancaster, PA, most of our locally owned sewing shops keep them in stock because the Amish still use treadle machines to sew.
Thank you for sharing your story, Em Cee.; how wonderful to have such memories. I have five sewing machines, one a 1922 Singer treadle, which I need to dust off and use again, thanks to BB's lovely and inspiring video.
You can get the belts pretty easily. Its the bobbins you have to search for in antique stores or “junk” stores. Good luck.
When I was in rural remote Malawi in 2005, I tore my jeans, so they took me to see the tailor a few villages away. The dude was OLD, and he was rich by rural Africa standards because he was very important. And he was working with a machine just like this one. While he fixed my clothes I got his whole story, about how he'd gone south to work in the JoBurg gold mines in the 50's, then used a chunk of his earnings to buy and repair an old sewing machine, when the factories were selling off their old non-electrical ones. He was able to take it by train as far as northern Mozambique, but then he had to carry the thing *ON HIS BACK* through the jungle. Every night, he'd leave his precious machine at the base of a tree and then climb the tree to sleep safe from lions. He did this *FOR TWO WEEKS* before he reached his home in Malawi. Oh, and he still called Malawi "Nyasaland".
After he finished fixing my jeans, I realized I had forgotten to discuss the price first, a serious error for a tourist. But this was no tourist trap I was in, so he wasn't out to bilk me too much. When I asked how much, his eyebrows when up high and he asked in Chichewa, "How about six cents?" I confirmed with my friend that I had heard the price correctly, and I asked if I could give him twenty-four cents without embarrassing him. He was so delighted with this exorbitant tip that he had me wait a moment while he dug up a couple of cassavas for me from his garden, and he even threw in a plastic grocery bag.
This is a very sweet story 😊 Kindness in return for a kindness 💜
I enjoyed this story so much.
And he became part of your story as you became part of his. Beautiful.
Wow this was an incredible story, thank you for sharing it :]
This is the best story ever. Thanks for sharing!
Watching you and Constance giggling and having fun together was such a delight. My sister owns our Grandma’s old treadle machine, it will be interesting to see her use it after watching this!
Wholesome and sweet 💓
My take away from this is that using a Victorian sewing machine is like driving stick shift; no matter how much you try to learn off the internet, you just have to experience it to truly understand
I feel its very much like a rocking chair or a swing, like you use your foot on the floor to start, but you kinda just rock/swing without needing to touch the floor, its all momentum. The treadle is the same, your foot is rocking with it back and forth, with a super tiny amount of pressure to just get the next movement to rock all the way down and your foot just keeps going following it back up.
The funny thing is we have alot of these treadle machines in Nigeria than any other. The ratio is like 1 million: 1
This is exactly what I thought too. I have a stick shift ‘78 vw bug, and started a couple weeks ago with treadle machines. I thought wow, this is the same kind of learning curve?
I learned to use my mother’s 1960’s Kenmore electric when I was about 10 years old in the late 1970’s, but I learned to SEW when my sister showed me how to use our grandmother’s Singer treadle machine. The Singer went to my sister after my grandmother passed away, when I was only 4 years old. At that age, I hadn’t had the chance to have Grandma’s instruction on the machine, but I did remember that she kept it in pristine condition, the mechanisms carefully oiled and maintained, the cabinet polished, and the drawers stocked with all the appropriate accoutrements, thoughtfully arranged by hands that had raised 4 sons during the Great Depression. Although both of my father’s parents passed away when I was very young, I remember many visits ‘Downriver’, as that part of the state is called. Mostly, I remember the juxtaposition of their living room, which was very sleek and mid-century modern, against the corner that held her sewing machine. There was something so familiar and organic about the rhythm of the treadle, like a cross between a living heartbeat and some mysterious musical instrument, or the Wizard’s machine in “The Wizard of Oz”.
This tour of your Singer treadle machine has brought back fond memories, and rekindled my interest in getting a treadle machine for myself.
What a sweet story! Thanks for sharing it.
*stares at my 1898 sewing machine, that is exactly a hundred years older them me with utter horror - there's dust bunnies.* I think I need to clean it now. Thanks Bernadette.
It looks like it works like swinging on a swingset. You need to add a small push with each cycle of movement, at just the right time. If you try to push at the wrong time, you cancel out the cyclical pattern instead of adding to it.
Great analogy Jennifer
Similiar idea of conserving momentum as with manual bellows in a 17th and 18th century forge.
They were usually suspended so that the weight of the bellows pushed the air out into the forge from the upper half over the time span of half a minute or so, and sucked new air into the bottom half at the same time.
As the bellows were lifted, the air in the bottom half was forced into the upper half through a one way vent in the static central divider, the vent made by a wood board over a hole with a leather hinge and leather seals around the edges.
This allowed for a constant air preassure and flow into the forge which in turn results in an evenly heated furnace and a better quality of work due to predictability compared to older types of bellows.
I belive the bellows of old church organs have a similiar construction for the same reason.
This! I thought of swings when she was describing it too! It's just like swinging on a swing - you have to get into the *swing* of it! 😁 You phrased it much better than I could've; well done!
Thank you! I've been trying to use mine and the idea of the swing has helped!
Exactly!
"Any place that moves against another thing should be kept nice and fluid." Truer words were never spoken.
Today in "things that can be said in a 19th century sewing room and in the bedroom"
I thought I'd stumbled on Miss Bernadette's Lonely Heart's Club Channel for a minute. Totally subbed if so; seriously, I'd subscribe all over that.
A few inconsistencies...
1. Loosen the clutch-wheel (that big silver one inside the balance wheel) to disengage the needle-mech. while bobbin-filling. Then tighten back up afterwards, to re-engage.
2. The top thread-guide is that little hook at the top of the faceplate, not the grooved rod (which is actually the presser-foot tension rod).
3. The bullet-thingies are shuttles, the spools that go into them are bobbins.
Other than that, excellent video. Treadling is certainly something very different from anything else that people who use modern sewing machines would be use to, but it's a lot of fun. It can be exhausting if you're doing a lot of sewing, though.
