Welcome to Sewing Doc Academy

Learn to service and restore sewing machines — from vintage treasures to modern models.

Sewing Doc Academy is one of the only online training programs dedicated to sewing machine repair, maintenance, and restoration. Whether you're caring for your own machine or dreaming of a repair side hustle, our beginner-friendly courses give you lifetime access, expert guidance, and a welcoming community of fellow machine geeks.

Our curriculum is based on real-world techniques from founder Andi Barney’s professional service shop — not textbook fluff or outdated dealer advice. From cleaning and lubrication to rewiring and restoration, we teach you the exact steps to bring tired machines back to life.

Our Story

Back in 2008, Andi Barney was a vintage machine collector who couldn’t find anyone willing to teach her how to fix them. So she learned the hard way — tracking down mentors, testing what worked, and eventually building a full-time repair business with a reputation for honesty and deep expertise.

When she realized how many people were searching for the same knowledge (and how few repair techs existed to meet demand), she founded Sewing Doc Academy. Since 2018, her programs have helped thousands of students gain confidence, avoid costly mistakes, and learn the lost art of sewing machine service — one machine at a time.

Sewing Doc Academy is designed to bring the foundation of sewing machine care, maintenance, service, repair, and restoration to anyone who wants it – sewists, quilters, those wanting to start their own service shop, or those that just want to know how to take care of their own machines.

Andi closed her professional service shop in 2022 so that she could focus on teaching her skills virtually. Due to a severe shortage of technicians and rising costs of service in a tough economy, the need for self-sufficiency is greater than ever.

Andi and Paul homeschool their 15-year-old son, Aaron.

When Andi isn't fixing a machine, she tries to spend time behind one. As an avid quilter, she most enjoys sit-down freemotion quilting (Sharon Schamber is her hero!), but also does more hand sewing work than anything.