Treadle Belt Replacement Tutorial
I have a vintage Singer 15 Clone sewing machine and it’s time to replace treadle belt to get it sewing! Here’s how to attach a new treadle belt to a treadle sewing machine:
I don’t carry treadle belts or vintage sewing machine tools in my quilt shop, so I found my belt on Amazon. Affiliate – Find the treadle belt I used in this video here.
Supplies to Replace Your Treadle Belt
Here is what you’ll need to replace a treadle belt:
- New belt
- Block of wood
- A nail as thick as the metal clip in the treadle belt
- Any old hammer
- Jeweler’s pliers
- Needle nose pliers
- Clothes pins or plastic clips
- Treadle Belt Pliers – Optional – I don’t have these, but I bet they would make this much easier!
How to Replace a Treadle Belt
First thread your belt through the base of the treadle cabinet and back up so the two ends are on the top of the table. Use the clothes pins to secure the belt so it doesn’t slip back down into the base.
Be careful to fully seat the belt on the wheel before cutting; my first time I actually cut three belts too short! Not fun.
Once you get the belt in place, overlap the end with the clip with the long end and pull it nice and firm – not tight – around the wheel on your sewing machine and treadle wheel. Mark a line where the ends of the treadle belt overlap.
Now release the clips and shift the long end of the belt over to a convenient place you can work on it. The little narrow spot to the right of the machine is just too tight!
Use the nail to make a hole in the end of the belt and tap it through with your hammer over the block of wood. You want it as perfectly in the middle as possible, not at an angle. Yep, using these Treadle Belt Pliers would probably make this a lot easier!
With the hole created, place the belt back around the treadle wheel, and double check it’s fitting around the sewing machine properly too. Insert the metal clip into the hole and check the fit. The belt can fit a bit tight to start as it will loosen slightly as you use it.
A few more notes about replacing a treadle belt
Once you’re sure the belt is a great fit, clip off the extra bit on the end, and close the metal clip. I highly, highly recommend buying two treadle belts if this is your first time replacing a belt because I wasted three before I finally managed to get this right!
I hope this treadle belt replacement video has been helpful! If you’re interested in old treadle Singers and other classic sewing machines, you’ll love this fun collection of stories about vintage treadle machines from quilters around the world.
Click Here to read those stories.
Let’s go treadle!
Leah Day
I have a Featherweight machine and two Singer treadle machines. I need all the help I can get to keep them all working! Thanks for your information! Brenda King, Bend, Oregon
Thank you Brenda! Just start googling the names of your machines and I’m sure you will find a wealth of information.
Er, I added another Singer to my treadles – this time a 66! I really must stop collecting them because I’ll be running out of room! She’s currently in an oil bath as the stop motion screw is fixed so unable to wind the bobbin – yet! I ended up getting a hole punch for the belts as I had difficulty getting a nail to stay in long enough without boinging out across the garage! LOL! Good video for newbies 😀
LOL! I’ve heard about the 66 too and I’m trying hard not to go shopping on Ebay for any more machines. I agree – after making this video I think I’ll just get the special pliers!
If your belt is slightly too long, you can take a damp sponge and rub it along the belt ; I have heard it helps tighten things up. I also manually stretch my belts before fitting them to the machine. It helps prevent stretching after the belt has been used a while. Great tips you have here Leah.
Thank you for sharing Janine! I’ll have to give that a try!
I was just gifted a Sunshine#2 Treadle machine and am fearlessly going to try to revamp it for use. Does anyone have any info on the Sunshine #2?
No, I’m sorry, this isn’t that sort of resource. My best advice is to search for general treadle info and keep looking for bases and cabinets that look similar to yours.
Hi Leah,I found your tutorial very helpful and I got my replacement treadle belt right first time thanks to you. I’d just point out one thing that might be useful to you and that is instead of the nail,which I found difficult getting straight,use a fine pointed awl and it’s much easier to get the hole straight as you can push straight down on the handle. regards Chris
That’s a great tip Chris! Thank you for sharing.