I have a Novum sewing machine, it is a New Home/Janome clone, and I have the same brand of overlocker - serger, which is useful for finishing off raw edges without having to fold them over.

We have been in this house about 25 years, and the sewing machine was put on a table in the corner of this room on the third day after the move. It might have been put away for maybe one month in total since then, but other wise has been there for doing all the sewing jobs from securing a button to creating curtains from miles of fabric.

It does simple embroidery stitches, plus a whole range of useful ones, all mechanically, not electronically, and has been so very useful over the years.

I have made all sorts of garments on the sewing machine, and added the overlocker about ten years ago to deal with the more stroppy fabrics, I have also added lots of different feet in addition to those which were supplied.

The one thing I would like to have is an automatic buttonhole instead of the four part one - it is just that bit easier to get straight and the right size. The automatic buttonhole is an accessory which - when given a button to hold, will create a button hole to fit, in one go.

You don't really need to have anything fancy for kilt making, but it is handy to have the blind heming, for instance, or a stretch stitch, or a binder, as you never know when it might come in handy to fix something. And if you do have the stitches/accessories you can do your own fancy shirts, make ruffles jabots cravats - cumerbunds, even hats and caps.

If you have a good sewing machine you can think about tackling 7 or 8 yards of hemming, or edging and joining multiple pieces of fabric as a weekend job, not something which could take weeks of spare time to accomplish.