Adventures of a Treadlin’ Man

Written by Brian Szetela
Edited by Rebecca Szetela

Inspired by several power outages during a recent surprise October snowstorm, I got interested in an antique treadle sewing machine at a local consignment shop. The old sewing machine looked neglected. The stylized ancient Egyptian decals on the machine were badly worn and the finish was scarred, but I could make out a sphinx or basilisk here and there. Although the decorations were worn, the machine did not seem to be “locked up” with ancient oil and thread and even though the belt was broken, the treadle mechanism was intact. I bought it.

Once I got home, I looked up the serial number on the Singer website and discovered that this was an early Singer “15-30” manufactured in New Jersey in 1908. From a website called Treadle On, I found instructions on how to refurbish the treadle. I disassembled the treadle, cleaned out the old threads wound in the works, reassembled and lubricated it and adjusted the treadle mechanism. Then I used kerosene to remove the old oil and lint from the machine’s interior shafts and bearings and I cleaned the outside with a soft rag and mild car washing soap. Finally, again referring to the Treadle On website, I fitted the new drive belt I found on Ebay.

The “15-30” model was the first Singer sewing machine designed to use an oscillating hook mechanism, departing from the back and forth shuttle mechanism suggestive of a weaving loom. The “hook” on a sewing machine is the mechanism that catches the needle thread, bringing it around the bobbin in order to complete the stitch. Oscillating hooks are rarely used on sewing machines today. The oscillating hook design was an intermediate step leading to the full rotating hook mechanism used on most modern sewing machines.

The stitch length on my 15-30 treadle sewing machine is adjustable, although there are no numbers to go by, and the machine can only make a straight stitch. There is also no reverse mechanism on the machine. Since I can’t reverse direction in order to “lock my stitches” I have to draw both threads to the back of the garment and tie them off instead. In spite of its limitations, my “new” sewing machine stitched flawlessly once I got the treadling motion down, despite its age and appearance of neglect.

I wanted to test the machine out on a garment sewing project, so I decided make lounge pants for my first treadle sewing adventure. I chose this as my first project as it has long straight seams and wide seam allowances to practice on. I wasn’t quite ready to start out working on a complex project with small pieces that required detail sewing. The challenge was going to be just getting my initial stitches done correctly! Once I got started I quickly found out that it takes practice plus finesse to get the pedaling motion down on the treadle.

In treadling, I quickly discovered that the goal was to get the treadle flywheel to start moving in the right direction so the belt would move forward over the top of the machine’s handwheel. This can be challenging, because sometimes it wants to go the wrong way, causing tangled stitches in the process. The good news is that the large spoked handwheel allows fine control of stitching because it is so easy to turn by hand. Once I got it started correctly on one of the long side seams, the treadling finally went smoothly and the seam came out great.

I am now the happy owner of a great pair of cotton flannel lounge pants and in the process I have discovered that treadle sewing is fun and relaxing.  My 1908 treadle-powered Singer 15-30 machine makes a neat, precise, consistent straight stitch that is a delight to see and the whirring sound as I treadle is very soothing. It makes me wonder what the pre-electric, pre- gasoline powered world was like.  I suspect it was very quiet back then.

We are back! Now that we’ve launched the new website you’ll be seeing blog entries again. Stay tuned for our next blog entry: “Adventures of a Treadlin’ Man”

We are very big into helping our students sew, make and create whatever it is that they want to make. There is always a starting point of a student’s vision of what she or he wants and then figuring out how to do it. Often that involves taking fabric, pattern and directions and marrying the 3 so that the garment or accessory or “stuffie” comes out the way he/she/we envisioned it.

Sometimes however, a student comes to us with an idea  that is more “outside the box”. Either they have a drawing they want to see come to life or the pattern they chose is clearly not adequate to the task of their vision. That’s when our creative minds start working overtime.

Two projects come to mind that were in this category and interestingly, both were from advanced students who were in the same summer class. It was also the last class of the summer, so we were scrambling to try to get these projects done and done right under a serious deadline. They were also both projects involving stuffed animals, which if you have never made one before, can be very challenging since you are working in 3-D and it has to work as a sort of sculptural object as well as a sewing project.

One project was a stuffed cat that had to have very distinct properties. The first of which, since the student is a true cat lover was that it look “real” in it’s stance, with legs that actually were separate and helped it stand, not a 2-dimensional curled up flat “idea” of a cat. It also needed to be relatively easy to make since she wants to make several stuffed cats, each one slightly different.

The other project was a stuffed bear, but not just any stuffed bear. This was “Mr. Bean’s bear” made to resemble the bear from the the Mr. Bean movies. It had to look a certain way (skinny and somewhat gawkish, like Mr. Bean) and have 2-toned paws.

We had a limited amount of time and two very picky “sewing artists” plus two sewing instructors who wanted these kids to get what they wanted and not  be disappointed.

Here are the pictures of the finished projects. How did we do?

yellow kitty

Successful cat stuffie!

Mr. Bean's Teddy Bear designed by advanced sewing student at Create! Sewing Studio

Mr. Bean's Bear

Every class we have is full of very creative sewing students, but last week’s our group of students got creative in some unexpected ways. Take this “Button Fish Sculpture” for example.

