Design and Fabrication of a Treadle-Powered Sewing Machine Stand for Tailoring Enterprises in Rural Niger State

Power outages lasting between 12 and 22 hours per day are common in rural communities across Niger State in the North Central zone, effectively disabling electric sewing machines and disrupting the livelihoods of tailors who form a significant segment of the local informal economy. This project documents the design and fabrication of a treadle-powered stand that converts a standard domestic electric sewing machine to manual foot-pedal operation without modifying the machine's internal mechanism. The stand incorporates a reciprocating treadle board, a flywheel, a leather drive belt, and a tension adjustment system connected to the machine's handwheel through a precision-fitted pulley. Design calculations determined the required flywheel moment of inertia for smooth continuous stitching at a target speed of 600 stitches per minute. The fabricated prototype was evaluated for stitching speed, stitch consistency, operator comfort, and ease of speed control using standard fabric samples by five trained tailors in a controlled test session. Mean stitching speed achieved was 580 stitches per minute, with stitch length consistency within acceptable commercial tolerances. All five operators rated the stand as comfortable and easy to control after a 30-minute familiarisation period. Fabrication cost was 18,500 naira. The study supports the wider adoption of human-powered alternatives to reduce livelihood disruptions caused by electricity unreliability in rural Nigeria. Keywords: treadle sewing machine, manual drive, rural livelihood, power outage, Niger State.