I have this same hand cranked sewing machine (model VS3, also known as 28 and later models 128, 128k, etc) and I love it!
I would like to add that both machines (and all machines, modern and old, afaik) have that clutch-wheel that should be disengaged before winding the bobin -like we do in modern machines- so the needle and the feed dogs do not move while the balance wheel spins.
I would like to mention as well that the VS3 is also treadle-ready too, apart from hand cranked: it has a guide on the left side of the balance wheel for the belt and holes on the wooden base that match the ones on a table for the belt to go through!
It's a truly beautiful and exciting piece of engineering
Also, the little hole on the side of the bobbin is where one pulls the thread through, so that it sets itself when started, and one doesn't have to worry about what "direction" they've wound it.
That sound....❤
I just saw 2 singer machines at my local antiques store and after watching this I’ve made up my mind, I’m going back tomorrow to get one. These machines are so beautiful
Update: I got a 15K-88 made in 1936. It’s in incredible condition and works beautifully. So happy I got her
have a 15k88 too and it runs better than my more modern (1970's) sewing machine. (and sounds much nicer)
I got one of those today! ❤
I got a 15-88 and absolutely love having a treadle that reverses!
As a antique sewing machine collector, the aesthetic cinematography-ness of this video gives me joy beyond no bounds. Also that shot of you threading the needle is the single most satisfying thing ever. But a few notes,
-That top bar is actually not a thread guy, its a screw that adjusts the pressure on the presser foot adjusting it is usualy unnecassery unless your sewing something drasticly thin or thick.
-the little open circle/hook/shape thing on the faceplate is the proper thread guide for sewing and bobbin winding, also i saw another comment on you missing your tension check spring!
-also the big silver knob in the middle of your hand wheel can be disengaged to wind the bobbin without the needle moving!
I was wondering if her machine didn't have the option of disengaging the needle when winding the bobbin because it was so old. I have a couple of machines from the early 1900s that disengage but I've never worked on one from the late 1800s.
Yes, I have an 1898 Singer and sometimes when disengaging the clutch after she’s sat for awhile I have to hold the top of the bar the needle is attached to when I first get it going so it doesn’t continue to move, but keeping everything well oiled and using it regularly has made this less of an occurrence.
Seeing videos and comment sections full of owners/collectors of these amazing machines sharing tips and knowledge in a polite way warms my heart.
I have an 1896 singer and I’ve never had a problem with being able to disengage that mechanism
@@mollysmith1711 When I got mine it was in very poor shape and missing a few pieces, she was just a side project, but slowly took over as a main focus. I sew on her daily now after quite a bit of work and research and still continue to make small repairs and replace worn bits here and there hoping to have a well working machine to pass along some day.
Oh, another commonly overlooked part/adjustment on treadles is the screws and brace pieces located at the ends of the pitman arm, my machine was clunking rather loud even after a good oiling so I inspected and noticed the bottom screw was very loose, after an adjustment she runs nice and quiet.
I have a case of machine still wants to occasionally move with clutch disengaged so still rasing the presser foot is still good info for me, just in case.
Aren't we all just here to watch Bernadette time travelling to learn new skills? You can't tell me she's not in fact an Edwardian time traveller.
Did you notice how much she had to say about the minutiae of The Nevers? Had me wondering…
😆
BB is a Victorian first then she slides into Edwardian.
@@rondabeal5204 With just a hint of goth and steam punk! What a WONDERFUL blend!
Treading for bobbin winding, you’re wrapping the tread around the “top post” which is actually a pressure adjuster for the presser foot. You can screw this mechanism clockwise to increase pressure on the presser foot or anti-clockwise to release pressure on the presser foot.
The thread should go through the thread guide on the face plate just as it does for normal machine operation. There’s actually a helpful illustration of this process in the singer 128k manual (available via ISMACS as linked in your description).
Same again with threading the machine for normal use, you shouldn’t be using the pressure bar thumb screw threads, instead wrap it around the small eyelet with slit in the face plate and then continue as you had been treading.
Also I think you’re missing the thread take up spring from the tension regulator (this is often damaged or missing from older machines) but is available as a spare part. If you want to replace it and you’re unable to find it yourself let me know.
My machine was missing that spring when I brought her home too, but I found a replacement on line very easily.
Thanks for the information about adjusting the presser foot ☺ I had never noticed that it was adjustable.
Yes!!
I noticed this too but you explained it much better than I did.
The presser foot being adjustable was one of the exciting things for me about these machines.
I'm surprised Bernadette's machine has been sewing properly and without threads breaking, seeing it wound round the the presser foot adjustment thread was painful! However, I'm willing to bet she notices an improvement when it's properly set up.
I bought a 1912 singer yesterday and it works wonderfully!! Im 16 and my mom doesn’t know how to sew, so its amazing that someone can explain the process to me like this! Thank you!
When I was your age I used to sew a lot of my own clothes. It's so much fun and will let you develop your own unique style!
I don't sew. I probably never will - but this was a delight to watch. You have that rare gift of making me fascinated by things that I otherwise would have absolutely no interest in. Thank you.
Warning for absolute beginners like myself: when Bernadette says oil she means special sewing machine oil. Any other kind of oil will ruin the machine. In WOII when there was a shortage of everything this happened. People used different oil and machines just stopped working, can still be cleaned I believe but is a lot of work.
Also love the video!! 🥰
I think the oil you can get for electric beard trimmers should work just fine, doesn't it? it serves the same purpose
doesn't she mean something like WD 40?
@@kibummmm looking at another comment, that for me just happens to be just below this one, wd40 doesn't work
@@kibummmm No.While WD 40 is a lubricant, it has additives that will harden later and jam up the machine. Use only sewing machine oil on machines this old. It's very cheap, so there's really no excuse or reason to use anything else. Also sewing machine oil can be wiped all over the machine to clean it. In particular, it won't harm the pretty decals.
