In days gone by a sewing machine would have been a common sight in many homes as people often made their own clothes and repaired and altered clothes for the family. Some people even made a living out of this and so their sewing machine was a vital piece of equipment. Now people who own a sewing machine has reduced dramatically and unless you are interested in sewing and dressmaking it is unlikely that you will use one regularly. That said, some people do have a sewing machine hidden somewhere in a dusty corner of the attic waiting for someone to blow away the cobwebs and fire it up again.

If you have an older model sewing machine and you want to start to use it then it is a good idea to have it serviced by a sewing machine expert as this will ensure it is dependable and works well. As a good sewing machine is not cheap to buy new it is worth paying to have one that you own or a second hand one serviced as it will save a lot of frustration.

Ongoing care and maintenance will simply consist of cleaning it to remove any build up of fabric fibres in the mechanism and oiling of some moving parts. The instruction manual will show where these points are. The manuals for older models can usually be accessed online.