Episode 56—Sewing After the Apocalypse, Part 1
Today’s episode is a bit tongue-in-cheek; I don’t expect there to be an apocalypse, but have you ever thought about how you might sew if the grid went down? People used to do it all the time, and we can learn from the past. This episode focuses on people-powered machinery—treadle sewing machines and handcrank sewing machines—and how to find and refurbish one for yourself.
SHOW NOTES
Craigslist, Facebook Marketplace, eBay, estate sales, and thrift stores are all good places to find vintage sewing machines, but what do you do with your machine once you have it home?
ISMACS.net—the website of the International Sewing Machine Collectors’ Society, which has a wealth of information about many models of machines. The most comprehensive information is about Singer machines, but other brands are represented as well.
Although almost every brand of sewing machine has its own Facebook group, the Vintage Sewing Machines group is a good place to get started.
The Vintage Industrial Sewing Machines group on Facebook covers those beefy machines typically found in factory or specialized settings.
TreadleLady has a wonderful Etsy shop with all sorts of supplies for treadle enthusiasts. I have ordered belts and other notions from her.
Walmart (yes, Walmart) now sells the aftermarket handcrank assemblies from China.
A web search will bring up lots of other resources for restoring and using vintage machines. This is a list of the ones I have used.
*********
Interested in being a guest on the podcast? Please complete and submit the guest form (link under the menu at top left).
Janet Szabo’s website
Big Sky Knitting Designs website—Purchase digital copies of Janet’s knitting patterns and order copies of her books.
The ‘Suck It Up, Buttercup’ Blog—Janet’s commentary on life in Montana