Singer has been selling sewing machine oil for a hundred years and it’s still being sold just by singer sewing machine oil and you will be fine.
On the subject of solid old things, my sewing machine is from the late 70s. It was given to me as a hand-me-down by a friend of my grandmother and along with the inevitable brown and cream colour scheme, it's mostly solid metal and completely indestructable. I wouldn't be surprised if it outlasts me! (Oh, and it has an equally solid-sounding name: the Riccar Reliant 505!)
I have two electric machines from that general time period! The Kenmore 84 (from 1964, oddly) and the Singer Rocketeer!
I have one too. Lugging up the loft ladder to my "sewing room" was quite an experience in itself. All I kept thinking was - DONT DROP IT ON MY FOOT!!!!! Needless to say, it's on its table and doesn't get moved much😂.
I also have 2 modern machines downstairs, both can do something the other cannot. The Riccar is used for heavier jobs, heavy curtains, covers for arm chairs, setters etc!
@@carolempluckrose4188 it's so heavy, isn't it? I keep mine under a desk and getting it out is a case of "1-2-3-oof!"
Not a sewing machine, but it has been specified that should anything happen to my mom, I get her Kenmore mixer. It is a bit on the newer side, but also built like a tank and using the same kind of motor those mixers have used for decades.
Same - I have my mother's Singer 522, and aside from having to have perished plastic gears replaced, it's indestructible.
You’ve definitely inspired me to try my great-grandmother’s c. 1930s Singer sewing machine again! I rescued it from being sent to auction (the actual tragedy of losing a family heirloom like that!) because I knew I would want to expand my knowledge beyond hand-sewing one day. It’s a hand-turned rather than treadle machine, but hoping I can follow along now that the process is demystified somewhat! Thank you!
I am so sad that my great grandmother's Singer is lost to time. I remember seeing it in my grandmother's house.
Do make sure you get it serviced before you use it it'll work for another 100 years with a good regular service
I recently found the date of my great-grandmother's hand turn Singer, 1920! How incredible to have something that is 101 years old and very nearly still in entirely working order. It doesn't have the same bobbin as Bernadette's, but is otherwise very similar. I found a great tutorial about cleaning and restoring a similar model so I gave it a good clean but there's something wrong with the tension so I think professional help is needed to get it fully operational unfortunately.
You definitely should! Mine is a 1937 and she is wonderful!
Oh cool! I actually have a pretty treadle Naumann from late 1800s I was thinking of reviving recently - I got it like for 30 dollars from an old couple who used to sew everything on it when they were young. As the gentleman said "the only thing I know that can do silk and chiffon and heavy denim too". It's been standing in my room for about 7 years now so I suppose it'll take some TLC before the first use but it'll be so worth it!
Dear 'tribe', today i nearly cried happy tears as i took possession of my Great grandmother's 1898 Singer treadle sewing machine (i thought it had gone decades ago). Woodwork fully restored, metalwork freshly polished with beeswax and original leather belt in place. I remember sewing with it as a child, during a black out by firelight.
I didn't have anyone else to tell who might appreciate how special this is...thanks 😊
I've got a 101 year old handcranked singer machine myself and I absolut adore the sheer beauty of it. Sewing with this machine is a joy. The rhythm of the mechanism is almost hypnotic. I'm sewing mostly messenger bags or cyberpunk cloaks on my machine. The thought of sewing this futuristic projects on such an old machine let's me smile through the whole project. Another thing I want to point out is the smell. My machine was in very good condition as I got it. But of course the wood of the box on which the machine sits smelled a little bit unpleasant. I sewed a little bag, filled it with coffee beans and put it under the machine. It smells much better now. A mix of oil, metal, coffee and history. This machine is one of my favorite belongings ❤️
Bernadette and Constance giggling away about the treadle sewing machine is the wholesome content I absolutely needed
i felt like watching contance struggling with the machine was what watching a victorian figuring out using a modern mobile phone would have looked like 🤣 so cute!
I won't never forget that time my cousin was looking for a sewing machine and when I suggested a singer she told me she wanted some more tested brand. *More tested than singer*
Buahahahahaha! I don't sew at all and even I know that's silly! 😂
....how the hell do you find a brand that's more tested than Singer? Like, you talk to a random person on the street and ask them about sewing machine brands, what are they gonna say? Necchi? Pfaff? Wardwell? No, they'll say Singer. (Don't get me wrong, those are good brands. Singer has just dominated the arena for so long that it's the first name people think of when they hear 'sewing machine'.) They've been making machines since *1865.* You can't get more 'tested' than that.
Aww bless.
Being a popular brand one may be able to find spare parts. Almost like people finding car parts to restore a old clunker.
Well... The new Singer sewing machines are actually in no way comparable to the old Singer machines. The brand has been bought up by a different company, I think something Chinese, and the quality just isn't the same. If someone asked me for a recommendation of a new sewing machine, I wouldn't suggest a Singer.
Fabulous, informative video! I rescued an old Singer from the trash over 50 years ago. I was never sure how to sew with it, but loved the Egyptian motif and oak table so much that I could never part with it. You’ve made it look pretty easy to use. Thanks so much!! ;)
I got *really* into antique Singers during the pandemic. They are actually a *lot* more accessible and available to buy than I just assumed for a long time and I accidentally went from 0 machines to 11 very quickly. I've since rehomed a couple and need to let a couple others go but I will warn people that sometimes when you go down the antique sewing machine road, it becomes a very deep rabbit hole 😆
Glad I saw this in time, as a warning. I was just checking out the dutch craigslist (so to speak) and was surprised by how cheap they can be. Already had shortlisted a couple not too far away! Gonna put this on hold real quick.. 🤣
I can bet that it would.
Someone has probably mentioned this, but like with modern machines, NEVER use WD40 to lubricate a sewing machine!
Mistake I have made when I was new to the old machines, Luckily I didn't hurt them but I will never *EVER* use that stuff now on my old girl.
