Somewhere in late winter/early Spring this year one of my house-cleaning clients gifted me with a treadle powered sewing machine – a Wheeler & Wilson (L-12-3-1). I had been telling him about the dream Sean and I have of living energy independently – our desires to disconnect from the corporate energy giants, and our appreciation for human powered tools. The treadle was something he had used and had for many years but now wanted to find a good home for. He surprised me by asking with great enthusiasm if I would like it. Are you kidding?
It is beautiful.
There is a good back story too. Carol Brown, the woman who gave it to him back in the 70s when she was in her 80’s, was kind of a radical organizer and was instrumental in starting up cooperatives and being a galvanizing force in Putney, Vermont. She was an early importer of natural fiber fabrics – Irish woolens and others. It is a great machine – an industrial version with a knee-needle lift and a long body length. And it actually has a reverse lever, which apparently is rare.
Carol Brown
It is the Fall now and I am finally getting around to figuring out how to use it. (I had a little wedding in the meantime. It was a little distracting.) During the Summer I fell so deeply in love with the idea of sewing with treadle power that I found a serger that I could also convert to treadle power- an old industrial Merrow serger (style A-3DRW-3) – USA made by the company that invented sergers.
It is tiny, but cast iron, so incredibly heavy. Now I need to find a treadle table for it. And someone who can show me how to use it.
Keep your ears open and let me know if you come across such a thing.
Coincidentally, in the book I talked about in the previous post – Through the Eye of a Needle, John-Paul also finds a treadle sewing machine that he uses. I can’t wait to read this book.
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