Cleaning and Restoring Vintage Sewing Machines

It may surprise you to know that there are still people who are dying to collect vintage sewing machines. Well they are not only deemed as collectible items these days because if they are well-maintained, they can be ideal for regular use. Some professional sewers (like my grandmother) prefer using vintage machines over their modern counterparts.

You know why? It is because of the machines’ all-metal parts and quality manufacturing. Some of the vintage ones include the treadle, hand crank, motorized, Singer featherweight and zigzag machines. The treadle machines were among the first to be produced to be used at home, these were mounted on a stand. They were later replaced by portable sewing machines otherwise known as hand cranks.

Cleaning and restoring vintage sewing machines is not as scary or complicated as you think. The first thing that you have to do is wipe the hull with sewing machine oil. Do not use any other substance because it can harm the fragile decals on the machine. Inspect if the bobbin case is in the machine and if it’s there, take it out and clean it with the oil as well. Take off the bobbin plate and clean it under the feed dogs. Put some oil on the hand wheel too. If it’s necessary to remove it and clean it underneath then do so.

Some vintage sewing machines are more costly to restore compared to others. Check eBay and your local department store for needles and some parts. Prices range from $3 to $10 or more. There are treadles that are in bases that are bulky and cannot just be maneuvered. This is the most challenging part when it comes to restoring. The metal bases are brittle and can break even just by moving it around. Nevertheless, they are wonderful to sew on and you don’t need electricity to operate them.