What happens?
@@h.c.49 in my experience wd40 is too thin and evaporates too quickly for these old machines. They were designed and built with specific tolerances to operate smoothly. They work best and wear less with a proper sewing machine oil. Also be sure to oil moving parts under the machine and inside the cover plates on the back and on the left side. These are the crank drive and needlebar areas. Having rescued and restored 35 of these old singers I find they are very solidly built and usually cleaning and oiling can have them sewing like new
It actually works as a solvent and breaks down the proper oil. Only use sewing machine oil, not 3-in-1 or anything else or you'll gunk it up.
@survivaltest 370 My old Singer owners manual from 1858-1863 says to use kerosene lol.It is for the Letter A machine.
You can "back-stitch" with these Machines . . . You just turn your work, and go back 4 stiches or so, and can pull the top thread to the underside and knot~
I still can't believe that doesn't have to be done on modern machines. It seems decadent 😆
And on the treadle you can raise the foot slightly - so it just hovering above the fabric and pull the fabric forward for a few stitches then lower the foot and let it feed in the usual direction again. To do this on a hand-crank you need an assistant for a second or two to wind the handle for you while you control the presser foot and fabric - which needs two hands. Try as I might I've not been able to finagle another way around it.
If I don't want threads at the very beginning edge of the seam, or don't want to start right at the edge, I start the seam at the "beginning" but in the wrong direction - as if I'm stitching the last few stitches of the seam - and sew a few stitches towards the edge. Then, when I get to the "end" (actually my intended beginning of the seam) I stop with the needle in the pivot position, pivot 180-degrees and continue sewing the seam as normal. This of course works whether you're on a hand-crank or treadle.
@@meganmills6545 I've always thought ~ it's not so much the machine as it is the ARTISAN behind it! Best of Life ~
I've definitely always been doing that but I've had my handcrank for less than a year and had only been making masks.
@@LilacGeese That's very cool ~ Something about those old machines . . . .
Note: On a hand-turned singer you can disengage the flywheel which will make it so the machine won't make the needle go up and down while you're winding the bobbin.
11:45 That was a big OOOOoooo moment for me though. I just figured I only had one stitch length, thanks
The best thing about these videos about old sewing machines is just hearing everybody’s stories in the comments about their antique sewing machines and how they got them.
you don't need to take the needle guide off, just loosen the nut and slide the needle up into place then tighten the screw back down, and also you can disinguage the needle from moving while filling the bobbin by turning the silver knob on the flywheel towards you while holding the flywheel still. your threading the machine wrong also, your going to break your thread. those are not thread groves for the thread but thread groves to adjust foot tension. there is a thread guide on the front of the machine at the top. the thread goes through that then down to the tensioner..
Yes, I cringed watching the thread being guided around the presser foot tension knob! That little hook attached to the faceplate, directly above the tension unit, is where the thread should be going instead. Other models will have a wire hook around that location for the same purpose. There is also a stop motion knob - you hold the hand wheel, and loosen the little knob at the end towards you - so that you can wind the bobbin using the treadle & belt while the needle stays still (and keeps down wear and tear on the rest of the machine). Needle shouldn't be in action while bobbin winding. Tension unit is missing it's check spring too!
@@adrienneg.2401 omg I was cringing almost the whole time. Not being mean to Bernadette but one should know what they are doing before teaching others to do it also.
Oh good! Someone has already mentioned this. I just commented this as well, somehow missed your comment on my first scroll
the bobbin case is called a "Shuttle." Also, majority of old treadle and handcrank machines do not have a reverse! If you try just treadling backwards, the thread will snap. How do you back stitch? you stop with the needle down, and you have to turn the fabric itself around. How do you zig zag? there's an attatchment for that! If you can find old low shank attachments on Ebay or out at a second hand store or a flea market, I highly recommend playing with them! Bernadette you would LOVE the tuck marker! You measure and mark the first tuck, and with the proper settings on the attachment it'll yes, mark where the next tuck will be for you! A quick study of your machine's foot tells me it's a low shank, with a typical side clamp. Majority of old Singer attachments from the age of straight stitch machines will fit it, as long as it's low shank. The back clamp attachments sadly will not, they were for Singer 66 back clamping machines for a short while until Singer went 'oh wait! we should put it on the typical side!'
If you need to back stitch, just lift the foot and push the fabric backwards as you still stitch as normal. It won't jam the threads.
@@SB_McCollum I'll try this!
@@SB_McCollum This is how my grandmother taught me to back stitch, too. And, the zig zig? She timed her hands to the machine, and moved the fabric side to side. Quite marvelous.
Did I squeal and clap when Constance got the rhythm and feeling? Yes. Did the cat on my lap sink their claws into me in protest of being awoken? Also yes. Was it worth it? Absolutely!
As a side note, the interplay of the light and patterns of the spokes on the larger wheel with the spaces on the legs of the machine is legit mesmerising to watch.
My mother-in-law, who is in her 80s, has her grandmother's treadle Singer and table. She has said it will come to my daughter. I've bookmarked this and will share it with them both so that they can both watch it and learn more about their beautiful Singer.
There are more informative videos here on youtube, as well. :) She didnt show getting the thread into the bullet case. Also her machine is missing a spring (easily replaced) that has her threading it incorrectly.
I love my treadle machines. When asked if I hand or machine sew, I like to say, "I sew by hand, by foot, and occasionally by electric machine."
The part with you teaching Constance is adorable and you can imagine that's how it would be back in the machines time if a lady got a treadle when they were new tech and having the same fun you two had with it 🥺
I know! Right?
Omg hearing that professionals also have trouble winding a bobbin makes me feel so much better about never getting it right. Also, loved watching you and your friend giggle over the treadle machine - a scene right out of 1900's I'm sure!
The mechanics of these antique machine are fascinating. The joy when Constance got the treadle going!👏🏽👏🏽
It's at 11:02, if you, like me, need to watch this bit repeatedly for your daily serotonine.
