I finally treated myself to a new sewing machine! The Janome Sewist 525S came highly recommended because it’s allegedly “impossible to break” and also exceptionally quiet – the latter is the reason it was the main machine used on the TV show The Great British Sewing Bee. I bought it from “Sew Amazing”, an excellent little shop on East London’s Roman Road. It’s a family business that has existed since the 1950s and the owners really know a thing or two about sewing machines (in addition to selling and servicing both new and second hand sewing machines, they also sell knitting and sewing supplies at strikingly cheap prices!). When I picked up my new machine they showed me how to use some of its specialist features like the one-step button hole which my previous machine didn’t have, and so I was ready for a weekend of sewing!
The machine is really a joy to use. It sews incredibly smoothly and I already managed to try out some of its more advanced features as (unlike many machines) it comes with an excellent instructions books.
The first thing I made with it was this apron-style summer dress from a fabric I picked up in California over Christmas. It has a lined top, buttons all the way down the front and pockets in the side seams. A little thrifty confession: the lining and the buttons came from an old man’s shirt – it provided exactly the amount of fabric I needed 🙂
