How To Restore An Old Treadle Sewing Machine

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Today, I’m going to get this beautiful antique treadle sewing machine in working order.

In this post, you will see:

How to restore an antique treadle machine
How to thread an antique machine
How to use an antique bobbin winder
How to replace the belt on an antique treadle sewing machine
How to actually SEW on an antique treadle sewing machine

I also filmed this entire restoration process and have a Youtube video on it!

Stuff I used:

Standard Sewing Machine

The Standard sewing machine company was started in the 1880s in Ohio, and in the 1930s was bought out by the Singer Manufacturing Company.

This particular machine is from 1904.

Buying an Antique Sewing Machine

When looking for a treadle sewing machine that you hope to actually sew with, it’s important to make sure most of the pieces are there, because missing parts can be difficult to replace.

Don’t worry if the belt is missing — that’s something that can be easily replaced.

A helpful clue can be if there are signs of the machine being relatively recently sewed with — such as this bundle of pins and needles on this one, or the antique needles found in the drawer.

Your vintage sewing machine doesn’t need to be in great shape to work, but having it be in a mostly COMPLETE shape is very helpful!

Getting an Antique Treadle Machine in Working Order

I started with oiling every part of this machine.

Anything that moves needs plenty of sewing machine oil. Oil all moving parts!

Using a clean toothbrush helps the oil fully penetrate, and helps remove any grime on the machine.

Don’t use any soap and water on the machine, which can cause rust.

Remove the faceplate and oil the inside of the head of the machine.

Oil any place where two parts come in contact when in motion.

Oil the bobbin winder, and give it a wiggle to make sure the oil gets in the joints.

Unscrew the needle plate, and oil the feed dogs, the bobbin case latch, the shuttle, and the bobbin case.

The little holes on the top of the machine are called oiling holes, and are there for oil to reach the parts of the machine that can’t otherwise be accessed.

Lift the sewing machine and oil under the bed. Turn the wheel and watch what moves to make sure you haven’t missed any spots.

Making it Shiny

Just like you shouldn’t use soap and water to clean the inside workings of your machine, you should also just use sewing machine oil to clean the outside of your machine, too.

Use a generous amount of oil to wipe down all parts of your sewing machine and treadle base.

The toothbrush really comes in handy for the treadle.

This machine also has caster wheels which is delightfully functional, so I made sure to give those a good cleaning with oil, too.

For the wooden cabinet, I first wiped everything with a cloth I dampened with vinegar, and let it dry.

The wood was pretty thirsty, so I first rubbed tallow on it before buffing it with finishing wax and a microfiber cloth giving it a nice final finish.

I also applied a coat of finishing wax to the sewing machine to help protect the beautiful original etching on it.

The wax leaves a clear coat, and will help the original decal last many more years.

Be sure to wipe up any excess oil before applying the finishing wax!

I found a really cool listing on etsy that has a replication of these engraved designs for this exact machine, but I don’t feel like the designs on this machine are too far gone to have to replace them yet, so I’d rather just try and preserve the originals for now.

Replacing The Belt (surprisingly easy!)

The leather belt for this machine was dry rotted, so I bought a replacement kit to put on a new leather belt.

The kit was only $12 and came with two belts which I thought was great in case I messed up the first one, but the process ended up being simpler than I thought it would be.

The belts are attached with a hefty built in staple, just like the original antique belt, and you just measure, poke a little hole through the leather with this little stabby tool they give you, check to see if you got the correct length by turning the treadle, and adjust the length little by little before pinching the staple closed with some pliers. (pliers not included in the kit, FYI)

It’s better to start with too long a length than too little, so you can slowly adjust to a smaller size each time you test it on your machine.

Definitely not recommended, but I sawed off pieces of the belt while adjusting the size rather than the little snippers the kit came with.

The Bobbin Winder

Unthread your machine if it’s threaded, otherwise it will become a tangled mess when using the bobbin winder.

Pull up the bobbin winder, so that it is engaged by the belt.

The original manual for this machine also mentions to loosen the belt by turning the little thumb screw on the hand wheel, half way around.

On the antique machines, you are supposed to secure the thread to the bobbin by first winding it by hand a little bit, and then hand feeding it thread while it winds on the bobbin winder.

As you can see in my video, this is the part I really struggled to figure out.

The bobbin was just not tight on the bobbin winder, and was a loose, tangled, flying mess.

I finally was able to recitfy the situaion by putting a tiny piece of duct tape on the spool pin, which made it just tight enough and gave it just enough grip to make a beautiful bobbin of thread.

Threading the Bottom Bobbin

To take out the bobbin case, open the trap door and press the button near your needle to lift the bobbin case latch.

Thread the bobbin case. pulling the thread through the slot and under the tension spring, then return it to the shuttle.

Pull up the thread by turning the hand wheel away from you one time, then help pull up the thread the rest of the way with something like a pair of scissors.

Threading the Upper Bobbin

To thread the upper thread on your machine, place it on the spool pin, draw the thread through the thread guide.

Starting at the right, wind the thread around the tension wheel 1 1/2 times, thread it through the takeup, then down through this other thread guide, and finally thread your needle from left to right. (see my video for a visual guide)

Replacing The Needle

I should add that when putting on a new needle, the flat side of your needle should be facing inwards towards the machine, not away from it.

Adjusting Stitch Length

This part of the machine adjusts the length of your stitches.

(it’s also where the serial number is located on this particular machine!)

Turn the wheel to loosen it, then shift it to the left towards the 1 for smaller stitches, and shift it to the right for longer stitches.

The stitches will not be long enough for a basting stitch, but this machine can make very tiny stitches, so I’ve found that I like to leave it somewhere in the middle for my stitch length.

How To Start Sewing

To start sewing, tread the machine, and lower the presser foot.

Give the hand wheel a nice firm turn away from your body, then catch it with your feet to keep the motion going.

It takes a little bit of playing around with to get used to the motion, and I quickly found that I need to respond to the machine, because unlike an electric sewing machine, it is not going to respond to me.

Tying Knots

The last thing to remember about sewing on one of these machines is that there is no backstitch on the machine.

It is necessary to hand tie a knot at the beginning and end of your seams.

Pull the thread to one side of the fabric so it isn’t bunched up when you knot it.

You can do this with a pin or needle, or you can use your fingers by just opening up your seam slightly until your thread becomes loose enough to pull it through to one side.

Why Sew With an Antique Machine?

Right away I experienced such a meaningful connection sewing with this antique machine.

It’s touching a piece of history, each stitch feels so grounding, and it’s nice to know you can have a seemingly indestructible plastic-free machine that can be used off-grid.

Besides the emotional connection to the machine, it makes a stunning quality of stitching.

The stitches are very strong, and neatly made. These are very high quality amazing machines.

With all metal parts, these older machines seem to be able to sew through just about anything.

I’m very impressed with how well this machine works after putting very little time and money into restoring it.

I know it’s a little redundant to say these machines were built to last, but golly, they were built to last.

If you ever come across of one of these antique machines, I would encourage you to take it home and give it new life.

These old machines are certainly worthy of it.