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Letter Re: Treadle Sewing Machines and Advice on Storing Bolts of Fabric

Jim:
Having just restored my 1925 Singer treadle-powered sewing machine to operation, I want to get some fabrics so that I can start making clothes for my family. Would someone with the appropriate experience please advise for a semitropical climate what weight fabrics, what types of fabrics and how many yards would be considered a good ‘cache’ of fabric so as to make a family of four clothing independent?
Thanks, – SF in Hawaii

You question about fabrics goes beyond my expertise. Perhaps some of our readers would care to comment.

The Memsahib and I do have some experience with treadle sewing machines. In addition to a spare drive belt and plenty of needles, the most critical spare part for a treadle sewing machine is its shuttle (a.k.a. bobbin holder). They do eventually wear out. Thankfully, these are fairly easy to find for the Singer brand, but replacement shuttles for New Home and some of the other less popular brand of sewing machines can be quite hard to find. One great resource that we found for treadle sewing machine information and parts is Treadle On [1].