Treadle-ing Along

Thursday my daughter Kayla and I took a little road trip.  There is an Amish settlement about a half an hour south of our house.  We planned to go to the dented grocery store but it was closed….but it wasn’t a wasted trip.  We went to the general store and shopped for kitchen supplies.  I got a couple knives, a few sewing supplies, safety pins for layettes, a wall mounted clothes drying rack and….a new “belt” for my treadle sewing machine.

Both Kayla and I have treadle sewing machines.  Both of us needed a new belt.  We talked to the lady at the General Store and asked if we were planning to restore it or actually use it.  We both want to use it.  The lady said many of the Amish ladies in her community use a plastic tubing instead of a belt.  The tubing is held together with tiny connector that fits into each end of the tube.  She said it is MUCH easier to adjust.  They had the regular belts but if we were actually going to use it to sew, she recommended the tubing.

….2 batches of peach jam, 11 quarts of peaches frozen for pie, 19 quarts of peaches to eat and 19 quarts of salsa later…Kayla decided to tackle the treadle sewing machine.  Kayla had a little experience sewing on a treadle last year when she did an internship at Living History Farm, but for the most part, neither of us knew very much.  I went to youtube on a whim and believe it or not, there are videos that showed us how to oil it, how to fill a bobbin, how to put the bobbin in and a few other things.

She got it going…she is SO much more patient with mechanics than I am!  We were each able to sew a few pieces together.   It was lots of fun.  Tomorrow I am hoping to take enough time to clean it and to get a 1/4″ seam allowance line figured out.  For some reason it seams it is easier for me to get the machine going backwards rather than forwards.  I plan to sew something on it…I am not sure what yet….just something little so I can say I did it.  Who knows, maybe I’ll even like it!