Skip to main content

A Clean(er) Sewing Machine

I've cleaned my sewing machine a few times, mainly after doing some free motion quilting when I know all the layers of fabric and batting are causing havoc on my Bernina. But it wasn't until Lauren of Lladybird slapped the hands of every sewist through the interwebs and shamed us into cleaning our sewing machines that I thought I would read the manual again to see what it says.

I could have sworn when I first RTM several years ago that it advised to clean and oil every now and then. Well, to my complete shock, the manual says to clean your sewing machine after every use. EVERY USE! The manual didn't say how often to oil your machine, but it didn't say not to do it frequently. blerg.....so I cleaned my machine this past weekend.

Here is a side-by-side comparison of how my machine looked under the plate before and after cleaning:

Under the Hood: Before & After

1. Before, 2. After

I don't sew all that often so I was a bit surprised by the amount of lint build-up. Or perhaps I shouldn't be so surprised given that since I sew so infrequently I easily forget how long it has been between cleanings.

I also went down below, pulled out the bobbin and cleaned in the hook rack. Does anyone else have the problem where as soon as you lower the lever, the hook rack immediately falls out? I don't think it is supposed to come out this easily and it may be the reason why my sewing machine frequently jams when I near the end of a seam.
Day 49/365

(I applied a Flickr filter to this photo, which is why it has some texture to it in case you are wondering why it looks nothing like the other photos)

Anyway, I cleaned the hook rack with a microfiber cloth and then used an air duster to ensure all the lint was gone. I put the hook rack back in place and dropped 2 drops of oil and ran the sewing machine without any thread for a couple minutes to prevent the oil from soiling any thread or fabric. The manual says to run the machine "for a short time" after oiling, but the what the hell does "a short time" mean? I suggest being on the safe side; run your machine for a couple minutes, then sew a test swatch to make sure no oil makes it way onto your fabric.

I gotta say, after all that mess my machine sounded so much better! She seemed quieter and sewed smoother. My husband still thinks it makes a sh*t ton of noise, but then I tell him "why did I buy you noise canceling headphones?!"  I definitely won't be cleaning my sewing machine after every use (who has the time for that), but maybe after every completed project...
Labels:

Comments

  1. larart29February 19, 2013 at 3:25 PM

    How would you like to be nominated for the Liebster Award? I really enjoyed taking a look at your blog and admired your style of photography. :] I just need to make sure you have 200 subscribers or less! I hope to post my nominations within the next 2-3 days. I look forward to hearing from you!

    ReplyDelete
  2. kaorumarieFebruary 20, 2013 at 12:09 AM

    Hi Lara, thanks for asking about the nomination, but I'll pass.

    ReplyDelete
  3. larart29February 20, 2013 at 7:27 AM

    Aw, darn. Well, thank you for replying! If you change your mind, please let me know.

    Have a magical day!
    Lara

    ReplyDelete
  4. ashley828May 28, 2013 at 7:08 AM

    I did a "deep cleaning" of my old machine I'd gotten as a hand me down, in hopes that "the awful screeching and banging" was just from lack of cleaning...sadly it wasn't. but I'm glad I'm not the only one who has had feed dogs that look like those. I keep a fat quarter over my machine now until I can make a little cozy for it.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

{Links} 2015.10.04

I made a friend in Italy :)))))) In what feels like forever, I finally just relaxed this weekend. No guests, no parties to host or attend, no gifts to frantically finish making, no commitments! Sometimes it's nice to not have anything on your schedule. Recently I met someone in my industry who sews! (Hi Shannon!) We met at a professional organization luncheon last month and then soon after she came across my blog . We had already planned on having lunch with colleagues to talk shop before she found my blog. We met for a business lunch this week with our colleagues, but it was fun to get in some sewing talk. I'm pretty sure my college was like, ' wtf.... ', when he heard us talking about sewing near the end of lunch. He made a weird comment like, ' did you guys finish catching up? ' I'm not sure if he thought we already knew each other or wanted to have a business meeting as an excuse to talk sewing, but whatever. Thankfully Shannon didn't mention m...
Post a Comment
Read more

Fabric Shopping, Muslins, and Sewing Distractions

Every month I tell myself to stop buying fabric until I make several garments with the fabric in my stash. Unfortunately, most of what I currently have in my stash is for making dress/button-up shirts, which I still need to work out some fitting issues. I've gotten a lot better about not buying new patterns by the five-fold from Jo-Ann Fabrics during the Big 4 sales, although I have bought a couple new patterns from Sewaholic and Thread Theory. But fabric shopping....oooooh, I just can't help myself sometimes! I'll have an idea in my head and then I HAVE TO GET THE FABRIC NOW! I got into one of those fits last Friday. I blame Marrie and her amazing stretch cotton sateen dress . That dress is so cool and exactly the style and colors (black and white!) I would love to use as the backbone for my work wardrobe builder. After thinking about stretch cotton all morning, I sped-walked over to Michael Levine during my lunch break hoping to find some fabric to make a dress. ...
2 comments
Read more

{Travel} Whirlwind Sightseeing in Hong Kong

My husband and I recently went on a 2 week vacation and ermagherd it was amazing. I used to work with someone who, every year, would save all of his vacation days during the year and then go on an epic 3-4 week vacation traveling to several countries. We were all envious, wishing we could do the same. Well, we could have done the same, but we chose not to do it because it wasn't a priority for any of us. Now that I'm back from one of the longest vacations I've ever been on in my adult life, I want to do it again. I want to make traveling outside the States a priority. One perk at my job is that I get approximately 20 vacation days/year. However, I accrue them every paycheck, so right now I'm hovering around 0 hours. So many paydays to go... We were in Hong Kong for 5 days and 4 nights, although only 3 full days as the other 2 were mostly occupied with traveling. We took a flight from LAX, connected in San Francisco, and then embarked on a 14 hour flight. It'...
4 comments
Read more