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Oct 11, 2013

Getting My Gingham On



Today I revisited my Singer 66 treadle.

I haven't treadled in a while and I thought I might use it to make my gingham shirt.  It's such fun to use and stitches so beautifully.  My 66 dates from 1920 and uses back-clamping feet.  I own quite a few, fortunately (more than I actually use).







The only downside to the treadle is that you have to stitch a sample to see what stitch length it's set for -- there's no lever to read, but rather just an unmarked dial.  Other than that, it's very straightforward. 



I also spent time with some of my other machines.  I've been sewing a lot on my Kenmore 158.141 lately, but today I dusted off my Singer 15-91 and played with it, replaced the light bulb on my Singer 201 and played with it too.  I also hung out with my dear Bernina 930.  I love them all and they all stitch beautifully; each has its own unique feel.







I got a late start today, but I did finally get my gingham shirt project off the ground.  I was all set to treadle the left front button placket (where the buttonholes go) when I got cold feet and decided to use my 15-91 instead.  I was too tired to pump.





As you can see, I decided against the princess seam version.  I'll save that for either a solid fabric or something less geometric.

And that's it.

In ditching news, nothing yet, but there's still time!  I also have a host of things to post on eBay this weekend.  

Happy Friday, everybody!

13 comments:

  1. Your sewing machines are lovely! Thanks for sharing! I agree about the princess seams and gingham... Could be a little too much for the eyes!

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  2. How is it treadle sewing gingham? Does it make your head spin? I was machine quilting some black fabric with white circle dots today and I had to keep stopping and look away.

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  3. The gingham shirt is going to be gorgeous.

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  4. Ahhh, a moment of collection reflection.

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  5. I agree with you about the prince/ss seams. You have such lovely machines! And those feet! Ditch, ditch, ditch (I'm looking at you, Patti Playpal) but you really need those lovely sewing machines.

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  6. I love to see again your 66 treadle! So beautiful and it looks brings some feeling of confort, I think. I have also a lovely treadle from the 30's and I sew all kinds of projects with it, but like you, I need to be in the mood for to treadle. It is not from Singer, but surprisinly it has yet stitch lengh lever and back stitch option!

    I will keep an eye on your gingham shirt. I am about to start to sew a shirt for my hubby. The first and only one I sew was inspired by your sew-along. It his favorite shirt.

    My machine:
    http://www.flickr.com/photos/deapontoepronto/7226819784/

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  7. Oh gosh! That treadle machine could be my Grandma's. I still have it, though I never use it to sew. The second machine is what my Mom had, the one I learned to sew on. I'm almost homesick!

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  8. Because of a quilt show a few weeks ago, I got the sewing bug again. This lead to looking at sewing blogs. Obviously, I ended up here! I use my treadle and hand cranks, along with my 222K, but I really do need a newer machine with a free arm. Could you blog a bit about using the 930? And, keep up the decluttering, sewing, and blogging - good for the sewl!

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  9. Back in the day, I left California (dishwasher, in-floor radiant heat, on-demand hot water) to do back-to-the-land in British Columbia. No electricity or running water, so I sewed kids' clothes, hubbie's work shirts in wool coating (it's C-O-L-D up there!), Halloween costumes, etc. on a gorgeous old Singer treadle. I still have it, and it's incredibly soothing to work the treadle. Once it starts, momentum keeps it going. I don't use it as much as I should, but when I do, I'm taken back to snow-in days in the bush.

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  10. For your sewing machines, I think you need to go vertical. Perhaps a bookcase? Love the ditching!!

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  11. I use my treadles all the time. As a matter of fact, I put a modern Janome machine head 712T in the one cabinet. I like it . It does buttonholes and basic utility stitches. I put my computerized machine away. I just got tired of it beeping at me.

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  12. What is the collective noun for sewing machines? Can't be a hum, because the treadles don't.

    The shirt looks lovely - I like the use of the bias for the yoke. Will break up the gingham quite nicely.

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