Repurposed Singer Sewing Machine
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Today I will show you a very easy project with a repurposed Singer Sewing Machine. I went through a dry spell, not getting any sewing machines, then found myself with 3.
The first one I transformed into a makeup table vanity.
This was a freebie from a neighbor. I’ve never seen a Singer sewing machine or cabinet in such bad shape.
Dismantle the Singer Sewing Machine Cabinet
see? Even the machine was in a pitiful condition! Someone had stripped the poor thing of her parts.
Clean the base of the repurposed Singer Sewing Machine
I got busy removing all the wooden parts, which was very simple. Just four large screws hold the Singer Treadle to the wooden cabinet. To make it easy, turn the treadle sewing machine upside down.
It was difficult to tell the base’s shape without cleaning it up. I used a degreaser called Krud Kutter. It does all the work for you. Spray it on, wait a few minutes, then hose off the dirt. I did that twice.
After the base of the repurposed Singer Sewing Machine dried, I realized that I couldn’t leave it in its original condition. It needed to be hit with a wire brush.
This antique sewing machine T.V. table had some rust, and I used Vaseline!
After I bought all of that wood from the Peddler’s Mall, I had to do some reorganization in the garage. I had a large plastic shelf holding all of my paint. I could not slide in the larger pieces of plywood because the shelf was in the way. So, I ordered this handy wire shelf from Amazon. It’s not as wide or as deep, so it works perfectly.
You can see that I could not slide my wood in and out of my lumber storage bench in this BEFORE shot.
Maybe I have an issue with spray paint? Can one really have TOO much spray paint?
Spray paint the base of the sewing machine
I decided to use some of that spray paint on quick and easy projects! That last singer treadle was spray-painted black. I wanted to do a fun color for this one. After all, it’s only paint! If it doesn’t sell, I can repaint it. 
I was initially going to use this table top that came off a pub table for the repurposed Singer Sewing Machine. But I didn’t love the colors together. I decided that the top needed to be darker.
I decided to use some of this reclaimed fencing as a tabletop. Because I was in a rush, I didn’t take any pictures.
I used three fence boards cut to size and used two smaller pieces to connect them all. (see below) I wanted them to be black, but I didn’t want to paint them, so I used some Minwax Gel Stain (classic black)
Add Reclaimed Wood Top
After the stain dried, I did a quick dry fit on the repurposed Singer Sewing Machine to see if I liked this better than the one above. I decided it would work for now.
In this picture, you can see that I made sure to space the brace boards to the correct distance from the base. I used the original screws from the Singer sewing machine to attach the top to the base by drilling pilot holes first.
This machine was missing one of the original casters. I ordered one from eBay. It was easy to put on; I did some touch-up spray painting.
Pretty Repurposed Singer Sewing Machine
Do you like the pop of color on the repurposed Singer Sewing Machine? Or do you think it’s too much?
I’m happy I was able to find the extra caster online. I thought I was going to have to remove the other three. I’m still loving my chalk painted cage lamp.
I still have one more treadle machine; it’s been painted green. I’m not sure what I’m going to do with it.
If you’ve done a Singer sewing table, please leave me the link in a comment below. I’d love to do a roundup sharing other ideas.
gail
PS UPDATE! I have re-done this sewing machine table. I used the top to make a Christmas Sign.
Related Content:
Singer treadle sewing machine repurposed into a dressing table or vanity
Sewing Machine Drawers into a table
I love the color! I did something similar years ago. I found just the bottom part at a garage sale and cleaned it up and painted it. I found the top of a dresser and attached that to it. It makes a nice buffet type table in my daughter’s dining room.
That’s a great idea to marry the pieces together. I really was wanting to use that one table top… I’m sure I’ll find another use for it.
gail
Thanks for the tutorial!! I’ve always wanted to redo a sewing machine base, but didn’t know how! I’m bidding on one at an online auction site. Hope I get it so I can redo it like yours. (found you on Hometalk!)
Heather
Thanks for hopping over (from Hometalk) to check out my project. I appreciate your time, and thanks for leaving a comment so I know you stopped by!
good luck with the online auction. Be sure to show me yours when you get it completed. ๐
gail
Look on the web or pinterest I have seen the old sewing machines repainted that are very cute! Would post picture of them on here but not sure how to do it.