Thank you for reminding me to clean up and oil my late mother's hand turned Singer. She bought it in an antique shop in the late 60's and sewed many of our clothes on it including my communion dress. She even got it serviced before she died so that it would still work for me but I've stuck to my electric one mainly because I didn't know the finer points of using an older machine. And now I find out how old - according to the serial number it's from 1884! It'll be fantastic to get it going again thanks to your video :)
I have a treadle at home, that I repaired around two years ago. I love it so much and this video really shows what a joy it is to work with such trusty machinery
My grandmother owned a Singer Sewing Machine Store in Ottawa, Illinois in the 1870’s. I have many antique sewing machines but would dearly love one that is dated 1875! Singer made excellent machines!
Constance: You can do it you can do it you can do it no you can’t.
*Practice makes as-close-to-perfect as one can get. You got this Constance!*
A few other tips for treadling: I treadle barefoot (this has been recommended in several vintage sewing machine groups. It gives you a better feel for what is going on with the pedal), and I use both feet instead of one. My foot on the dominant side is in the back (farthest away), and the non dominant is in the front (closest to the floor). The non-dominant heel is on the floor, so just my toes are on the pedal. I start the flywheel with my hands to get the pedal going, then push back and forth alternating feet. Give this method a try - it is SO much easier to treadle this way than relying on one foot.
I love antique Singer sewing machines!!! They sew sooooooo well and are always reliable!! It's so fun to see others' fondness for these old lovely ladies! 💖
I had access to a treadle machine years ago, and learned that using both feet was much easier than one. Once you get going it is sort of like dancing, using my feet in concert to maintain the "swing" of the treadle. (Someone mentioned it was like swinging, and that is a great analogy.)
I agree both feet and barefoot all the time.
That part with Constance was so relatable, when I tried to use my great-grandma's machine as a teenager I had the same hilarious reaction. This video was so beautiful and useful. Tomorrow I'm going to check how's (now) my machine. I hate modern machines, maybe she will be the one.
You and the comments below made me cry with nostalgia. Regards.from Spain.
The interaction between you and Constance was so wonderful and wholesome, I laughed and smiled along with you two :)
IMPORTANT SKILLS FOR TIME TRAVELERS. I freaking love it.
This is so cool. And I especially appreciate that the machine has a mechanism to wind bobbin thread evenly throughout the spool. So many times on my electric machine the bobbin is uneven unless I guide it myself. Even then there's no guarantee lol.
If it helps, the only reason mine’s clean is because my friend is going through a sewing machine cleaning and repair course. You aren’t alone!
@@susiemeadows9838 Thank Heaven for people like your friend!
I've been obsessed with these since childhood - my aunt has a shoemaker's treadle machine (and some of the wooden shoe molds still!) and we used to play in it as children and be completely amazed by how it worked. That part hasn't gone away. But I've never felt keen to constantly use one. My grandma had really bad knee problems, seemingly from using a treadle machine all her life. She was always very thankful for the motor you could attach to the sewing machine, to make it electric instead. But they truly *are* wondrous!
Most Grandparents have bad knees no matter how they actually lived their life. Knees can take a LOT of abuse... until they can't. Best advice is simply to take any chronic pain seriously and get it properly looked at by professionals. And if you are young enough not to have chronic pain - take stretching seriously!
My g-grandpa hooked up a 12 volt motor to my g-grandmas machine and would pull the battery out of his truck while he was working. He logged with mules and they didn't have power in their house till the early 70s. All before my time but I've heard stories she would run the batt so low he would have to get her to help him push start his truck in the evenings to charge the battery. That machine is my nightstand now.
I had been waiting for a video like this! My parents have a treadle machine in their bedroom from 1905 and my grandmother has the same model in her home as well which belonged to my late grandfather. He had many jobs throughout his life to make ends meet in a house of 6 people, and I have learned one of those jobs was tailoring. I got really into sewing at the beginning of the pandemic to pass time, which made my mom very happy as she says my grandad would be proud to see those skills and love of sewing being shared by someone else in the family :) Ever since I have dreamed of being able to repair one of those machines so I can keep improving and learning. In a way, it makes me feel closer to my grandparents and giving a new life to that antique machine is a reminder that I'll always have a part of them with me ❤
I have worked with an old sewing machine (around 1890) and to hear someone explain such an obscure thing in such great detail is an amazing feeling! You were talking about momentum and i found myself nodding my head to agree and even exclaimed "yes exactly" at a video! Xd
I remember sitting on the floor while my Grandmother Ross used her machine. She would allow me to operate the treadle for her. Watching this, I no longer imagine that I was helping much! I remember the light streaming through the window onto the wood plank floor with the shadows of the panes slowly stretching out through the afternoon.
This is like a guide to my childhood, I already hear the light 'clacking' of the machine in my ears. I grew up with the sewing machine of my grandmother from the 1930s (it was a gift from her parents for her 18th birthday, she later on became a dressmaker) I always used play around with it when I was little😊🗝
Wow, such a beautiful video! It makes me want to give my 1896 machine a fresh dusting and oiling. I bought mine about 5 or 6 years ago in rough shape, but after a thorough cleaning and a replaced belt, it works good as new and I've made so, so many garments with it. I had almost forgotten how hard it is to use when you're not used to the rhythm. To me, the lovely clacking it makes is just like music. Not to mention the aesthetics of these machines! Where did the style go??
Thank you dearly Bernadette, I purchased a similar model singer to yours. Being my first sewing machine, and as a 45 yo man self tasked with completing my 11yo daughters costumes, your tutelage is invaluable.
I cried so much with joy and memories and nostalgia at this video and several of the comments below ...!
Now I know that I have a treasure in my old sewing machine, and in the memories that still live in my mind, from when my grandmother - that you even look a little like her when she was very young!- taught me to sew on these machines when I was at most 7 or 8 years old.
*Thank you so much for the LIFE you gave me with this video!*
It was a delight to see you and Constance enjoying The Treadle Experience together.
