ThayerRags

I want to do some mending with my MUTT (Multi-Use Traveling Treadle) that can house a variety of machine heads as needed. I’ve gotten spoiled using an electric Singer 834 Stylist freearm for my mending (I’ve only done denim jeans so far), mainly so I don’t have to “puddle” my mending area quite as much as would be needed on a flatbed. My wife mends on a Singer 401A (flatbed) and can get as far down into pants legs as I can on my freearm, so I know I should be able to learn how to mend or darn on a flatbed treadle.

On my 834, I use a multi-zigzag stitch, zigzag foot, feeddogs up, and set my presser bar tension light so I can overcome the feed of the machine when I want to go against it. It makes it so that I can darn or fill a spot with stitches and not have to turn the garment some of the time, or I can even back up when the feed is set to go forward. This particular machine has one of those push-in reverse mechanisms on it that requires one hand to operate, so I just avoid using it for mending and keep both hands on my garment.

Those of you who mend, darn, or appliqué with a vintage treadle machine (where you’re guiding the stitch placement by moving the work), what machine do you use? And what type of foot do you use on it? I suppose FMQ on a treadle would be similar, but there you’re trying to maintain evenly spaced stitches in a large area, where I’m trying to fill a small area with stitches.

Anyone mend jeans on a treadle machine?

CD in Oklahoma

sap

I don't mend unless I have to. But I remember my grandmother mending jeans on her treadle. She released the tension, set the stitch length to 0 n treadled away with it.

BoJangles

CD when I use my 127 or 15 to mend I also use a HC. I have a HC on both the 127 and the 15 so if I need to do FM or applique' work I can go very slow with one hand on the work and one hand on the HC. I have a lot more control with the HC than I do with the treadle. Having a HC on your treadle is a little noisey when you are not using the HC just treadling, but worth it for mending and FM work. I hem all my jeans with my Singer 127 Sphinx. I do FM and applique' with my Singer 15 because it drops its feed dogs. They are both treadles/HCs.

Good luck

Nancy

ThayerRags

Thanks sap and Nancy,

It seems to me that the treadle would be perfect for mending for me. Starting and stopping a stitch line in the right place has been the most difficult part of making windsocks on my treadle, whereas starting and stopping wouldn’t be nearly as critical when mending.

sap, thanks for sharing how your Grandmother did it on her machine. It’s probably the way I will approach it.

I keep thinking about the Youtube video that I saw that has a young woman making designer handbags on a treadle in a vendor’s booth for a demonstration. She was doing hand-guided embroidery and using a class 15 machine with what looked like the regular straight stitch foot on it. She really was putting down the stitches! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8tcy2dse68M

Nancy, I really like handcranks and have several of them, but for mending/darning I want to use both hands to guide my garment. Your combination handcrank/treadle setups give you both precision stitches when wanted, as well as large quantities of stitches when needed. Good idea.

CD in Oklahoma

BoJangles

Hey CD you could always get a 319 or 306 and treadle it! Actually, there are a lot of zig zag machines that can be treadled! Some of my vintage Pfaffs can be treadled and some of my Japanese machines too! That would solve your problem! You would have your hands free and could just zig zag away on your mending!

Nancy