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Sewing machine repair shops buzzing as people make coronavirus masks

By Natalie Dreier, Cox Media Group National Content Desk
By Natalie Dreier, Cox Media Group National Content Desk

People are blowing the dust off their sewing machines and are making masks not only for themselves but also for those on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic.

But those sewing machines may need a tune-up, and it’s the sewing machine repair shops that are keeping them humming.

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David Trebotich of Twice Nice Shoppe in Antioch, California, is making sure home sewers can get their projects done.

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“I don’t really sew and I know there is a lot of folks out there making masks who are wearing their machines out or breaking them. This is my part of the contribution to what everyone else is doing," Trebotich told KRON.

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Trebotich is fixing the machines for free for anyone making face masks.

Dave is set up on the driveway for curbside drop offs and pick ups. He is doing simple repairs on machines that are...

Posted by Twice Nice Shoppe Sewing Machine service, repair, and parts on Saturday, April 18, 2020

Trebotich isn’t alone trying to get machines into operating order.

Sun Sew Vac’s owner Robert Hines was planning on retiring this year, but business once again is thriving because of the pandemic.

“It’s been crazy, probably the easiest word to describe how things have been,” Hines told WRC.

Hines has a two-week backlog and he can’t keep new machines on the shelves.

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In Wisconsin, Sew Much More not only has been getting calls for repairs, but also for supplies to make masks.

“I think for sewers it is a way of trying to help when they feel so helpless,” Wendy Rieves told Spectrum News.

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Sew Much More was allowed to remain in limited operation with machine curbside pickup and supply delivery.

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Rieves told Spectrum News the shop is getting more requests for machine repairs because she thinks many people are using their machines for the first time in years.

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Sewing FILE PHOTO: Seamstress Adita Rodriguez sews a surgical mask at Sareh Nouri's atelier in Rutherford, N.J., Wednesday, March 25, 2020. Home sewers who are pulling out unused machines are finding them broken, or in need of a tune-up. Sewing machine repair shops are helping getting the machines back in working order. (Seth Wenig/AP)

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