Upcycle an Old Sewing Machine into a New Piece of Furniture

Take your vintage sewing machine and turn it into a new piece of furniture.

Comments

#6 AmyC 2018-01-03 10:22

I do understand that treadles were mass produced and that so many are not salvageable, so that it makes sense to repurpose parts. Regardless of that fact, I have to admit that watching this made me physically ill. It's like seeing my granny's headstone being made into a coffee table.

#5 hatmom 2018-01-02 06:59

Although I agree with the preservation of the treadles, I do know that there are those that have been weathered or abused so badly that they are bound for the salvage yard. Why not use these as pieces of interest in your home. I have purchased at a used shop already repurposed treadle bases and one really weathered machine cabinet and have welded the base back together and use it as a side table with a repurposed marble top layer on top as a side table in my living room. The interest it adds is a bonus and it has value instead of being trashed. There’s a place for the so called “junk”. I have saved all of the hardware. So unique and someone may need it. Probably will donate it to the local reuse store so it can be rescued. Love seeing the creativity. Please only use those that are destined for the junk pile.

#4 Stephanie Nordlin 2017-12-30 22:08

This is much better than ending up in the garbage dump! And, yes, I saved a base and made it into a table. It reminds me of sitting on my grandmother's lap at her machine. The head was frozen and I couldn't find parts to repair it. We can't keep everything. Do you have your first telephone? (I don't mean cellphone.) They're also things of the past that were revolutionary and mass produced. Now the one-of-a-kind Eastlake style chair made for my short great grandmother is a real treasure.

#3 Carol Hessler 2017-12-30 14:57

Here in CT, we had a group that restored old treadle machines and shipped them to the Dominican Republic. They allow women to make a living stitching school uniforms. With no electricity, these treadle machines make that job possible. I know that my grandmother would be please that her old machine is giving a better life to someone.

#2 Allison C Bayer 2017-12-27 21:59

I agree COMPLETELY with Cari Pease's comments. As a long time collector, user, and restorer, this sickens me to see our vintage sewing machine heritage butchered like this. They were built to last generations, but this chipping away at a limited resource is not acceptable. What will we have left to pass on? Where are all the sewing machines that were on these treadle bases?

#1 Cari Pease 2017-12-27 20:49

No no no. The more people that do this the faster we are losing important pieces of sewing machine history. Anything that can be salvaged from a treadle should be saved, there's always someone somewhere looking for those parts to restore an old machine and put it back in use. There isn't an unlimited supply of these, it's a finite amount and when we've "upcycled" all of them then our sewing machine history starts to become lost. These are marvels of the industrial revolution and this is the utmost disrespect to them.

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