You scared me when you wrote “last week on my Repurposed Life.” I mean it took my breath away, as I love your blog and I took it to mean your last week for Repurposed Life–silly me!!! I like the sewing machine table. I have one that is black on the bottom and we used a butcher block top. We used it for a plant stand.
I love and I love your set up with paints, boards and scrapes. I am a children’s mental health therapist but my dream is to have my own store where I refurbish, re-purpose and create my own art pieces. Thank you for sharing.
PS my mom had her mom’s singer like yours. I can remember her sewing on it when I was little.?
Thanks for stopping by Christina, and taking the time to leave a comment. ๐ I appreciate it.
gail
Beautiful…well done…questions…you have your paint stored in your garage…I have a lot of paint cans because I do a lot of crafts and after using them and they are not empty I know you are suppose to turn them upside down on the nozzle to clear…well that doesn’t seem to work for my cans…does anyone sell the little spray nozzzels? and also…does the weather temps damage the paint cans and paint when it gets too hot or too cold..I live in southern ohio and we never know what the weather is gonna be…and running out of room indoors.. thankyou..
When you’re finished painting, you turn the can upside down to clear the nozzle? And that doesn’t work? I have paint that I haven’t done that to, and some of it is YEARS old, and works fine. I keep mine in the garage, but I am careful to keep it on the inside wall (of an attached garage) That’s why I had to get a new shelf–the paint HAD to stay on that wall.
gail
I am new to the re-purposed furniture life but I am loving it like crazy. I used to play golf, gym rat, retired gardener etc however on the day I retired, I was hospitalized and after three surgeries on my knee, I am now battling CRPS – a very chronic nerve pain disorder which is slowly disabling me and for which there is no cure. I had to find something to do since I am not one for sitting in front of the TV all day and night so I decided to get into refurbishing anything I can lay my hands on ๐ and of course I have a shelf full of unfinished spray paints as well as regular paints and liquid leaf. I live in the Southeast and it gets pretty hot here so I cleared away stuff I had in my now undesired office, for my paints etc. I love what you did with the sewing machine, the colors are very nice and since turquoise is my favorite color, you can imagine how enamored I am of the table you created. Thanks for sharing, I learned quite a bit which I will apply to my new hobby.
Ed
I’m so happy you found My Repurposed Life! I’m sorry about your condition, but I think it’s best to just keep on going. I lost some latex paint to weather conditions last winter, but all of my spray paint collection has done well. The shelf is on an inside wall of the attached garage. I try to store paint on the outside wall.
I hope you find a lot more projects to inspire you to use up some of that paint!
gail
Very nice table…what did you do with the machine?
I took the wheel off of it and scrapped it. It was so pitiful. I don’t know what happened to it before I got it, but it was nearly naked–poor thing!
gail
I love the pop of color, and I think I needs some of the Krud Kutter!
A friend gave me an old sewing machine still in the cabinet, all parts including instruction manual and bobbins included. would like to repurpose it without tearing it apart. Any suggestions appreciated
Nancy
I would just clean it up pretty and use it as a side table “as is”. ๐
gail
Love it! I was able to salvage an old sewing machine(not a Singer; a Howard) of my husband’s grandmother out of a storage shed. Sentimental value kept me from doing anything other than restoring it, even with the veneer on top peeling and warping. I did have to do some cleaning and wire brushing on the base, but just repainted it black. On the cabinet, I thought I would have to sand and stain, but when I started cleaning it with Murphy’s Oil Soap, the wood was just a beautiful color! I did swipe some stain over it anyway and sealed with tung oil. I use it as a small table in our entryway with a lamp and some photos on it. I still could never paint over the original woodwork.
Love it Gail! Great repurpose!
Debbie
I love the color… I just bought some FILA tennis shoes… the exact same color! Ha!… (no link, sorry)
I must say… I like the size of the table top you ended up with. However, the first one with the pub table top…looked much larger. I thought you were going for a pedestal table look for chairs all around.
I would love that too! Especially in a small eating nook… or screend porch. Actually, either of these table would be great for that !
2 thumbs up Gail!