My Mum’s Old Sewing Machine

I replaced the drive belt on a very old Pfaff 30

A Pfaff 30 sewing machine on the floor, with two rubber drive belts in front of it: The old broken one, and the new one, ready to be fitted.
The Pfaff 30, with its broken belt and the new one.

My mum used to do quite a lot of sewing, as did my late wife. But I’m not particularly skilled when it comes to needlecraft.

Still, I like to keep my mum’s old machine around. There are a lot of memories associated with it, and I’ve used it occasionally to do basic repairs to things like curtains.

When I was a child, I would play with the machine quite a lot. I would sew pieces of fabric together, or even pieces of paper. I would also use the machine without any thread, to perforate the paper of my pretend bus or theatre tickets.

(I don’t know why I didn’t mention it when I wrote about my primary school years. But it does get a very brief mention in the long article about my high school years.)

* * * * *

Recently, I needed to do a bit of sewing. That’s when I remembered I never got around to replacing the drive belt. So I had to turn the machine by hand!

The reason I’d not got a new belt was that I couldn’t decide what length it should be. I’d found some on eBay, but one might have been too long, and the other too short.

So a few days ago, I took a chance and ordered one. (Size G, 34.5cm circumference.)

It arrived this morning, and I’m pleased to say that it seems like a good fit, even without making any adjustments.

A close up of the new drive belt fitted to the Pfaff 30. The motor SEW-TRIC can also be seen, because these old machines have no covers.
The new belt was easy to fit, and the length seemed about right.

I wonder why I waited so long to get a new belt?

I suppose I’ve always struggled to make decisions when the best choice isn’t obvious. (That’s why gift shopping is difficult for me too.)

Perhaps the effort of turning the machine by hand was enough to make me realise that I had to take some action, and choose between the two ‘almost suitable’ belts.

I wonder what my late mum would have thought, about using the internet to find parts for her old sewing machine?

* * * * *

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Both photos were taken by the author.

The author first published this article on Medium. It was added here on 3 January 2022.

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