Restoration

Today I have been doing one of my favourite things, restoring tired water marked wood on an old treadle table.   A while ago I purchased a lovely straight leg Singer treadle with a Singer 15k machine in it.  It has sat to one side for a good 6 months until the right owner came along.  We got it out and used it for a vintage sewing weekend at The Work Shop and it treadles beautifully with a very light mechanism perfect for beginners to the art of treadling.  A few weeks ago a good friend of mine who is leaving London to start a beautiful life in the country mentioned that she would love to have a treadle table for the Singer 201k sewing machine that I sold her a year or so ago.  At the same time she was looking for someone to buy a loveseat sofa that they would not need in the new house.  Perfect I thought time for a barter!  We settled on the table, a Hand Crank for their girls to sew on and a few hours of my teaching time for a birthday party.

The Birthday party is fast approaching as is the moving day so tonight was time to get the table out and deal with the water marks and flaking veneer and give it some love before it went to its new home.  In machine restoration circles those in know use a magical liquid called Fenman's Elixir (love the name!) which my lovely Mum makes up for me to use.  You use it with wire wool and plenty of elbow grease and it behaves like magic to re-distribute the remaining lacquer and veneer and remove water marks and all sorts of unsightly damage usually from years sitting in damp garages where most of these machines end up.  After a good rub down and a generous helping of soft wax to give it some protection it does look lovely if I do say so myself

There were several very obvious rings on the woodwork which have now almost dissappeared along with the flaking bits of lacquer.  The machine that is currently in the treadle is a Singer 15K which is often used for free-motion quilting and is beloved by quilters all over the world.

I imagine this is the original machine that came in the treadle but it will now go into my loft until another table comes along to offer it a home.  My lovely Mum and I are doing our best to generate interest in treadles and Hand Cranks and make all the lovely sewers out there both old and new realise that not only are they eco friendly but they sew so much better than modern plastic and computerised machines.  We are slowly converting people one at a time and have had a real rush on small 99K hand cranks for Christmas presents for children. 

Most electric machines even those aimed at children lack the level of control that will allow a younger child to sew, not so with Hand Cranks.  At our eco-sewing weekend I got to see 4 year old girls making dolly blankets on a sewing machine and slightly older boys and girls making clothes for dollies and bags.  Parents are much happier with these machines as there is much less chance of injury and if needed they can be used one stitch at a time.
I have filled the drawers of the treadle with some lovely machine accessories which I know both my friend and her girls will love, particularly the ruffler for making gathers and pleats, perfect for aprons and skirts.  I have also popped a lavender bar of soap in each drawer to make it smell nice as well as a vintage tape measure from my collection of haberdashery that I have acquired over the years of collecting old machines.  I always find it really exciting to see what bits and bobs have been left in the drawers, old thread, needles, bobbins, bits of ribbon and sometimes lovely silver thimbles which my dear friend now has a few of to do some darning with.

I will be delivering the table along with the hand crank for the girls on Sunday when I go to help the youngest girl and her friends make dolls clothes using the hand machines and some simple hand sewing.  I hope she likes it and enjoys what I know will be hours of rythmic and soothing treadling over the long winter months in their lovely cottage.

By for now Sarah