I remember hearing about how my grandfather bought the electric attachment for Nana's treadle machine once they got electricity to the ranch house. Nana had 6 girls to sew dresses and sunbonnets for, often from grain bags. Quilts were made from these dresses after no one fit a dress. I am sure Nana was happy for some primitive electric sewing :)
yeah, my grandma also got an electric upgrade for it at some point
I feel like there's a parallel universe where Bernadette is an evil baroness who forces prisoners to try and operate the treadle machine without instruction and forces them to sew a ridiculously long garment before they can be released.
Headcanon accepted! Bernadette, we need a video of this, NOW. Stitched down pleats in a circle skirt would do nicely... 🤣🤣
I BOUGHT A HANDTURNING MACHINE YESTERDAY AT A FLEA MARKET. SHE IS IN A GREAT CONDITION. I'll start to service the machine later today, but thank you so much for this video.
When I was a kid, we had an Antique sewing machine table. There was no sewing machine on it, but the treadle was there. I would spend hours treadling away while coloring, doing homework, or just daydreaming at the table. Years later, I bought a table from a restaurant that had a treadle underneath. I still love the motion. It is so soothing.
I did not realize that I needed to oil the fly wheel on a treadle. I have a Singer treadle made in 1908 that was purchased for my Great-Great-Grandmother as a wedding present. Singer treadles are very well made. It had no care for 30 years add worked just fine after a few minutes of tinkering.
Both of my machines are “modern” (the newer one is from the 80s), but my grandma’s machine is in a treadle cabinet since she had a treadle machine prior to the one passed down to me. I’d love to get a treadle machine so that I can use the treadle in the cabinet!
If the machine is already in the treadle table, you might be able to convert it to use the treadle. Take it to a machine shop (or ask them to come to you, 'cause those tables are HEAVY), and ask them how difficult it would be to modify or replace the flywheel to accept a belt. Then find a local leatherworker to make you a belt. There's a guy in my area that converts machines to hand-crank types to send overseas to areas with no electricity. If you've already got the treadle table/set-up, it's not too far of a stretch to coax it to work as a treadle type. 😁
Facebook marketplace has treadle machines without the table usually for less than $50. I got a machine with a table for $80. It's a Franklin machine, and what tickled me was, upon opening the top, the machine rose automatically! Chain mechanism of some sort.
You may well find that you can get one for not much at all on ebay. These machines cannot be used without a new table or having a case made and a hand crank fitted - and the tables are a LOT easier to kill than the machine (not to mention the people who make the tables into regular tables and check the machine). A treadle machine with no table is worth barely anything and there are plenty of them. In the UK you would have no issue getting one for less than £10.
It's weird. I learned to sew on a modern machine when I was 13 in school. Staying with my Aunt at her old summer bungalow she asked me to add sleeves to sleeveless dresses she liked but wouldn't wear. It was a treadle machine with a round bobbin. Otherwise it looked liked yours. What's weird is when I sat at the machine I sewed on it as if I'd done it a thousand times before. She had me adding sleeves to so many dresses some days my ankle/ankles would ache. What a wonderful summer. I'm sorry I didn't take that old Singer when we had to give up the bungalows. It was just too heavy, and who listens to a teenager?
Thanks for the memories. 🙂 👍🏻 🧵
Such wonderful memories! I’m sorry you couldn’t keep it.
I learned to sew at the same age on my aunt's treadle machines got to make 2 dresses that summer 😍
@@lisacastano1064 I got to make a couple of summer tops. 🙂👍🏻🌹☮
@@Lucinda_Jackson I still see them for sale or they give them away. Someday when I get rid of some stuff, I'll pick one up for display. 🙂👍🏻🌹☮
@@nyclady27 Do you believe in past lives? Do you feel like you had that skill because you had it before?
I was lucky enough to find a Singer 1917, new compared yours treadle sewing machine. I’ve been looking for one for ever and finally gave up. Few months ago I found my girl. They are so amazing. The best way I can describe them is they are so simple and complex at the same time. I do sew but with vintage motor driven machines. I’m looking forward to getting really proficient with the treadle, as it seems it’s going to take me to another level of sewing and enjoyment.
My grandmother has a Singer Treadle machine, as a kid I used to love sitting at it and pressing the pedal at the bottom and listening to the machine as it moved. I hope one day to add it to my collection of sewing machines I've started building.
We have a treadle machine that’s sat in my house for years that, because of one of your previous videos, I learned how to research and date back to 1892 or 1893, and someday I plan to restore her to working condition. Thank you so much for putting out this video, I’m sure it will be super helpful!
There are a very large number of videos here on youtube if you would like to do that!
That scene with you and Constance at the machine while she learned how to treadle was heartwarming and wholesome. This is my new favorite video on TH-cam.
This makes me so excited to finish my sewing room- I am fortunate to be receiving my great-great-grandmothers very first sewing machine once the room is done and I am looking forward to learning how to use it!
This video is what prompted me to really dig into my NINETEEN nineties Singer’s manual to understand it, start regularly cleaning it, and figuring out how to oil it a few months ago. I’ve had the machine for about ten years since inheriting it from my Nana, and before this year used it only sporadically. Had no idea that it needed maintenance. This year I’ve used it more than ever, and I’m glad that I’ve been able to sort of develop my relationship with it since my Nana’s death-it’s the machine I learned to sew on 15 years ago, and it makes me feel closer to her. Plus it’s extremely satisfying hearing the sound a properly maintained machine makes-just like the ones in this video. Even though mine is electric, it feels like a wonderful connection throughout time.
I have my Grandma's treadle machine, which belonged to her Great Grandmother, who taught her to sew on it. I replaced the belt, and now it works, but I'm so glad to know what all these features mean. Mine is a Windsor B, but a lot is the same as this Singer.
