Starting Out

When I mentioned to my mom that I wanted to start learning to sew, she excitedly offered me my great grandmother's machine. She recommended that it be cleaned and serviced before using and said it had its own cabinet. When we brought it home, I looked at it and was pretty intimidated. The machine looked like it could do a nice zig zag right through my finger.


I searched around for info on the machine. Who could work on it for me? What would it cost? Was it safe to use? It had been converted somehow, but I don't know how. I stumbled upon a message board for people with old sewing machines. I posted about my machine and was advised to seek out someone incredibly knowledgeable or else it would be dangerous to use.

That wasn't a whole lot of help to me. And I didn't want something dangerous. So, I bought a new machine. I went to JoAnn Fabrics and got the cheapest machine I could find. Knowing myself, I was worried I might not actually take to the craft. So, I didn't want to invest in a really great machine when a simple one would do. I decided to honor my great grandmother, so my new machine sits on top of the cabinet that the old one is in.



And then, I had to learn how to thread it. That part came with the help of a friend who came over one evening. She threaded it for me, wound the bobbin and placed the bobbin. Then, I didn't touch it for awhile for fear of messing it up. I did eventually run a straight stitch on an old pillowcase and messed up the threading. Eventually, I learned how to do it myself. Or, at least with the help of my husband.