Getting Bit by the Treadle Bug

LeahDay

Leah Day has been teaching online since 2009. She's the creator of the Free Motion Quilting Project, a blog filled with thousands of quilting tutorial videos. Leah has written several books including 365 Free Motion Quilting Designs, Explore Walking Foot Quilting with Leah Day, and Mally the Maker and the Queen in the Quilt.

18 Responses

  1. Sally Hurley says:

    I didn't realize until a friend pointed out this post that I have already contracted VMO. It's a mild case, but your post along with frequent power outages last winter make me wonder if a treadle needs to be in my future. ๐Ÿ™‚

  2. WOW, thanks for this post. I somehow came home with a Singer 27 two years ago. I have had the treadle base for about as long. This past month I made a wooden top for it. It needs a bit of cleaning, polishing ans the chrome is starting to rust up. I need to learn more to get it up and running. Thanks for the new resource of knowledge ๐Ÿ˜‰ I'll be hearing right over to Dragon Poodle's site.

  3. Beware of the reproductions! All treadles may be a treadle in the strictest sense, but they are not all original! There are reproductions all over the place. If you aren't concerned about the repro then you can find a decent deal. But if you are looking for an original, do your homework.

  4. I haven't gone treadle YET. The ones I see are in pretty bad shape. I have gone vintage as my backup machine with a Singer 457 Stylist Great Britain model. Had it reconditioned and it still has some issues but part of that is operator error. Would love to have a Singer 221 but they bid up too high on the auction sites and I have never found one of those at thrift.

  5. Oh this is such a darling/clever post! I have no room for another sewing machine, so I may be safe to watch the podcast. However, I'm already having my doubts as I love those antique machines.

  6. Leah Day says:

    Listen at your own risk!!! LOL!

  7. Leah Day says:

    Keep looking! It's amazing what you can find when you're looking. Oops! There I go trying to spread the disease!

  8. Leah Day says:

    That's good to know! What gives a repro away in your opinion?

  9. Leah Day says:

    That's great Wendie! I'm so glad you enjoyed this episode!

  10. Leah Day says:

    Oh yes, if power outages are a problem, you most certainly need a treadle or three to keep yourself busy during the blackout!

  11. Inga Calvin says:

    Turns out Singer is still making a version of their treadle for sale to people whose religion precludes the use of electric machinery. Imagine my surprise at buying a "new" treadle!

  12. I sold my Treadle. I've move on to Featherweights. I have a 1941 named Rosie (another sign of addiction is naming your machines). There are several Vintage machine FB pages that are total enablers.

  13. jamala says:

    Stitching on a treadle machine or quilting is really contagious. From the time, when i started to sewing on them, I ceased to want to have modern machines. Happy quilting or sewing with your Singer. Thank you for all the quilting patterns. Jana, Czech republic

  14. Unknown says:

    Oh, Leah…You have crossed into dangerous territory with vintage treadles. I started off with an adorable handcrank at an auction. I have acquired a *few* more (AHEM) since then. And the TREADLES are taking over now. They are a joy and a cinch to restore. I much prefer reconditioning them over the vintage electric machines.

  15. Havplenty says:

    I love my vintage machines, I do and they have names. I have: Singer: two 15-91 workhorses, a mint green 15-125, a FW, a b/o 301A and a grand dame 125 with awesome decals. I also have a vintage Kenmore all metal machine that is a sewing beast. After I found my FW while traveling to DC, I stopped looking/collecting at vintage machines. I found what I had been searching for. But who can resist those pink, blue or green vintage machines waiting to be discovered.

  16. O'Quilts says:

    I so need a treadle in case ISIS comes…or a tornado comes…or…no reason…I just so need one…xo

  17. Pat says:

    I have a treadle that I purchased in 1987. Women who used those machines had very strong legs. At the time, I ran at least 2-3 days a week; but my legs werenโ€™t strong enough to operate a treadle sewing machine. To date I keep it maintained but will never use it.

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