I've posted these tips for treadling on another channel where someone was learning to treadle but I know many of you watching this (and there are many of us!) may have a treadle you haven't mastered yet, or really want to get one some day. It really does take practice, but know what to practice can speed things up. So this is a long comment, but I hope it helps some of you. :-)
Practice to start with so that the handwheel clutch is disengaged (like you'd do for bobbin winding), the presser foot is up and there's no thread or needle in the machine. Have your right foot forward on the treadle pedal (and only push forward with it, that is - away from you) and your left foot towards the back of the treadle pedal (and only push back on the pedal with that foot). You can swap feet whenever you like but the foot to the front pushes forward only and the foot to the back pushes back only. It's a bit like pedalling on a bike in that only one foot pushes down at a time while the other has a little rest. When you stop your feet should stay put - at least one of them so the inertia in the machine doesn't keep moving the machine and pedal. Often as not it will "roll" backwards just to spite you. :-)
Learn to treadle s-l-o-w-l-y so you can figure out where the "dead spots" are on the treadle pedal. You might be lucky and have two but if you're like me you have three (pedal all the way forward, dead level and all the way back). You don't want to stop at those spots because if you do then you need to use your hand on the handwheel to get it going again and it's just harder to get it going again. When you do need to use your hand on the handwheel to start grab it firmly and pull towards you with a bit of vigour. "Stroking" the handwheel is a bit too gentle to efficiently overcome the inertia in the machine.
Your handwheel should only ever come towards you (even for reverse if a machine has it, some brands do even in quite old machines - machines don't "wind backwards" to stitch in reverse). If when you stop your right foot was pushing forward then when you start again if you carry on with the right foot pushing forward the machine wheel will turn the same way it was going when you stopped. It's the same principle if you were pushing backwards with your left foot. Play around with it and observe what happens to the direction the handwheel turns when you stop and then re-start treadling. You'll soon see what I mean if I haven't explained it well.
With practice (and going slow to start with) you'll get the hang of starting up after stopping with the handwheel always coming forward. The moment you see it going the wrong way when you start up again you know you've recommenced treadling with the "wrong foot". Swap to pushing with the other foot immediately and it will go in the right direction again.
After you've got the hang of this engage the clutch again so you can get used to it with the "heavier foot" required to move the whole mechanism of the machine. When you can stop and start pretty much at will (and use your hand on the wheel to do a "decisive stop" when you need to) and always (nearly always!) start in the right direction you're ready to put a needle in the machine and practice sewing on paper. Once you're able to stop and start where and when you want (hint - slow the treadle down as you make the approach to anywhere you want to stop) and guide the paper around corners and curves adjusting the speed as needed with your feet to suit the path you're navigating then you thread her up with a new needle, grab your fabric and sew like a pro!
For any precise sewing it is not cheating to just manually turn the handwheel. Nor is it cheating, if you have a hand-crank on the machine as well, to use that when and where it suits you. Treadling is great for fast sewing and long seams but that doesn't mean you're obliged to use it exclusively before you can call yourself a treadler. :-)
Finally - thread nests under the throat plate are often caused by incorrect threading (eg the thread is not fully between the tension discs, not properly going through all the guides or checkspring) or the handwheel going backwards. If ever you get those loops or nests in random places on a seam rather than all the way along when you haven't even changed the tension on the machine check those two things first.
Bless you and all of your sewing efforts!
@@maryblaylock6545 How kind - thank you Mary!
IF you're a lefty it might be better to reverse placement of your feet on the treadle (right foot towards the back etc. This is what I do on my treadles and it works much better for me....
@@marymalheim Absolutely - and you can even swap them around as you go if you find your ankles or calves get tired or uncomfortable after being in one position for a while. As long as the principles of front foot push forwards and rear foot push backwards it'll work just the same. :-)
This is amazing information. Thank you!
"if and when you find yourself in the 19th century" BB really coming out here and supporting all us time travellers
I have also two antiques, and I would like to add, concerning needles, it depends on how old your machine is and what needle type it requires. Usually modern sewing machines have a flat side (in Germany we call it “Flachkolben” not sure whether there’s an English word for it) but my oldest sewing machine I have (1889, Singer, Hand turned) it’s needles need to be rather thin and round(!), without any flat side to it. I actually had to buy also old needles because I couldn’t find any more being produced.
Also beautiful and interesting Video as always Bernadette 🌸
mine also takes the round ones. I spent ages looking for them! Luckily it seems they are still made, but I guess it depends on how thin the top is.
What a fantastic and in-depth tour. Thank you so much for giving such a thorough introduction!
I don't have a treadle machine (yet), but I do have a couple of vintage domestic machines from the 1950s and 60s, and an industrial from the 1970s, as well as a modern Serger.
I've been having fun over the past few months digging into all sorts of different attachments and finding new capabilities that these straight stitch machines can do, if you have the right bits.
And during this last winter, with the 13 atmospheric river storms that hit California, I had about 33 days with no electricity, so I got to appreciate the Zen-like quality of channeling great great grandmother energy, and doing sewing by candlelight and oil lamp, disconnecting the drive belt, and turning things by hand, and eventually, by hand crank, once I bought that attachment! 🤓
As a result, I can totally appreciate the hands-free aspect that you get with treadle machines, but even doing it by hand crank and only having one hand free is not so bad, since everything runs at human scale and speed. Nothing moves unless you move it, so things are slower, but ultra precise, with no broken needles and seldom even a broken thread.
Anyway, thank you once again. I do hope to get my hands on a treadle machine at some point, and I really appreciate you taking the time to show how it all works!
I have a 1912 Singer 66 treadle machine I call Beatrix. There is definitely a rhythm to the treadling that you have to figure out. I also have some of the Singer attachments for buttonholes and zig-zag. What I love most is that it is so quiet when you sew and so incredibly smooth. I can remember as a small child playing with my Oma's (grandmother) treadle machine. It also works really well for pieced quilting because you can stop so precisely at the point you want.