The student who made this just created it totally on her own when she saw a bunch of buttons on the table top.

Other kids got really creative with our new “monster” project. Here are some pictures of their work.

Lonely Monster

Several students also made more traditional projects like our lounge pants, ipod cases, totebags and backpacks. Here are some of those sewing projects.

A monster and a new handbag!

Ah yes and we now celebrate at the end of each session with a cupcake treat! Yum!!!!

Cupcakes to celebrate!

We all love cupcakes!

And finally, our most advanced students show off their sewing projects for the week. Summer tops and totebags.

New Summer Tops! Great Sewing!

"Made by me" beach bag with fabric flowers

Mom was amazed at the great job these girls did!

Sewing is fun and creative!

This past week was the first week of sewing sessions. The kids (ages 8-15) had a great time and made some amazing projects, both in terms of creativity and level of sewing expertise. Reflecting back on the past week when as I was out on my morning walk today made me think about how very proud I am of everyone who studies here and I started to think: What is it that sets our sewing school apart?

Student gets her question answered.

There are lots of possible answers to that question, but I came to the conclusion that our students do such high quality work not only because they are creative and hard-working, but because the instruction they get is on a very high and professional level. They have the opportunity to work with a really talented group of teachers. Although I like to think that my teaching is good, I believe that Darlene, Susanne and Angela (plus Lisa who is still in training) have truly raised the level of the school’s expertise up several notches!  They are all excellent instructors, each with their own unique experience and strengths.

Because of the varied skills of our teaching team, we are able to offer a very high level of expertise and with our small teacher to student ratio a high level of teacher to student supervision. We have a strong awareness of safe practices around sewing machines and tools and our students learn solid sewing techniques from total beginner to very advanced levels. In addition they are given many opportunities to let their creativity flow, while getting professional guidance in a safe environment.

When our students are here, we don’t just fill their time with fun projects. The projects ARE fun, of course. Kids learn best when you make it fun, but they also learn valuable skills that will stay with them for  a lifetime, not only in sewing techniques, but in problem-solving, social skills and communication and math skills just to name a few.

The girls watch a demonstration.

I am very proud of the high level of our instruction, the professionalism of our teaching team and our ability to help each student develop their own skills.

Here is our team of sewing instructors:
Meet Susanne, Angela, Darlene, Becca and Lisa!

Susanne

Angela

Darlene

Becca

Lisa

To see some of the wonderful (and in some cases VERY advanced) projects our students made this past week, please visit our Facebook page and click on the pictures for the summer projects. If you have not already “Liked” us on Facebook, please show us a little love and click on our “LIKE” button. This will give you access to information, special discount deals and pictures that will come your way on a regular basis. http://www.facebook.com/Create.Sewing.Studio

I hope everyone has a wonderful Independence Day
Holiday weekend, i.e. Happy 4th!

~Becca

We are now doing birthday parties for kids! Check out the new page on our website: http://www.createsew.com/parties/

…more news to come!

Have you seen our new series of  Sew Simple “mini-blog” newsletter articles on SuzySaid? Here are links to a couple of the posts. If you get yourself on “Suzy’s” email list the links will come right to your email. Enjoy!

http://suzysaid.com/acton/index.php?page=stories&family=momtomom&display=4029

http://suzysaid.com/acton/index.php?page=stories&family=momtomom&display=4046

http://suzysaid.com/acton/index.php?page=stories&family=momtomom&display=4049

http://suzysaid.com/acton/index.php?page=stories&family=momtomom&display=4104

Thank you Darlene!

This week was the last week of after-school sewing sessions for the children and they let us in know in no uncertain terms that they were sorry to see it end! Many of them will join us for summer session, but they get very attached to their particular class and to us, so it is definitely a real good-bye when we end the after-school classes.

I felt little tugs at my heartstrings with some of the students’ comments. “I’m going to miss you soooooo much!” said one little girl. “I can’t wait for the fall!” said another who will be away all summer. “I already have fabric for my fall project!” she told us to our amazement!

To the surprise of the children (and me!) our assistant sewing instructor Darlene had decided to make (on her own time!) each and every child a small gift…flower pins! Here are some of the pleased faces of the children after they received their special “Goodbye Flower Pin.”

We were looking at pictures from last summer’s sewing sessions the other day in preparation for our open house and found bunches of great pictures! Here are just a few that reminded us of all the wonderful projects the kids made last year. We had so much fun last summer teaching kids and teens to sew and we’re excited and looking forward to another summer of learning and fun!

We have gotten a bunch of inquiries about the beautiful totebag we are displaying on the wall of our studio…and here’s the scoop! Susanne, our wonderful sewing and quilting instructor, is going to teach a one-day class on how to make a quilted totebag.

If you have never quilted before, this is an opportunity to try your hand and walk away with a beautiful toteg. Check out these pictures and you’ll see what I mean!

Quilted Totebag

Another view

If you are interested in signing up for this class, we’re offering it here in Acton, but sign-up is through the Roudenbush Center, Westford. The class will be held on May 7 (Sat) 9:30 am-4:30 pm. Check it out!   http://www.roudenbush.org/new/search.php?Search=sew