I recently bought a 1923 treadle singer, and it's honestly my favorite machine I've ever used. However, I learned pretty quickly that treadles can sense your fear - as soon as your confidence dips, the wheel goes backwards just to remind you that you aren't the one in control of the situation 😆
You have inspired me to learn how to sew. My auntie recently gave me my grandmother's vintage featherweight Singer from August 1960 (the receipt was still in the carrying case), so now I have a machine to actually begin my sewing adventures. I'm nervous, but excited.
Hello Bernadette,
absolute awesome video about such a precious old machine, I don't have really something to add, but one thing.
On the handwheel, there is a smaller silver-looking kind of screw right in the middle, you turn it counterclockwise and you loosen the handwheel completely from the whole machine drive.
It is now freewheeling, so when you use either the treadle machine or the hand-turned one, you use less energy to drive all of the machine when you wind up the bobbins.
To lock it with the machine again you simply turn it clockwise again.
Wonderful as ever, thanks for this video. But some points: Not all old swing shuttle sewing machines require flat piston needles - You should smooth the hole in the needle plate - When winding, loosen the screw on the handwheel - Don't pass the thread around the top post, only through the upper guide - Important: Before threading the thread between the tension discs, lift your foot. Just as you have done - I've had good experience with putting one foot on the front of the footplate, one on the back - I've had good experience with putting one foot on the front of the footplate, one on the back - You can secure the seam by turning the fabric.
My grandmother is a seamstress and she actually uses this exact model of sewing machine! (she isn’t even a person especially interested in historical clothing, she just own this type of machine and uses it!)
The lesson looked like it was straight out of victorian farm. Now you just need Ruth and Luca on here for the ultimate historical dress crossover!
I was lucky enough to find a 1908 treadle at a yard sale. It needs a belt and the metal slide covering the bobbin…. This lovely guide of yours has taken away a LOT of stress of getting this beauty working again!! Many thanks!
My grandmothers treadle machine was the only one that I could work! It was left to me when she passed and I still love it. She got it new in the early part to the 20th century, for her 14th birthday.
It's was always weird to me that this style of machine is considered antique, they are still the standard in my country (and in many countries at our economic level and also without constant electricity) singers used to be the standard but they are too expensive nowadays and scarce a Chinese brand called butterfly is now the most common.
Singer treadle and hand crank machines are highly prized by the Amish for the exact same reason that they don't require electricity and they'd survive the apocalypse.
Thank you for that reality check. We get so caught up in the 'western, modern, rich' ways, that we assume it is the same for the entire world.
I have seen those butterfly machines in videos. They look like lovely little things and I wish I could get a close look at one.
@@rdb4996 electric ones are actually a little bit cheaper but they aren't reliable because electricity is not reliable so most seamstresses have it as their main /only machine depending on their economic status.
@@mortisrat they should be cheap to buy for someone from a country with a strong currency, you probably find them on AliExpress since the newer ones are often Chinese, and videos on how to use them from African and Asian TH-camrs, there will be slight differences with original singers because although they are based on 19th century tech they are still being built in 2021, so the engineers definitely take inspiration from newer machine types while making sure they are completely manually powered. The awesome thing is that they are still very sturdy and I don't think they'd work at all if they weren't sturdy unlike electric stuff that you can cut corners with plastic, so there isn't that much of a decline in quality in brands from different countries of origin.
*UNSCREW THE KNOB* in the middle of your flywheel handle on the right - it will stop the mechanism from working whilst you wind the spool...
At 5:03 you can see there is a hook sticking out of the cover plate [far left] - THIS is where the thread goes around and NOT the foot tensioner - for both bobbin winding and sewing
Yup. I have the same thing on my machine from the 60's. My little snot of a 6 yr old has figured out how to disengage that, so now anytime I sit down to sew, I have to double check that before going. 😑 Old girl needs that fly-wheel break out as well, otherwise she takes off without ya! 😆
You wanna hear something funny, I was ready to take my 1953 99k hand crank to the repair shop, since it wasn't making stitches when turned. I got as far as looking up how to fix the timing, when I realized I'd disengaged the needle movement by accident.
I love the accuracy and detail in your videos. I would absolutely love if you did a history of needles, a history of lace/lacemaking/tatting, or a history of Nalbinding video.
I have a treadle machine which belonged to my grandmother and while growing up I had the opportunity to watch her make quilts using it. I have not used it, but wanted to keep it since it was hers and loved her so much.
I just got myself a hand turnes Singer, this saved me from a lot of trial and error in threading, thank you
My grandma has an antique treadle machine and when I would go to her house as a kid I would always play with the treadle. All of the tips you gave about using a treadle machine remind me of all of the troubles I had playing with it trying to get a good rhythm. After watching this video I really hope I can restore it one day and actually sew something with it!
I've been eyeing a hand-turned pre-loved sewing machine as it goes for pretty cheap here, so this is a much welcomed and needed guide! Thank you so much, Bernadette! Your videos always cheer me up and invigorate my need to create. Sending much love as always from Malaysia 🇲🇾♥️
Fun to hear Constance giggling during her process. 😃Good job. If you want to back stitch, you actually pivot the fabric around with the needle in the project and go forward. I learned that from My Mother's Tan Metal Monster (Singer) electric machine from the 1950's. That didn't have a backstitch invented yet. Not easy to pivot fabric if you have a large project.
My gradma owned one when I was a kid, I was amazed by how the machine work and felt relaxed with the noise that machine did wenever my grandma repair any clothes with it. She always asked me to put the threads becuase she could not see properly. I was crush when she told me, a few years ago, she sold it. That machine felt so sturdy that could last for hundreds years more.
The glee in Constance's voice when she 'got it' was wonderful. I had no idea a treadle was so complicated. Vive la main! x
Thank you so much for this! I'm soon about to embark on some antique sewing adventures and this was incredibly helpful.
My day was also immensely brightened by bonus Constance shenanigans! 😍😍
Just two weeks I told my father that I want to try my grandmother's sewing machine from the mid 20th century, but I didn't know how to make it ready. Now I do! Thank you so much!